Urdu writer Haider passes away

Renowned Urdu writer and Jnanpith winner Qurratulain Haider (80) breathed her last after a prolonged illness.

Renowned Urdu writer and Jnanpith winner Qurratulain Haider died in Noida on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. Haider (80) breathed her last at around 2:30 am in a hospital, family sources said.

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Born in Aligarh, UP, the writer first shifted to Delhi and then settled in Noida. Haider began writing at a time when writing fiction was yet to take deep roots as a genre in the poetry-dominated Urdu literature.

Aag ka Darya

(River of Fire), a tale that moves from the fourth century to modern India and Pakistan is considered her magnum opus. Haider herself had translated it into English. She was awarded the Jnanpith in 1989 for

Aakhir-e-Shab ke Hamsafar

(Travellers Unto the Night). The government honoured her with the Padma Shri for her outstanding contribution to Urdu literature.