Ahmad Kamal Faridi (Inspector Faridi, later Colonel Faridi) is a
fictional spy and crime-fighter, famous as the lead character of the
Urdu spy novel series Jasoosi Duniya (The World of Espionage).
Faridi is the only son of
Nawab Azeezuddin Khan, who left him a fortune on his demise. His father
was an aristocrat, famous for his adventurous nature. Faridi is often
regarded as a copy of his father in looks and instincts. Ibne Safi
mentions several of Nawab Sahab's friends who come in contact with
Faridi. Little detail is given on the rest of Faridi's family.
Faridi is a highly educated man who has a passion for solving mysteries.
He does not join the police department for monitory reasons. According
to him, he does not start out at a higher post, which could have been
offered to him on a silver platter, because he would not have been able
to do real detective work; he might have ended up doing clerical chores
in some confined office. He always declines offers of promotion. His
senior officers are shown to envy him, as he sometimes works directly
for higher authorities and reports directly to the head of the state.
Inspector Faridi is a well-built, tall, and attractive man whose
physical strength is evident in almost every adventure, especially
whenever he is engaged in an encounter with his opponents. However, it
is his supreme intelligence and remarkable mind that make him stand out
amongst all the other characters of Jasoosi Duniya. Many people
perceive him as grumpy and old, but he is in his early thirties
(thirty-two to be exact, refer to Dilaer Mujrim). The most
prominent features on his face are his eyes. He appears to be a sleepy,
lazy, and careless businessman (Zameen Kay Baadal). However,
those famous eyes are very deceiving. Behind them is the most alert mind
of the century. Few people are able to talk to him while looking
straight into his eyes. He has a strong, powerful build like a lion, but
is as swift as a leopard. Leonard, an infamous criminal, has both his
ankles broken by Faridi’s bare hands. He has also mastered the art of
dodging bullets and is twice as good as Sing Hee’s “Sing Art.”
His methods of detection are mysterious. Throughout the course of the
narration, he seems to be on the sidelines of the whole game. Yet in the
end he comes in and resolves the mystery in such a way that his stealth
and cunning art leave the reader mystified. Sometimes he employs
psychological means to subdue, deceive and defeat his enemies. In one of
the stories (Baygunaah Mujrim), he makes a very evil and
anti-social villain beg for mercy when Faridi tortures him with water
droplets constantly falling on his forehead for hours at stretch.
Faridi’s character has a multitude of inspiring qualities. He believes
in leading life by strict rules, controlled emotions, and objectivity.
His abstinence from drugs, non-conjugal sex, and controlled desires show
the strength of his character. Other strong traits include respect of
the law, nationalism, observation, common sense, and optimism.
His assistant Hameed calls him “Father Hardstone” because he never
reveals his emotions. He is shown to be immune to the tricks of the
trade of the fairer sex, and never seems even a little bit inclined
towards them. And if he ever does seem so, it is only to deceive his
opponents and camouflage his other activities.
Father Hardstone was, however, once involved with Nawab Rasheed uz
Zaman’s daughter Ghazala. The romance did not last long. Faridi does not
like talking about his affair with Ghazala, and always contains his
emotions. He realizes that his life cannot afford to include a strong
emotion such as love, which could eventually become his greatest
weakness in solving mysteries and catching culprits. The fact that he
does not choose to fall in love with a member of the opposite sex does
not mean that he cannot love, or is not affected by it. Rajkumari Tara (Zehreela
Aadmi) was one of the unfortunate girls who loses her life for
Faridi. The account of her devastating destruction leaves Faridi
trembling and astounded.
Faridi is also unique in his selection of hobbies. His major interests
include reading and domesticating dogs and snakes. He seems to know
several languages and is found reading books in different languages,
including German. Many breeds of dogs can be found in his enormous
doghouse. He seems to possess some famous species of dogs, such as the
African Yellow Dingo, German Shepherd, Greyhound, Bloodhound, etc. He
takes the same approach with pet snakes. Black Mamba and Indian Cobra
are some of the more dangerous kinds that he can handle with ease due to
his training with reptiles. One of the most distinguished arts that he
has mastered is incapacitating snakes by grabbing them by the tail and
jolting them. His expertise in snakes and their venom is evident in many
of the adventures.
Like Sherlock Holmes, Faridi maintains a regular laboratory at home in
which we find him busy with secret experiments. He can be found spending
long hours there over the course of different cases. He is an expert in
plastic makeup, and can change the complete personality of his subject
through his art. Readers have been surprise numerous times when Faridi
tears off the makeup from his face, for they realize that one of the bad
guys was actually Faridi himself in disguise.
Faridi lives in a lavish mansion of gigantic proportion. His residence
encompasses a backyard of several acres. Many rooms, including bedrooms,
living room, dining room, study, library, laboratory, and servant
quarters, have specifically been mentioned in his novels. A front porch
for parking and a huge garage for his cars is also part of the same
residence.
Faridi drives models of several state-of-the-art auto brands of his
time, namely Cadillac, Buick, Lincoln, and Aston Martin. In addition to
his regular means of conveyance, Faridi's garage carries several
vehicles for different occasions. For example, in Jungle Ki Aag,
Faridi preps up a Jeep with machine guns and other arms. On several
occasions, he repaints his Fiat for concealment before going on a
specific mission. Faridi also owns a boat (Saatwaan Jazeerah)
that is used once or twice to chase down criminals.
The title “Colonel” is an honorary, much awaited title that he
reluctantly accepts after he catches a very contemptible character,
Gerald Shastri, in Jungle Ki Aag. Hameed also receives the title
of “Captain” at the same time. Faridi also possesses “special
permission” from the President to interfere in any matter that requires
his attention. Many of his colleagues, and even some senior officers,
envy him because of the endowments that he receives either by
inheritance or by travail.
Colonel Faridi's wealth is inconceivable. The reader gradually realizes
the extent of Faridi’s great wealth, an aspect of his character that
makes him so mystical. From the owner of expensive vehicles, Ibne Safi
eventually takes Faridi to a level that is just unprecedented – an owner
of an independent state (refer to Zehreela Aadmi and
Baychara/ree).
Faridi is also the head of a secret
crime-fighting organization called “Black Force.” As opposed to other
organizations in Ibne Safi’s novels, most members of this team know the
identity of their boss. However, the members of Black Force are so
secretive about their identity to outsiders that even Hameed,
who believes he is Father Hardstone’s closest companion, gets irritated.
Black Force is an international organization and its members are found
all over the world. These members are usually recognized by code names
such as B11, B2, etc. Not much is mentioned about the working and
structure of this organization. It is probably Faridi’s best-kept
secret.
