Hijab Imtiaz Ali: The younger daughter of Nawab Sir Mohammad Ismail and a niece of Nawab Zain Yar Jang, Hijab started publishing short stories from early age and later began penning novels. Her plays were broadcast on radio. She married Syed Imtiaz Ali Taj, the author of the famous drama Anarkali. She also qualified as the first licensed pilot of the British empire in India. Hijab Imtiaz Ali was awarded the “Tamgha-i-Imtiaz” by the Government of Pakistan for her services to literature. She was the founder of the literary circle, She died of a heart attack in Lahore on Thursday, March 18, 1999 at the age of 96. Hijab Imtiaz Ali was awarded the “Tamgha-i-Imtiaz” by the Government of Pakistan for her services to literature. She was the founder of the literary circle  “Man-o-Salva,” which remained active until late 1997 when she suffered a mild stroke. She wrote her last short story in 1997. Many of her works have been translated into English, Japanese, and other languages. Her last novel, Pagal-Khana, in which she grapples with the realities of a world riddled with nuclear weapons, was the recipient of the Adamji Prize for literature.

Hijab was from an aristocratic family of the Princely state of Hyderabad Deccan. A born writer, Hijab started writing at a very young age. One of her best works “Meri Natamam Mohabbat”, which is considered one of the best love stories ever written in Urdu literature, was written at the age of twelve. Within a few years, she grew up to become the Princess of publishing world. Her short stories were always in demand and her work was published in best magazines of the time. She was popular throughout Subcontinent. Her stories were very romantic with a lot of natural, beautiful and sensitive imagery of life. Her unique style of sentence construction and repeated use of some selected beautiful words made her work very special and distinguished her from her contemporaries. Another specialty of Hijab’s stories and novels was that she always used same characters in different situations. Her famous characters Dr. Gaar, Sir Harley, Dadi Zubeida, and Habshan Zonash etc remained with her throughout her writing career which spanned on more than 60 years. Yet her readers were never bored, in fact these characters became a beautiful and memorable part of the legend of Hijab Imtiaz Ali. She was the pioneer romanticist in Urdu literature.

Her novels “Meri Natamaam Mohabbat” & “Zaalim Mohabbat” were huge hits of their time. Both were beautiful modern romantic stories. She published a few short stories collections. Hijab also translated Louisa May Alcott’s famous classic novel “Little Women” into Urdu. Her diaries were also published in magazines and were later compiled in a couple of books. A very special part of her daily diary was during the 1965 Indo Pak war which was later published with the name of “Mombatti ke Samne” (In front of the Candle). It was so named because during the war, blackout was observed at night and Hijab used to write her diary in the candle light. It is a very interesting account of the days of war in Lahore. Hijab was the most natural person in her real life as well as in her writings. She was so upset with the reports of nuclear bombs and chemical weapons and their impact on human beings and natural life that she started researching and wrote her award winning novel “Pagal Khana” (Mad House). She studied renowned psychologist Sigmund Freud in detail and was fascinated by his concept of subconscious. This provided background material for another of her great novels “Andhera Khwab” (Dark Dream). Although, being one of the greatest Urdu writers ever, Hijab had another talent too. She was the first Muslim woman pilot in Indian subcontinent, which even impressed Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah who always used to wonder how she became a pilot.

To link new generation with Hijab Imtiaz Ali, I would remind you of some great childhood or adolescence memories. Do you remember the famous PTV sitcom of late 1990s or early 2000s named “Teen Bata Teen”?? And remember the guy who always revolved a key chain in his finger. His name is Ali Tahir and Hijab was his grandmother. Hijab got married to Imtiaz Ali Taj in early 1930s. You must remember Imtiaz Ali Taj from your Urdu course. He was the person behind Chacha Chakkan and Anarkali. He was a renowned journalist and also wrote for radio and films. They had only one daughter Yasmeen Tahir who later on became one of the most famous voices of Radio Pakistan. Yasmeen’s husband Naeem Tahir is a great television artist (Shan and Fawad Khan’s father in film “Khuda Ke Liye”).

Hijab died in March 1999. She spent last years of her life in a comfortable home in Model Town, Lahore with her children. In her real life, Hijab was a critical thinker and a very sensitive person. Her style of thinking and vision was different from ordinary people. Very small details affected her. That is why she used to get upset with minor disturbances in her environment. Model Town, Lahore has been the scene of some major terrorist attacks in past few years. Sometimes I think how Hijab would’ve felt after hearing the explosions and seeing broken glass of her room window.

The Queen of Urdu Romanticism rests in peace in Lahore.