Over dinner sometime last week, conversation turned to an apparent lack of reading culture in Pakistan. Participants questioned if anybody went to the bookstores any more, and why Urdu bazaars in large cities remained largely deserted until the school seasons came (though I was told Lahore now has some nice book stores). All the talk about developing reading habits in children reminded me of one of my favorite authors from childhood: Ishtiaq Ahmed.
Before there were J.R.R.Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Hardy Boys or even Archies Comics in my life, there was Ishtiaq Ahmed: a brilliant mastermind who authored hundreds, if not thousands, of suspense thriller novels in Urdu for kids during the 1970s, 80’s and into the 1990s. (I am told the actual number is closer to 400).
It is hard not to say that I grew up wanting to be like Mahmood, Farooque aur Farzana, the three main characters in his most famous series: Inspector Jamshed. Many of us will remember owning crates full of Ishtiaq Ahmed books – kids in my mohalla even organized a book club where we loaned our Ishtiaq Ahmed books to each other for 25 paisas per novel.
Ishtiaq Ahmed was one hell of a prolific writer. His books were published at a rate faster than I could save money from my lunch allowance to buy them (hence the need for the Mohalla library!). My mamoon swore by Ibn-e-Safi’s Imran series, but Ishtiaq Ahmed was the one who got me hooked onto reading. I remember reading his Khaas (special) novels with more than 2000-3000 pages until late into the night. He was among the most effective and successful Jasoosi novelists in Pakistan.
Even though his detective teams also included Inspector Kamran and the Shoki brothers, it was the Inspector Jamshed team (and the series built around their escapades to protect world peace) that captured the imagination of several generations in Pakistan. The series featured a detective, inspector Jamshed, who solved crimes with the help of his three children, Mehmood, Farooq & Farzana. Inspector Jameshed hated evil and in his crime-fighting he had not only his children to help, but also a retired army officer, Khan Rehman, and Professor Daod.
If I remember correctly, Mehmood was always the smart one, the trio’s leader with brilliant ideas, Farooque was the street smart, witty one, and Farzana always knew when danger was lurking around the corner. And the evil? Jaral, who appeared in several novels, was the number one enemy. Inspector Jamshed’s enemies were not just after money or power – they were morally corrupt and somehow always had some external forces helping them in their evil plans. It has been said that Ishtiaq Ahmed was not very subtle in disguising his resentment towards states or actors that he deemed anti-Islamic.
Ishtiaq Ahmed created characters that were larger than life – but they were inspirational for young men and women of that age and time. Inspector Jamshed, Mehmood, Farooq and Fazana were heroes, who were smart, witty, brave, and fought for the righteousness. Ishtiaq Ahmed wrote beautifully in a language that many now do not study for its poetry or prose. His contribution to Urdu literature, unfortunately, has not been acclaimed in a deserving manner, but his fans remember him well.
Statements like “Inspector Jamshed kee Uqaabee nigahon ney mauqay kee nazakat ko bhaanp liyaa” are a distant memory, but still a charming one. Maybe my kids will also dig through my stash of Ishtiaq Ahmed novels like I went through my mother collection of Pakeeza digests. They will find lots of incredible stories. And they will learn why I love the Urdu language.
For the uninitiated and the fans, a website advertises that you can buy his novel there. Alternatively, contact Feroze Sons in Lahore.
Dr. Bilal Zuberi is Vice President of Product Development at GEO2 Technologies in Boston (MA), USA. See more at Bilal’s blog: BZNotes.
Its unfortunate to say that the urdu literature and urdu adab is dying a slow death in Pakistan.
Internet and cable TV killed whatever was left of the reading culture in Pakistan and the book profiteers made sure no one buys books in Pakistan where a poorly printed book with bad binding which breaks loose in 2 weeks is sold for ‘bata’prices of like Rs.375 and Rs.430.
Secondly access to public libraries is restricted and few people make it to whatever few of them are left there.
To become a library member,the usual requirement is for the membership form to be ‘attested by a Grade 17 officer’ accompanied by a hefty deposit and a couple of photos,that too attested all that and more.
Pakistanis read the least amount of books in Asia(survey) and we also print the least amount of prints every year.So I would say there are too many issues and obstacles hindering the growth of reading culture in Pakistan.
I meant a physical copy that you can rent from a library, they will mail it to you, and you then send it back when you are done.
The Netflix model refers to a company in the US which employs this method for movies. People subscribe to the service by paying a monthly fee and then they can get 3 or 4 movies at a time from Netflix. When they are done watching they just mail them back. If such a service was started for Urdu books, esp the Ishtiaq Ahmed type that you don’t necessarily need to own, then it might gain popularity in the Pakistani community.
Maybe its too much of a long shot.
Zuberi saab you mean an online version in which we put scanned copy of novels?
That would create copyright issue
Can there be a Netflix type system in the US/Europe for Pakistanis with children growing up abroad to get Urdu books for themselves or their kids? I notice how friends want me to brng back novels or poetry books for them every time I go to pakistan. Why can’t we create a collection for people to borrow and use?
People do not read anything in Pakistan except Jang or Nawa-e-Waqt.When it comes to text books,I can say few of those study aids or ‘guides’ are all that are popular with students otherwise there is little to be found and even less to read.
Who would buy a book priced at Rs.375 and that too in bad quality printing and poor binding.I’ve been brought up in Pindi and I remember I used to frequent the Sunday old book bazar in Saddar.Pindi has the only such kind that there is.Lahore and Karachi don’t have it.
If video had killed the radio star,we can say video also killed the reading stars.
Where is this picture taken?I suggest when posting photos,the location must also be given.