Bano Qudsia
Bano
Qudsia (Urdu: بانو قدسیہ; 28 November
1928 – 4 February 2017), also known as Bano Aapa, was a Pakistani novelist,
playwright and spiritualist. She wrote literature in Urdu, producing novels,
dramas plays and short stories. Qudsia is best recognized for her novel Raja
Gidh. Qudsia also wrote for television and stage in both Urdu and Punjabi
languages. Her play Aadhi Baat has been called "a classic play". Bano
Qudsia died in Lahore on 4 February 2017.
Personal
life
Bano
Qudsia was born on 28 November 1928 in Firozpur, British India, as Qudsia
Chattha. Her father was a Bachelor of Agriculture and her brother Pervaiz
Chattha was a painter. She migrated to Lahore with her family after the
partition of India and had begun writing short stories while studying in class
5. 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
University (Lahore). They had three sons Aneeque, Anees and Aseer. 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.[4]
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
Hawa Kay Naam.[9] The most well-known plays she wrote include Tamasil, Hawa ke
Naam, Seharay and Khaleej.
Her
critically acclaimed play Aadhi Baat was about a retired headmaster. The play
examined the headmaster's day-to-day life problems and had Qavi Khan acting as
the lead character. The play's director was Agha Nasir and it was produced by
Tauqeer Nasir. Aadhi Baat was performed in May 2010 in Islamabad at a three-day
event which was organized by the Pakistan National Council of the Arts. Ashfaq
Ahmed's autobiography Baba Saheba was incomplete at the time of his death in
September 2004. Qudsia completed the biography and the second part of it was
published as Rah-i-Rawaan. The contrast in the narrative styles of the couple
is evident in these two books; while the first half is considered
"provoking, lucid and utterly spellbinding" by critics, the second
half takes the feeling of sorrow. Qudsia credits Ahmed for transforming her
after their marriage and eventually allowing her to devote to her writing.
Qudsia's novel Raah-e-Rawaan راہ ِرواں 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 regards for her husband and she
has 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.
Bano
Qudsia also wrote a book about Qudrat Ullah Shahab titled
"Mard-e-Abresham" مردِابریشم. The book mainly portrays Shahab's life
and how it was connected with Ashfaq Ahmed and his family both on social and
spiritual level. 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 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 birthday with a Google Doodle.
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