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 'solace of the eyes' and 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 is 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.

A prolific writer (she began to write at the young age of 11), her literary works include some 12 novels and novellas and four collections of short stories. Hyder has also done a significant amount of translation of classics. Her own works 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.

Some of 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).

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".

this Jnanpith awardee was one of India’s most prolific pens ... both in Urdu and English.

Her other works include:

• Mere Bhi Sanam Khane (1949)
• Safina-e-Gham-e-Dil (1952)

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 won Sahitya Akademi Award for her collection of short stories Patjhar ki Awaz (The Sound of Falling Leaves) in 1967. The Urdu Academy in Delhi conferred upon her the Bahadur Shah Zafar Award in 2000. She was conferred Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1984, and in 2005 she was conferred the Padma Bhushan the third highest civilian honor awarded by the Government of India, for her contribution to Urdu Literature and Education.

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.

She was buried in the Jamia Millia Islamia cemetery on Tuesday evening. It was a sombre occasion attended by close family and friends. Hyder, who was not married and quite a critic of that institute, lived with a domestic help and driver at her E-55 Jalvayu Vihar home.

Her elder brother, who lives in Karachi, could not attend either due to illness.

Hyder had also worked for the weekly journal Imprint and served at the Jamia Millia Islamia for a year.

Khushwant Singh said, “When she decided to return to journalism, even a paper like The Times of India had to change its policy of not re-employing those who have once left.”

Originally from Lucknow, Hyder shifted to Karachi after the Partition. She was among those along with Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan whom Jawaharlal Nehru wooed to come and live in India.

Decades after shifting to India, Hyder went on to write a famous book on the Ustad, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan: His life and music, with Malti Gilani. The book was published in 2004 and became a bestseller, giving readers a fresh glimpse into the Ustad’s private chambers.

Sukrita Paul Kumar, professor of English at Delhi University, describes her work Aag Ka Dariya as “a description of evolution of composite culture". “She describes the macrocosm of three centuries with passionate involvement in them. Even her rival in 1940s, Ismat Chughtai, who was much elder to her, was insecure when she emerged on the Urdu literary scene.”

Hyder was seen as a modernist and her “stream of consciousness” style was popular and often pitted against the "social realism” of Ismat Chughtai.

Her book Aakhi-e-shab ke Humsafar, translated to Hindi as Nishant ke Sahyatri, is a modern-day classic. Khushwant Singh said on her craft: “She was one of the most erudite women I have ever met, with immense knowledge of English, Urdu and even Hindi literature. She was an all-rounder.”

Paul described her as a “woman of conviction” who would have her way if and when she wanted to. Her driver S Haldhar said, “She told me around 10 days ago that she would die by the 19th of this month. She just survived one more day.”

Khushwant Singh: “It is a great loss to the Urdu-reading people of both India and Pakistan.”

It is believed that due to her high stature in social circles no criticism about her vision emerged although she was not infallible.Eminent Urdu novelist Paigham Afaqui has pointed out in his well appreciated article 'Aag Ka Darya - chand sawalat' that because she wrote Aag Ka Darya at an early age and because she was encircled by those who did not stay back in India at the time of partition she could not appreciate the point of view of those who did not migrate - and her observation in the novel depict picture of Indian muslims in a wrong way and thus her criticism of Indian muslims requires review. After this article of Paigham Afaqui, she indeed reviewed such content and deleted in the English translation of the novel.

• Sahir Ludhianvi

(I) have returned everything to you, I have not taken anything (away with me) upon departure, Now do not accuse me O People, Look at me (examine me) I have departed empty-handed!

In translation

• Sound of the Falling Leaves. Asia Publishing House, 1996. ISBN 0948724447.
• A Season of Betrayals: A Short Story and Two Novellas. Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 0195794176.
• River of Fire. Translated by Qurratulain Hyder. New Directions Pub., 2003. ISBN 0811215334.
• Fireflies in the Mist. New Directions Publishing, 2010. ISBN 0811218651
• The Exiles. tr. by Nadeem Aslam. Hesperus Press, 2010. ISBN 1843918544.