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.
[quote post=”266″]i got some of his khas numbers[/quote]
I am forgetting but are not khas numbers in which both jamshed and kamran mirza’s family worked together?
In my view and estimate, Mr Ishtiaq Ahmed, a matric pass unemployed youth with weird religious ideas, had only one purpose… to instill an irrational intolerance in the young Pakistani mind which sought to equate Pakistan and Pakistani nationalism with some sort weird fundoo bigotry (the same sort that opposed the creation of Pakistan in 1947 mind you- in form of deobandis and what not)..
His novels were dose of lies, propaganda and hatred not just against “anti-Islamic” forces, but those Muslims who disagreed with his fanatically Islamist ideas…. hence Ahmadis (who were in the fore front of the Pakistan movement) were reinvented as enemies of Pakistan… I consider people like Ishtiaq Ahmad a bane for Pakistaniat .. god save us from such people.
On the other hand… Ibn-e-Safi’s “Imran Series” was a the real thing and did not promote the cause of irrational bigotry.
Wow…… its been a while since I read that name. I use to adore his novels and read them when I was really young. I must say through his work, I greatly imporved my Urdu Reading and got into the habbit of reading Urdu newsppaers. With our education system in English Language, I think all kids find it hard to develope any sort of Urdu skills.
However, I really wondered what happened to him. To be honest, I had quite forgotten about him and never really tried to look up his work. As I grew, I got out of reading Fiction, hence stopped reading all Fiction Work, but I would always think of how Ishtiaq Ahmed completetly disappeared. And I wonder if kids these days even have access to his stuff. His work should probably be marketed properly. There is some good revenue for Freozons in this!!
SALAM all.
i remember the days when i w as young, i had very good english but unfortunately very bad urdu writing and then somebody give me ISHTIAQ ahmed novel when i was like 12 and after reading the first novel i got hooked, i remember spending thousands of ruppes to colect all his novels, reading about mehmood farroq farzana, but the best were shoki brothers, they didnt knew how to fight and use their wits to fight,. and there mother always being greedy, :-).. but since i moved to america ihad to donate them all to library. :-(
his characters were larger then life and some to relate it. u can see yourself working as a private eye and have autorization from the president to go any where ad do anything.
even his villians were quite respectable JIRAL C MOON were quite known their strick principals and well not go back on their words of truce.jiral was the most loved villian as he even died and he had to bring himback to life in KHAS NUMBER 35 “: JIRAL” as an alien from another world who looks like him.
i got some of hiskhas numbers, anybody interested to trade or read e-mail me ..
Kinzaamer@yahoo.com
take care ALLAH HAFIZ
p.s: i heard he writes novels now which are 20 pages only, as cost went to high for paper and he wrote more than 800 books 793 to be precise plus extras. a man does get burned out ,, byeyeye
I owned a rental library …(Moon Library), in my School days living in North Nazimabad, Karachi when I was a kid/teenager and had all his collection written between 1976 and 1983…. I was a big fan… I disagree that his following was among age group 10-12 only. My mother (who was a Karachi University graduate, my khalaas and mumaanis and so many other elder would love to read his books as a past time. He was really good… Even now when I am working at a high level in corporate America, I end up using some of the rational and analytical and skills learned by reading likes of Ibn-e-Safi, Ishtiaq Ahmed and Maqbool Jehangir …
Some of Ishtiaq Ahmed’s finest works were:
Yeh bachay khatranaak hain, Draikola ka bhoot, Haulnak dhamaky, Sola teer teen fire, Maut ka khauf, Maut ka jazeera, Jeeral ka mansooba, Kali Ankh, Waadi-e-dehshat, Malaasha ka zalzalaa, Surkh Teer (series of four), Hawa key qaidi, Purasraar aghwa (series of four), Kali Kitaab..
Practically his earlier work (written between 70’s and early 80’s is all worth redaing
Some of the villains he created larger then life till I was in know … Kali -ankah, Jeeraal, Jeetaal, Altaanio, Anaasha…. I think he created some more in later series
For those who want to know… he is back to writing… but his latest books (I was in Pakistan last year and picked some of his latest novels just to rekindle) are disappointing … and I don’t think its because I have grown up as I also got a few older ones and they were as interesting…. I guess what it is that he used all his ideas … writing 800 novels and trying to come up with newer stories is not a joke..
I agree that he deserves some kind of recognition… we know if were in West he would have been J K Rowllin kinda millionaire
Some facts
– Ishtiaq Ahjmed wrote some books for elders as well.. more like a bit rated PG 13 kind of detective novel. ‘Lohey ki Larki’ comes to mind.
– His characters ‘Inspector Jamshed’ three kids with Professor Daud, Khan Rahman were duplicated by himslef into Inspector Kamran Mirza, three kids and Munnawar ali Khan….. (I don’t why) but it made the ‘Khaas numbers’ more fun…
– Shaoki series of five teenage brothers starting a P.I. agency was based on his own family characters…. this one was more close to reality and life…. it would have been a great success if translated into other languages..
More importantly he was inspired by the great late Ibne-Safi. This is evident in his characters. He developed his character traits around Imran, Col Faridi and Captain Hameed but just distributed into more characters (Intelligence of Imran and Faridi to Farzana and Farhat, wit of Hamed to Farooq and Aftab, quickness to Mehmood and Asif etc) Inspector Jamshed /Kamran Mirza were all knowing like Faridi. Jamshed even could dodge bullets like Ali Imran and so on…
– It seems he had a subtle bias himself towards his primary characters (Inspector Jamshed and Co) it seems. In many ‘Khaas numbers’ when all teams would be together solving a global crime, Inspector Jamshed would edge out Kamran Mirza on skills… (Like the target shooting competition on the sea ship in ‘Waadi-e-Dehshat’,
Lastly, I agree we need to make this literature available for next generations…. I would Inshallah take that as a challenge and a project to work on getting something online in next year or so
Mehdi Hasnain, Boston (MA)