Start of 2017 brought two tragedies for us within the first 50 days. On 12 January famous journalist and writer Rukhsana Noor passed away in Lahore after fighting for several years against cancer. She was wife of renowned film director Syed Noor. Her death is a big loss for the literary circle of Lahore. She was a very decent lady. I was lucky to meet her in Lahore in 2003 when she was doing a film song programme for Pakistan Television. She recorded my own composition for her program. She wrote many films for her husband Syed Noor, out which Punjabi film Choorian was the biggest success.
Rukhsana Noor
Second loss was the death of amazing writer, novelist, widow of Ashfaq Ahmed, Mohtarma Bano Qudsia; who breathed her last in Lahore on 4 February 2017. She was regarded as the best female spiritualist who left a long list of mourners behind her. I came to know about her skills and talents through Mumtaz Mufti’s book Alakh Nagri (الکھ نگری). Mufti writes that Bano was a wonderful person in every role. She was a very dedicated housewife, a loving mother and amazingly talented thinker and philosopher. As per Mufti she was much more genius than her legendary husband Ashfaq Ahmed, however she always supported him. Bano’s novel Raja Gidh (راجہ گدھ) is regarded as one of the best novels in the history of Urdu literature. My friends Imran Mufti in his recent meeting with me in Lahore made me surprised by telling that Bano was a converted Muslim who left Christianity and embraced Islam before getting married to Ashfaq Ahmed.
Bano Qudsia
I pray to Allah SWT to bless both of the great ladies with high ranks in Jannat ul Firdous and grant patience to their family members.
صدائے شاہد ~ Voice of Shahid Javed from Down Under! 