Qurratulain Hyder
1927 - 2007
Born in Aligarh, United Provinces, British India (now India)
Qurratulain Hyder was an influential Indian Urdu novelist and short story writer, an academic, and a journalist. One of the most outstanding literary names in Urdu literature, she is best known for her magnum opus, Aag Ka Darya (River of Fire), a novel first published in Urdu in 1959, that stretches from the 4th century BC to post-Partition India. Hyder was the recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award, Jnanpith Award and Padma Bhushan by the Government of India for her contribution to Urdu literature.
“زمانہ بدل گیا، مذہب بدل گئے، تہذیبیں بدل گئیں، لیکن انسان نہیں بدلا۔”
Timeline
Born in Aligarh, United Provinces, British India
Migrated to Pakistan after Partition
Published her first novel "Mere Bhi Sanamkhane"
Returned to India
Published her magnum opus "Aag Ka Darya" (River of Fire)
Worked as a journalist in London
Received Sahitya Akademi Award
Became a professor at the Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi
Awarded the prestigious Jnanpith Award
Received Padma Bhushan
Passed away in Noida, India
Works
Notable Quote
زمانہ بدل گیا، مذہب بدل گئے، تہذیبیں بدل گئیں، لیکن انسان نہیں بدلا۔
Qurratulain Hyder
Influences
- James Joyce
- Virginia Woolf
- Marcel Proust
- Indian history and culture
- Progressive Writers' Movement
Achievements
- Jnanpith Award (1989)
- Sahitya Akademi Award (1967)
- Padma Shri (1984)
- Padma Bhushan (2005)
- Soviet Land Nehru Award