Altaf Fatima facts for kids

Altaf Fatima (Urdu: الطاف فاطمہ; born June 10, 1927 – died November 29, 2018) was a famous Pakistani writer. She wrote many novels and short stories. She was also a teacher who specialized in the works of Muhammad Iqbal, a famous poet.

Altaf Fatima was born in Lucknow, which was part of British India at the time. When India was divided in 1947, she moved to Lahore, Pakistan. There, she studied at the University of the Punjab and earned her master's degree.

Her novel Dastak Na Do (which means "Do not Knock") is considered one of the most important books in the Urdu language. This book was even made into a TV show in Pakistan. A shorter version of it was also published in a magazine called Herald.

In 2018, Altaf Fatima won an award for her book Deed Wadeed at the 9th Karachi Literature Festival. She passed away later that year.

Works

Altaf Fatima wrote many books during her life. She wrote novels and collections of short stories. She also translated many books from other languages into Urdu.

Novels

Here are some of the novels she wrote:

• Nishaan-i-Mehfil (1975)
• Dastak Naa Do (1964) – This book was translated into English as The One Who Did Not Ask.
• Chalta Musafir (1981)
• Khwabgar (2008)

Collection of short stories

Altaf Fatima also wrote many short stories. These were collected into books like:

• Woh Jissay chaha gaya(1969)
• Jab Deewarein Girya Karti Hain (1988)
• Taar-i-Ankaboot (1990)
• Deed Wadeed (2017)
• Gawahi Akhir e Shab Ki (2018)

Translations

Altaf Fatima was also a talented translator. She translated many famous books into Urdu, including:

• Naghmay ka Qatal (Urdu translation of Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird)
• Moti (Urdu translation of The Pearl by John Steinbeck)
• Haveli ke Ander (Urdu translation of Inside the Haveli by Rama Mehta)
• Zaitoon ke Jhund (2016) (Urdu translation of Santa Claus in Baghdad by Elsa Marston)

See also

In Spanish: Altaf Fatima para niños

• List of Pakistani writers