Qurratulain Hyder

Qurratulain Hyder was an Indian Urdu writer, novelist, academic, short story writer, and journalist. She was born on 20th January 1927 in Aligarh, United Provinces in British India, to parents Sajjad Haidar Yildarim and Nazar Zahra. Both of her parents were pioneers in Urdu short story writing. She was given her name in honor of the celebrated Iranian poet Qurrat-ul-Ain Táhirih. She pioneered Urdu fiction, starting when fiction had yet to establish itself as a legitimate subgenre in the poetry-centric field of Urdu literature. She gave it a fresh sensibility and introduced previously undiscovered lines of thought and creativity. Her reputation as the "Grande Dame" of Urdu writing is well-known. Ms Hyder pursued higher education at Indraprastha College in Delhi and Isabella Thoburn College under Lucknow University. During the partition of India in 1947, she migrated to Pakistan with her family members. Later, she moved to England but returned to India in 1960.

After living in Bombay for 20 years, she shifted to Noida in Delhi and stayed there till her demise. She worked as a journalist to earn her living while keeping her passion for writing novels and stories alive. Ms. Hyder was also a visiting professor at the Urdu Department of Aligarh Muslim University and was a guest lecturer at several universities in California, Arizona, Wisnoand Chicago. Ms. Hyder's passion for writing began when she was 11, and her collection of literary works includes four collections of short stories and 12 novels. Her work has been translated into English and several other languages. Her best-known work is "Aag Ka Dariya," first published in Urdu in Pakistan in 1959.

Her other published works include Raushni ki Raftar (1965), Mere Bhi Sanam Khane (1949), Patjhar ki Awaz (1969), Kar e Jahan Daraz Hai, and Safina-e-Gham-e-Dil (1952). She won the 1967 Urdu Sahitya Akademi Award for Patjhar Ki Awaz (Short Stories), the 1989 Jnanpith Award for Akhire Shab Ke Humsafar, and the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, the highest honor given by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. In 2005, she was also awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government. Ms. Hyder died on 21st August 2007 in New Delhi due to a lung illness and was laid to rest in the Jamia Millia Islamia cemetery.