The works of one of the subcontinent's
best-known fiction writers Ibne Safi, who had a cult following including
the likes of Agatha Christie, will now be available in English.
Safi's "Jasoosi Duniya" is a dysfunctional
world of titanic villains, mad-genius detectives, and alluring femme
fatales and a series spanning 125 novels published between 1952 and
1979.
Four titles ? "Poisoned Arrow", "Smokewater",
"The Laughing Corpse" and "Doctor Dread" ? translated by Urdu scholar
Shamsur Rahman Faruqi and released here by Safi's son, Ahmad Safi, have
been brought out by Blaft Publications and Westland.
Agatha Christie once said of Safi, "I don't
know Urdu, but have knowledge of detective novels in the sub-continent.
There is only one original writer ? Ibne Safi." His "Jasoosi Duniya" and
"Imran" series have brought him fame as a writer of crime and detective
stories.
Translating Safi's works was both easy and
difficult for Faruqi.
"It was easy in the sense that there was no
complexity in Safi's writings. But translating the Urdu humour which he
used so often and the cultural aspects were difficult," Faruqi told PTI.
"My basic aim was to keep the language
correct," he said.
According to Ahmad Safi, Faruqi has done a
great job. "Translating Ibne Safi was a challenging job because of the
frequent use of Urdu couplets and wry humour.
"I hope this effort will bring all of us closer
to my father. This is a great step and will help in bringing to the
forefront his works and also address a large audience that was
previously alien to my father's writings," he said.
According to Westland CEO Gautam Padmanabhan,
Safi continues to have a strong fan following among Urdu readers and
these translations will make his works available to a larger audience
across the country.
"The choice of publishing Ibne Safi's works was
due to a co-publishing arrangement we have entered into with Blaft.
They earlier published the very successful anthology of Tamil pulp
fiction and based on its success started scouting for pulp fiction in
other languages as well," Padmanabhan said.
"We would first like to see how these four titles perform in the market.
Depending on their success and in consultation with Blaft, we would
certainly look at translating more titles. Ibne Safi was very prolific
and there are more than 120 novels to choose from for the future," he
said.
"He is somewhat legendary in Urdu reading
circles. My own Punjabi uncles used to hide his novels behind their math
textbooks and read him in class. After Blaft started work on Tamil pulp
fiction, we started asking around about detective fiction in other
languages, and when you ask that question about Urdu the first name you
hear from everyone is Ibne Safi," says Rakesh Khanna, founder and editor
of Blaft.
One of the most prolific Urdu writers of the
20th century, Safi was born as Asrar Ahmed in Allahabad in 1928. He
started writing at a young age. When he was in class VII, his first
story appeared in the weekly Shahid.
During the independence movement and
afterwards, he was also branded a progressive for his ideas, and
warrants were issued in India for his arrest.
Then in March 1952, he began the detective
novel series "Jasoosi Duniya". Containing his original characters,
Inspector Faridi and Sergeant Hameed, the first novel was "Dilaer Mujrim"
(The Brave Criminal) was published in March 1952. The central idea and
theme of this novel was taken from Victor Gunn's novel "Ironsides Lone
Hands". However, the main characters were Safi's own creation.
After finishing his education, Safi migrated to
Pakistan with his mother and sister in August 1952. He founded Asrar
Publications and started publishing "Jasoosi Duniya" simultaneously from
Pakistan and India. The political border between the two countries did
not divide the relationship he had formed with his readers.
In 1955, Safi created a new character, Imran,
and started publishing the Imran Series. The first novel of this series
"Khaufnaak Imarat" (The Frightening Building) was published in August
1955 by A & H Publications, Pakistan whereas the Indian edition was
published in November 1955 by Monthly Nikhat, Allahabad. He died on July
26, 1980.
http://www.ptinews.com/Bookworm/_216830
