LUCKNOW: Crime web series on popular platforms like Netflix and Amazon draw an avid viewership in India. But much before their advent Indian readers got addicted to the crime plots woven by the
master storyteller Surendra Mohan Pathak
. In the 80s and 90s, his modestly priced novels were in high demand. Passengers nestled in their berths lost in the gripping pages of the novel bought from the railway station kiosk was a common sight in that era.
And the books are still as popular in the digital age. This is what makes Surendra Mohan Pathak or SMP special. He has retained both: flourish of the pen and a devoted fan following. India’s Mario Puzo has 300 books to his credit, earning him the sobriquet ‘King of
crime fiction
’.
In a candid online session with his fans in Lucknow on Saturday, Pathak said, “I’m not a writer. I’m a businessman and my trade is writing.” Asked about his undiminished popularity among the readers for the past six decades, the Lahore-born, Delhi-bred writer added that readership has to be cultivated. “My books are a consumer product and they keep coming back if it’s good,” said the 80-year-old author.
The session was moderated by Ramalakshmi Vedula and
Kanak Rekha Chauhan
.
Pathak, who along with fellow writers Ved Prakash Sharma and Om Prakash Sharma, formed the famous trinity of Hindi crime fiction, also dwelt on the ghost writing phase in Indian pulp fiction in the 1980s. “Ghost writing was a ploy floated by publishers. It helped them in getting novels by anonymous writers who charged much less. But it was a short-lived phase and failed to eclipse genuine writers like me,” said SMP.
The spinner of the yarn created heroes like Sunil, Vimal, Sudhir and Jeet; his favourite being Sunil Chakravarty. When a fan asked why a Bengali character like Chakravarti speaks chaste Punjabi, Pathak disclosed the secret. “ I was just 23 when I wrote the character of Chakravarty. I found the surname very impressive and stuck to it. Being a Punjabi, I crafted words from my mother tongue for him. It was much later that I learnt that Chakravarty was in fact a Bengali surname, but it was too late to make the amends,” he said with mirth.
The King of fiction made a name in writing while working with the Indian Telephone Industries in Delhi. When the session moderator Ramalakshmi Vedula asked about the difference between Indian and foreign writers, Pathak said: “Foreign writers are more professional, more well-versed with the nuances of the crime world and the weaponry, and are fortunate to get liberal deadlines from their publishers.”
Goaded by his publisher, a reluctant Pathak said yes to writing his autobiography. He was certain it wouldn’t go beyond a handful of pages. But when the wordsmith put pen to paper, he ended up with two volumes. In the twilight of his life, an indefatigable Pathak wants to write as much possible. “Whatever I read will go with me. But what I write will stay with the readers,” said the man as he signed off the session with a gentle smile.
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