Qurratulain Hyder

Infobox Writer
name = Qurratul Ain Hyder


imagesize = 200px
caption = Qurratul Ain Hyder
pseudonym = Ainee Apa
birthdate = birth date|1926|1|20|df=yes
birthplace = Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
deathdate = death date and age |2007|8|21|1926|1|20|df=yes
deathplace = Noida, India
parents = Sajjad Haidar Yaldram & Nazr Zehra
occupation = Writer
nationality = Indian
period =
genre = Fiction Novelist & Short story
subject =
movement =
influences =
influenced =


website =

Qurrat-ul-Ain Haider (January 20, 1926, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh – August 21, 2007, NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh) was an Urdu novelist and short story writer, an academic, and a journalist. She was one of the most outstanding literary names in Urdu literature Popularly known as "Ainee Apa" among her friends and admirers, she was the daughter of the famous writer Sajjad Haidar Yaldram, (1880-1943). Her mother Nazr Zahra (who wrote at first as Bint-i-Nazrul Baqar and later as Nazr Sajjad Hyder) (1894-1967) was also a writer and protegee of Muhammadi Begam and her husband Syed Mumtaz Ali, who published her first novel.

Biography

Born on January 20, 1926 in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, (though her family were from Nehtaur, UP), Qurrat-ul-Ain Hyder is one of the most celebrated of Urdu fiction writers. She was named after a notable Iranian poet Qurrat-ul-Ain Tahira. Qurratul Ain, translated literally means 'eyeball' but is used as a term of endearment. A trend setter in Urdu fiction, she began writing at a time when the novel was yet to take deep roots as a serious genre in the poetry-oriented world of Urdu literature. She instilled in it a new sensibility and brought into its fold strands of thought and imagination hitherto unexplored. She was widely regarded as the "Grande Dame" of Urdu literature.

After graduating from Lucknow University's Isabella Thoburn College, she moved to Pakistan in 1947, then lived in England for some time before finally returning to India in 1960. She lived in Bombay for nearly twenty years before shifting to NOIDA. near New Delhi, where she had been staying till her demise. She never married.

Literary works

A prolific writer (she began to write at the young age of 11), her literary works include some 12 novels and novellas, four collections of short stories and has done a significant amount of translation of classics. Her books have been translated into English and other languages.

"Aag Ka Duriya" ("River of Fire"), her magnum opus, is a landmark novel that explores the vast sweep of time and history. It tells a story that moves from the fourth century BC to the post-Independence period in India and Pakistan, pausing at the many crucial epochs of history. [Aamer Hussein in [The Times Literary Supplement] wrote that "River of Fire" is to Urdu fiction what "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is to Hispanic literature.

Compared to her exact contemporaries, Milan Kundera and Gabriel García Márquez, the breadth of her literary canvas, her vision and insight, transcend time.

Her other books are "Patjhar ki Awaz" ("The Voice of Autumn"), 1965; "Raushni ki Raftar" ("The Speed of Light"), 1982; the short novel "Chaye ke Bagh" ("Tea Plantations"), 1965 (one of four novellas including Dilruba, Sita Haran, Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Na Kijo, exploring gender injustice) ; and the family chronicle "Kar e Jahan Daraz Hai" ("The Work of the World Goes On").

She proved her genius, even after "Aag Ka Duriya", in that she continually adapted and innovated her literary style to fit in with the theme of her novels. Best acknowledged in her quasi autobiographical work Kaar-e-jahan Daraz Hai. Her later novels "Aakhir Shab ke Hamsafar", "Gardish e Rang e Chaman" and her last novel "Chandani Begum" are much more accessible and critics have dubbed "Gardish e Rang e Chaman" as her finest novel.

Amitav Ghosh writes that "hers is one of the most important Indian voices of the twentieth century."

She migrated along with her family members to Pakistan in 1947 at the time of independence, but some years later decided to go back to India, where she had since lived. She worked as a journalist to earn her living but kept publishing short stories, literary translations and novels regularly, by now almost thirty in number.

She was Managing Editor of the magazine "Imprint", Bombay (1964-68), and a member of the editorial staff of the "Illustrated Weekly of India" (1968-75). Her books have been translated into English and other languages

Hyder also served as a guest lecturer at the universities of California, Chicago, Wisconsin, and Arizona. She was visiting professor at the Urdu Department at Aligarh Muslim University, where her father had earlier been a registrar. She was Professor Emeritus, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Chair, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.

Her first short story, Bi-Chuhiya (Little Miss Mouse), was published in children’s magazine Phool and at the age of nineteen wrote her first novel "Mayray Bhee Sanam khanay".

Her other works include:
* Mere Bhi Sanam Khane (1949)
* Safina-e-Gham-e-Dil (1952)

Awards and honours

She received the Jnanpith Award in 1989 for her novel "Aakhir-e-Shab ke Hamsafar" ("Travellers Unto the Night"). She received the Sahitya Akademi Award, in 1967, Soviet Land Nehru Award, 1969, Ghalib Award, 1985. She was conferred Padma Shri by the Government of India for her outstanding contribution to Urdu literature, and in 2005 she was conferred the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India, for her contribution to Urdu Literature and Education. The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian honor awarded by the Government of India.

Death

Qurratulain Hyder died in a NOIDA hospital, near New Delhi, India on August 21, 2007 after a protracted lung illness. She has been buried in the Jamia Millia Islamia cemetery, New Delhi.

Her death has been condoled by the President and Prime Minister of India, and Chief Minister of her home state Uttar Pradesh.

Epitaph

Har cheez tumhe lauta di hai, hum le ke nahin kuch saath chale,Phir dosh na dena aiy logo, hamein dekh lo Khaali haath chale,
* Sahir Ludhianvi

External links

* [http://www.ibitians.com/category/personalities/quratulain-haider/ Columns & articles about her at IBITIANS.com (Urdu)]
* [http://www.loc.gov/acq/ovop/delhi/salrp/hyder.html Library of Congress South Asian Literary Recordings Project]
* [http://www.razarumi.com/on-qurratulain-hyder/ Writer's Muse found at Jahane Rumi blog]
* [http://www.chowk.com/ilogs/62665/32808 More information about her]
* [http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=390063&ssid=43&ssname=Literary%20Corner&sid=ENT&sname= Zee News announcement of her death]
* [http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Aug212007/national2007082120486.asp?section=updatenews "Deccan Herald" announcement of her death]
* [http://www.razarumi.com/2007/09/24/end-of-an-era-qurratulain-hyder/ Obituary published by the Friday Times, Pakistan]