Writer Surendra Mohan Pathak feels that there has always been a lack of originality in Hindi detective writing. It is because publishing houses do not give new authors a chance, he tells Shrabasti Mallik
For years writers of detective and thriller stories like James Hadley Chase, Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie have kept readers engaged with their sinuous plots, gripping climaxes and intriguing protagonists. In India, there have been writers like Surendra Mohan Pathak charting success in Hindi detective writing. In a career spanning over five decades, Pathak has over 300 detective and thriller books to his credit and the tag of a creator of over six characters to his name. It is not every day that an author like him sits to discuss his style of writing and the inspiration that drives him till date. The author recently attended a talk session at the Oxford bookstore.
He was warm, jovial and witty — everything one would not expect a writer of mystery and detective stories and crime novels to be. Pathak began his career in the early 60s by translating works of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels and novels of James Hadley Chase into Hindi. He realised very early in life that there were very less number of books of the detective and thriller genre in Hindi. That prompted him to translate the English versions. “I have always been interested in detective books and thriller stories. There were many books in that genre in English but I found very little in Hindi. Considering that it is the national language, it was saddening to find that there were so less original Hindi detective stories,” he shared.
The character Sunil Kumar Chakravarty was first created by him in an attempt to introduce an investigator into Hindi literature. After 115 successful books of the Sunil series, he followed up with detective Sudhir Kumar Kohli series, the Vimal series and numerous other characters. Even after so many books and so many characters his readers still want more. What is it about the books that grip the audienceIJ “Andaaz-e-bayan,” smiled the author, “All my characters are poles apart and every book I write is of a different flavour. language, too, plays an important role. Detective Sudhir is based out of Delhi, so he has a Delhi accent and Sunil is an investigative journalist, so he tries to find answers everywhere. If you give readers the same content, that means you are not utilising your creativity.”
According to Pathak there are a lot of young and budding authors keen to write in Hindi but they face a lot of hurdles to get published. He rued that there are so less publishing houses willing to give them a chance. He pointed out the grim reality, “The teeming few Hindi publication houses demand for money to publish a book. Sometimes even to Rs40,000 to 50,000. It is difficult for most of the new writers to give that amount, so they never get published. This ultimately kills the creativity. We authors only crave for appreciation. Money is important but it is not our primary concern. I am here right now but after me there will be no writer of Hindi thriller and investigation.”
Due to this, the number of publishing houses in Hindi, which was around 40 a few years back, has dwindled down to only 15 at present. “Why wouldn’t theyIJ If they do not publish anything, they will eventually run out of business,” he said and added that another possible reason for their decline is the decreasing number of Hindi readers. “The nation is progressing and people are reading more English text. But I believe there will always be lovers of Hindi literature. It will never lose its sheen,” he added.
Pathak has seen the taste of people changing but he has never felt the need to change his style of writing. It took him years of hard work to create a niche for himself and he is happy with his space. My readers are exclusive, he said. “I have been getting feedback ever since I started writing but I have never been asked to write differently. People might have said that one of my books is not good but they have never pointed out to the way I write,” said the septuagenarian. Holding up an English version of his best-selling book Colaba Conspiracy, he said, “It is good to see that people want to read my book in translation but it would be much better if readers of Hindi literature grow.”
He told us that he wants to write till his last day and asserted, “I want the people to say that Pathak died with his shoes on.”
photo Pankaj Kumar