But how can a writer of detective fiction be a
benefactor of Urdu?
Ibn-e-Safi’s Urdu detective
novels became so popular throughout Pakistan and India and elsewhere
that many people learned Urdu just to be able to read these novels,
notwithstanding the mutterings of self-acclaimed critics who scorned
these books and called them trash. Ibn-e-Safi played a greater role in
popularising Urdu than the snobbish critics and self-proclaimed
intellectuals whose books put one to sleep immediately and can easily be
used as tranquillisers and about whom Ibn-e-Safi wrote that these
intellectuals had become so much abundant that the government must
consider exporting them.
Detective novel was not a new
genre in Urdu in the early 1950s when Ibn-e-Safi began writing his two
record-breaking series, namely ‘Jasoosi Dunya’ and ‘Imran Series’.
Munshi Teerath Ram Frozpuri’s ‘Laal Kathor’ and Zafar Umer Zubairi’s
‘Neeli Chhatri’ are credited with pioneering detective fiction in Urdu.
But Ibn-e-Safi mixed espionage and suspense with humour and wit in such
a lucid and flowing style that it caught the imagination of the common
reader. He admitted in an article of his that in the beginning he
adapted themes from English detective novels (as did his predecessors),
but later on he based his novels on indigenous plots. Only eight of his
about 240 detective novels have any borrowed ideas. His famous
characters such as Fareedi, Imran, Hameed, X-2, Julia, Safdar, Qasim,
Fayyaz and Sulaiman are a testimony to his originality and creativity.
His characters were as
well-known and popular among his readers as legendary fictional
characters like Sherlock Homes.
Ibn-e-Safi was born on July 26,
1928, at Nara, Allahabad district, UP. His real name was Asrar Ahmed and
he was maternal grandson of Nooh Narvi, a poet of repute from Nara.
Having read at the age of eight ‘Tilism-e-Hosh Ruba’, Urdu’s classical
‘daastaan’, and other literary books at his parental home, Ibn-e-Safi
was later introduced to ‘Azra’ and ‘Azra Ki Wapsi’, a translation of
Rider Haggard’s novel ‘She’. He later began writing with the pen name
Asrar Narvi and, when he was in the seventh grade, wrote a short story
‘Nakaam-e-Aarzoo’ that was published in ‘Shahid’, a weekly from Bombay
(now Mumbai). Aadil Rasheed, the editor of ‘Shahid’, considering
Ibn-e-Safi to be an elderly gentleman wrote before his name in the
magazine ‘nateeja-e-fikr musawwir-e-jazbaat Hazrat Asrar Narvi’ (the
outcome of the thoughts of venerable Asrar Narvi). Later Ibn-e-Safi
began composing poetry and, inspired by Jigar Muradabadi, compiled a
collection of his poetry titled ‘Baazgasht’ which could not be
published.
After graduating from Agra
University and joining a school as a teacher, Ibn-e-Safi launched
‘Nikhat’, a monthly from Allahabad, in collaboration with Ali Abbas
Hussaini, well-known progressive short-story writer of the Urdu
language.
The magazine provided him with
a platform to express his creative talent and his natural wit. He wrote
about 150 satirical articles in ‘Nikhat’ and many of them were parodies
of Urdu’s renowned literary pieces including Baba-e-Urdu’s
‘Qavaed-e-Urdu’, Muhammad Hussain Azad’s ‘Aab-e-Hayat’(Aab-e-Vafaat) and
Qazi Abdul Ghaffar’s ‘Majnoon Ki Diary’ (Deevane Ki Dairy). Later he
wrote parody of Ian Fleming’s ‘James Bond’, titled ‘Thames Fond’. But
regrettably these invaluable pieces have been lost forever, save for a
few of them that were retrieved and published along with some newer
humorous pieces in the collection named ‘Diplomat Murgh’.
In spite of his great talent as
a humorist, Ibn-e-Safi earned his fame as a detective novelist and not
as a humorist. Humour permeates through his detective novels, too, and a
few of his characters, especially Imran and Hameed, are a great source
of wit. He took to writing detective novels when an elderly fellow
lamented the flooding of Urdu literary scene with cheap romances and
pornographic fiction. Ibn-e-Safi argued that it could be changed with
something different, crisp, creative and moralistic. That ‘something
different’ turned out to be his path-breaking detective novels. His
literary genius, greatly helped by his deep study of classics and
imaginative fiction and a keen sense of humour, created unique
characters like Fareedi and Hameed and he launched from Allahabad a
series of detective novels ‘Jasoosi Dunya’ and it caught on.
Ibn-e-Safi migrated to Pakistan
in 1952 and settled in Karachi. Here he created another series ‘Imran
Series’ and began publishing a novel a month, besides ‘Jasoosi Dunya’.
Soon he was one of the most widely read Urdu authors and people waited
for his new novel impatiently. In the early 1960s, he fell ill and could
not write anything for about three years. After his recovery when he
resumed writing the reception of his new novel from his fans was so
overwhelming that it had to be reprinted within a fortnight, though it
was published simultaneously in India and Pakistan. Many of his novels
were translated into other languages if the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent,
including Hindi and Gujarati.
Ibn-e-Safi had an ear for music
too and when his novel was made into a movie (‘Dhamaka’), he
experimented with its music. He got Mir Taqi Mir’s famous ghazal ‘Ulti
Ho Gaen Sab Tadbeeren …’ put to western music and had it recited as a
sonnet. Ibn-e-Safi had a keen interest in painting and also did quite
good abstracts. The well-read person that he was, he had studied
psychology and intended to write a book ‘Aadmi Ki Jaren’ (The Roots of
Man) on human psychology but could not finish it.
In spite of all the fame and
celebrity status, Ibn-e-Safi was a humble soul and abhorred ostentation
and pretentiousness. He was publicity-shy and did not publish his
photographs on his books, though he received thousands of letters
requesting him to do so. Ultimately he gave way to the pressure but
remained ever so unassuming. Despite being very popular and well-known,
he never asked for any favours, neither did he ever try to influence
anybody for some worldly gains. Rather, he was conned by some of his
acquaintances.
It was announced some time back
that a collection of his poetry, ‘Mata-e-qalb-o-nazar’, would be brought
out, but the proposed publication did not see the light of day. An MPhil
thesis was written on Ibn-e-Safi’s literary services about a decade ago,
but it has not yet been published in book form.
Ibn-e-Safi died of pancreatic
cancer in Karachi on July 26, 1980.
Correction by Dr. Rauf Parekh
drraufparekh@yahoo.com
Read the comments of
Dr. Shershah Syed
