Jumbo Publishing’s tribute to Bano Qudsia the great on her 94th birth anniversary

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Just a handful of greats have impacted the literature canvas of Pakistan as much as the legendary Bano Qudsia whose 94th birth anniversary is being celebrated on November 28, 2022. She is talked about with awe even today and her writings are revered as much as they were in the yesteryears. 

She was novelist, playwright and spiritualist of the highest pedigree and her contribution to Urdu literature remained overwhelming to say the least. She distinguished herself by writing novels, short stories, dramas and plays which are still relevant and famous. 

She had found a perfect companion in Ashfaq Ahmed, who had immortalized himself with scholastic deeds of his own. It was rare to find such a high-profile couple living and supporting each other all the way. Their partnership was broken only when the husband breathed his last in 2004 and his partner for all occasions followed him in the Heavens about 13 years later. 

The couple was blessed with three sons, one of whom, Aneeq Ahmed, followed in the footsteps of his illustrious parents to become a renowned writer before moving on to the profession of research. 

The plays of Bano Qudsia and Ashfaq Ahmed had not only enlivened the literary scene of the country but they also turned out to be lifeline for the newly established Pakistan Television (PTV) which used to be the sole provider of entertainment on air for the masses. It was many decades later when the satellite arena boomed and people got hold of the remote to switch on from one television channel to another. 

Bano Qudsia thrived at a time when the quality of content was the sole criterion for a playwright to be judged or assessed. She did have a few critics around but the vast majority of the audience stayed glued to their television sets whenever her drama or play was telecast. 

Adhi Baat, Tamasil, Hawa Kay Naam, Seharay and Khaleej were among the most famous plays written by her. Her novel Raja Gidh has been acclaimed as modern Urdu classic while Aatish-e-Zer-e-Paa, Aik Din, Asay Pasay, Chahar Chaman, Chhotaa Sheher Baray Log, Footpath Ki Ghaas and Haasil Ghaat were other popular books authored by her. 

Ashfaq Ahmed's autobiography Baba Saheba was incomplete at the time of his death and Qudsia completed the biography whose second part was published as Rah-i-Rawaan. The contrast in the narrative styles of the couple was evident in these two books as the first half was considered provoking, lucid and utterly spellbinding by critics and the second half reflected the feeling of sorrow. 

Bano Qudsia, born on November 28, 1928, at Firozpur, died in Lahore on February 4, 2017. She had migrated to Lahore with her family after the partition of India and had begun writing short stories while studying in primary classes. She graduated from the Kinnaird College in Lahore and then joined the Government College University (GCU) in Lahore to earn her master's degree in Urdu literature completed in 1951. 

She was awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz and Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan in 1983 and 2010 respectively while she received PTV’s Best Writer Award in 1986. The Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) decorated her with the Kamal-e-Fun Award while the GCU's Old Ravians Union (GCU-ORU) conferred on her a lifetime achievement award.