A well known
Urdu fiction writer, Qurratulain Hyder was born in
Aligarh in 1927. She wrote 12 novels and four collections of short stories and translated a number of classics. Apart from being a novelist, Qurratulain also served as a guest lecturer at the universities of California, Chicago, and Arizona. Among her renowned works are 'Aag ka Darya' and 'Aakhir-e-Shab ke Hamsafar'. In 1989, the novel 'Aakhir-e-Shab ke Hamsafar' won her the Bharatiya Jnanpith Award. She was also the recipient of Padmashree,
Sahitya Akademi Award, Soviet Land Nehru Award and Ghalib Award.
