Born: 28 November 1928, India
Died: 4 February 2017
Country most active: Pakistan
Also known as: بانو قدسیہ, Qudsia Chattha, Bano Aapa
Pakistani novelist, playwright and spiritualist Bano Qudsia wrote novels, dramas and short stories in Urdu and wrote for television and stage inUrdu and Punjabi languages. She is best recognized for her novel Raja Gidh and her critically acclaimed play Aadhi Baat.
Born in Firozpur, British India, she and her family migrated to Lahore after the partition of India and began writing short stories in class 5. She graduated from the Kinnaird College in Lahore and then earned her master’s degree in Urdu literature at Government College University (Lahore) (GCU), completed in 1951. While there she met her future husband, writer Ashfaq Ahmed whom she had met at the Government College University (Lahore), with whom she had three sons.
Qudsia’s Raja Gidh (The King Vulture) is considered a modern Urdu classic, and her other prominent writings include Aatish-i-zer-i-paa, Aik Din, Asay Pasay, Chahar Chaman, Chhotaa Sheher Baray Log, Footpath ki Ghaas, Haasil Ghaat and Hawa Kay Naam, and her well-known plays Tamasil, Hawa ke Naam, Seharay and Khaleej.
The Pakistan government awarded Qudsia the Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) in 1983 and the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) in 2010 for her services in literature. She also received lifetime achievement awards from the Pakistan Academy of Letters (Kamal-e-Fun Award, 2012), the GCU’s Old Ravians Union (2016) and the Pakistan Life Care Foundation (2016).