Surender Mohan Pathak

Surender Mohan Pathak (सुरेन्द्र मोहन पाठक ਸੁਰਿਂਦਰ ਮੋਹਨ ਪਾਠਕ) (born 19 February 1940 at Khemkaran, Amritsar, Punjab) is an author of Hindi-language crime fiction with nearly 300 novels to his credit. His writing career, along with his full time job in Indian Telephone Industries, Delhi, began in the early 1960s with his brilliant Hindi translations of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, and the works of James Hadley Chase. He also wrote his "own" James Bond series.

His first short story, "57 saal puraana aadmi" ५७ साल पुराना आदमी "(The Man aged 57)", was published by मनोहर कहानीयां in 1959, and his first full length novel, "Operation Budapest", came out in 1969.

His major work began with what is called the "Sunil" series,सुनील-सीरीज़ which consists of at least 115 novels. Sunil, a debonair and upright investigative journalist for the fictional daily newspaper "Blast", lives in the fictional city of Rajnagar. Sunil has a quixotic nature when it comes to damsels in distress, which happens too often and in pursuit of justice, mostly with help of his best friend Ramakant Malhotra, a dipsomaniac and owner of a bar called Youth Club. Sunil often ends up on the wrong side of the law and has to face Inspector Prabhudayal, the exceptionally strict and incorruptible officer in charge of the homicide division.

The philosopher detective Sudhir Kumar Kohli is another series character of Pathak. This series is totally reciprocal likewise Sunil as in this "dilli ka khaas kism ka haraami" is the hero and likewise Inspector Devender Kumar Yadav who can easily be persuaded to do something dishonest. However the best-known series of novels of Pathak is "Vimal" ( विमल ), a.k.a. "Sardar Surender Singh Sohal" सरदार सुरेन्द्र सिंह सोहल a.k.a. other three dozen names he uses to camouflage his identity in the Mumbai underworld. He has taken up arms against gangsters like Rajbahadur Bakhia, and after killing him, his next avatar Iqbal Singh and then Vyaas Shankar Gajre. The Sardar has associates like Tukaram and his henchmen, like Wagle and Irfan, etc. "Vimal" is not a private detective or police inspector but a criminal wanted in seven states.

Many collections of Joke-books compiled by Pathak have been published.

Many authors have been known to plagiarise or "borrow" heavily from his works

Miscellaneous Facts

*Pathak was the first writer to coin the term company that has today become common slang for Mumbai underworld gangs like D-Company

*The Tandoor scandal in Delhi, in which a man had tried to dispose of the corpse of his victim in a furnace, was an idea taken from Pathak's non-serial novel titled "Mavaali" (मवाली).
*During a recent robbery at UTI Bank, Vikaspuri, a man called [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060529/delhi.htm Sandeep Bhatnagar] looted four million Indian rupees by pretending to be a human bomb. Investigators learned after arresting the culprit that that idea was copied from "Zameer ka Qaidi" ( ज़मीर का क़ैदी ), one of the latest Vimal-series novels. [Vikaspuri bank robbery solved - http://www.hindu.com/2006/05/29/stories/2006052920110300.htm] [UTI bank robbery: "Human Bomb" caught - http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=185047]

Bibliography

List of Vimal-Series Novels

1. Maut ka Khel 2. Daulat aur Khoon 3. Ishtihari Mujrim 4. 65 lakh ki dacaiti 5. Aaj Kattal Ho Ke Rahega 6. Bank Van Robbery 7. Maut Ka Farman 8. Din Dihare Dacoity 9. Asfal Abhiyan 10. Khalee War

(One Set, also published in combination as Karamjale) 11. Har-Jeet 12. Vimal Ka Insaf 13. Maut Ka Nach 14. Khoon Ke Aansu (One Set)

15. Jeena Yahan 16. Marna Yaha (One Set)

17. Chehre pe Chehera 18. Kismat ka Khel

(One Set, also published in combination as Ek Aur Chehra) 19. Pap ki Nagri 20. Lekh ki Rekha (One Set)

21. Jahaj Ka Panchi

22. KhabarDar Shehri 23. Maut Ka Rasta (One Set)

24. Daar Se Bichura

25. Maut Ke Muh Me

(One Set) 26. Ultimatum 27. Sau Crore Ki Gullak 28. Chhey Sir wala Ravan

(One Set)

(24 - 28 is one extended set) 29 Hazaar Hath (single novel) 30. Daman Chakra 31. Chey Crore Ka Murda 32. Jauhar Jawala

(One Set)

(29 - 32 is one extended set) 33. Chandal choukadi 34. Sher Sawari 35. Aag ka Daria

(One Set) 36. Zamir Ka Quaidi

37. Karam Yodha 38. Palatwar

(One Set)

"Khalee War " and "Asfal Abhiyan" are the only two books which feature "Sunil" and "Vimal" both.

Below list is by far contains most of his novels and joke books. Please do not consider the numbering as publication order, because its not.

References