Khauf Ka Saudagar (Hindi)
Ibn E Safi
2009
Harper Collins
pp. 132
Khauf ka Saudagar (Literally translated as Trader of Fear) is a 2009 thriller book by Ibn E Safi. It is a concise book both in terms of the story as well as the size of the paperback. It dawned on my why I used to often hear of pocket books when I was growing up. Though I must admit that my friends and family have told me that this is a little bigger than a pocket book.
This is my first reading of Hindi writing of this genre. It was quite amusing. The Hindi is mixed with Urdu and the foreword explains that this is unique to the author to write in both languages. I think the two have overlapped. This may be a problem of translation but I actually quite enjoyed it.
The story revolves around the protagonist, Mr. Imran, who works in the Department of Investigation. Somewhere I remember reading in the book that there is a whole Imran series although, when trying to locate it again, I couldn’t find it. So Mr. Imran is not one to follow rules in solving crimes, he is strong, aggressive and has a way with women, or at least the woman protagonist in the book. The story is typically that of a larger than life hero who fights all the villains by himself, and a non existent heroine who does little more than look pretty and be anxious over the safety of the hero. And of course, everything works out well in the end. There were no song and dance sequences but this could very well have been the quintessential Bollywood film that I grew up watching.
The overall experience of reading can best be described as amusing. I couldn’t get over either the story or the expression. I have not even tried to make sense of the story line but I don’t think that is the aim of the book anyway. So it has been quite a bit of fun reading it.
P.S. As you can see, the cover is unbelievably hideous!