ISLAMABAD, Jul 26 (APP): Best-selling and prolific fiction
Urdu writer, novelist and poet of Urdu Ibn-e-Safi was remembered on the occasion of his birth and death anniversary on Tuesday.
Ibn-e-Safi was the pen name of Israr Ahmad who wrote from the 1940s in India, and later Pakistan after the independence.
His main works were the 125-book series Jasoosi Dunya (The Spy World) and the 120-book Imran Series, with a small canon of satirical works and poetry. His novels were characterized by a blend of mystery, adventure, suspense, violence, romance and comedy, achieving massive popularity across a broad readership in South Asia.Ibn-e-Safi was born on July 26,1928 in the town ‘Nara’ of district Allahabad, India.
Ibn-e-Safi started writing poetry in his childhood and soon
earned critical acclaim in whole South-Asian community. After completing his Bachelor of Arts, he started writing short stories, humour and satire under various names such as “Siniki (Cynic) Soldier” and “Tughral Farghan.”
In the Nakhat magazines, he published several satirical
articles which commented on various topics ranging from politics to literature to journalism. His early works in the 1940s included short stories, humour and satire.
In 1955, Ibn-e-Safi started the Imran Series, which gained as
much fame and success as Jasoosi Dunya. Ibn-e-Safi’s novels – characterized by a blend of adventure, suspense, violence, romance and comedy – achieved massive popularity by a broad readership.
So strong was Ibn– Safi’s impact on the Urdu literary scene
that his novels were translated into several regional languages. It was not unusual for Safi’s books to be sold at black market prices in Pakistan and India, where they were originally published every month.
He died of pancreatic cancer on July 26, 1980 in Karachi,
which was coincidentally his 52nd birthday.
