Begum Masroor Jahan, Lucknow

CATEGORY- HT WRITE CHOICE AWARD

She has penned more than 65 novels and over 500 short stories. Her latest short story collection ‘Khwaab dar Khwaab safar’ (2016) has already sold hundreds of copies in just one year. Many scholars have done PhD on her works, including Javeed Kholov, vice chancellor at Tajikistan University also Dr Nighat Sultana Abidi did her D Litt on her work. Masroor has won numerous awards including honours by Urdu academy. She received the ‘Waqar-e-Awadh’ award in 2016.

Born in Fatehpur near Lucknow, in a family of scholars, Masroor was brought up in Lucknow. Her father, Naseer Hussain ‘Khayal’ also taught in many colleges of Lucknow and was a noteworthy poet of his times. Although having a literary lineage, Masroor Jahan couldn’t continue her formal education after High School but her passion for literature and the fictive world couldn’t stop her from savouring the works of famous writers and therefore, she continued to write extensively during her married life as well and as a result her first novel ‘Ruma’ was published in 1962, thus heralding the era of her long association with Urdu Literature that was to follow in the years to come. Her short stories and novels have been published from India, Pakistan and Canada. Her short stories and critical essays are a regular feature in some leading magazines.

NOMINATED BY SAIRA MUJTABA