Bano Qudsia

Personal life

Bano Qudsia was born on 28 November 1928 in Firozpur, British India, as Qudsia Chattha in a Muslim Jat family. Her father was a Bachelor of Agriculture; her mother was also a graduate and inspector of schools in British India and her brother Pervaiz Chattha was a painter. She migrated to Lahore with her family after the partition of India. She graduated from the Kinnaird College in Lahore and then joined the Government College University (Lahore) (GCU) to earn her master's degree in Urdu literature which she completed in 1951.

Qudsia married writer Ashfaq Ahmed whom she had met at the Government College Lahore. The couple had been considered inseparable in their social lives.

Literary work Qudsia's novel Raja Gidh (The King Vulture) is considered a modern Urdu classic. Among her more prominent writings are Aatish-i-zer-i-paa, Aik Din, Asay Pasay, Chahar Chaman, Chhotaa Sheher Baray Log, Footpath ki Ghaas, Haasil Ghaat and Hawwa Kay Naam. Qudsia's novel Raah-e-Rawaan was published in 2011. It is an analytical look at Ashfaq Ahmed's philosophical thinking and how it may relate to certain aspects of life itself. Qudsia had the highest regard for her husband and placed Ashfaq Ahmed on a very high pedestal. However, she does not even claim to understand the man she lived with for more than five decades. So, an attempt at writing the biography of Ashfaq Ahmed took her beyond that 'one person' — and she started to write about his ancestry, the family including his grandfather, father, uncles, brothers, sisters and their children so as to fully understand the enigma that was Ashfaq Ahmed.

Qudsia's novel Haasil Ghaat was published in 2005 and was noted for its diction but also criticized then for usages of English slangs than her usual traditional Urdu narrative. The language however became popular amongst other writers in future. Baba Mohammad Yahya Khan was much inspired by Maa jee Bano Qudsia and Baba jee Ashfaq Ahmed.

Death Bano Qudsia died on 4 February 2017 at the Ittefaq Hospital in Lahore at the age of 88. Her son Aseer Ahmed informed that she died around the time for Maghrib prayers (after sunset). She was buried at Lahore on 5 February and prayer services were held at Model Town, Lahore.

Awards and recognition In 1983, Qudsia was awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) by the Government of Pakistan. In 1986 she received PTV Best Writer Award. In 2010, the Pakistani government awarded her the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) for her services in literature. In 2012, the Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) awarded Qudsia the Kamal-e-Fun Award, which is a lifetime achievement award. In 2016, the GCU's Old Ravians Union (GCU-ORU) at its annual reunion conferred on her a lifetime achievement award. The same year, the Pakistan Life Care Foundation (PLCF) also awarded the lifetime achievement award to Qudsia.

On 28 November 2020, Google celebrated her 92nd birth anniversary with a Google Doodle.

Books

Dramas Chota Shehar Baray Log Phir Achanak Youn Hua Lagan Apni Apni Aadhee Baat Foot Paath Ki Ghaas Aasay Paasay Tamaseel Hawa kay Naam Dusra Qadam Sidhran Suraj Mukhi Piya Nam ka Diya Novels Raja Gidh Haasil Ghaat Shehr-e-la'zawaal – Abaad Weeranay Purwa Moom ki Galiyan Shehr-e-Bemisaal Tauba Shikan

Short stories Hijraton Kay Darmiyan Dast Bastaa Aatish e Zeer Pa Amar Bail Dusra Darwaza Baz Gasht Na Qabil e Zikr Samaan e Wajood Tawaja ki Taalib Kuch Aur Nahi Biographies Rah-e-Rawaan Mard-e-Abresham