Urdu Novelist Izhar Asar whose Repertoire included Crime, pulp & Science Fiction died

Writer of nearly 1000 novels in Urdu Izhar Asar died at 82 on 15 April 2011. Asar’s repertoire included crime, pulp and science fiction. He was also the man who was inspired enough to teach himself Kathak, and perform for nearly 10 years. Asar was a rare Muslim who, after Partition, migrated from Lahore, where he had gone to live in the 1940s to India.

After Partition, he was picked by Anwar Ali Dehlvi to edit Chilman. He edited several prominent Urdu journals of his time. He peaked in the 1950s when his Nagin series was released.

Asar who stayed in touch with the latest scientific developments in the west introduced science through fiction to his readers through his simple but sophisticated style. His first science fiction novel Aadhi Zindagi was published in 1955. He also created a landmark collection of science stories and poems in La-shareek (the non-participant).

As a detective writer, Asar’s stature in the Urdu world was comparable to that of Ibn Safi.
Asar also wrote social drama, with sex-workers at the centre of the plot. Do Aankhein and Meherbaan Kaise Kaise were big hits.

He was a rationalist and a progressive. He was also the part of the Progressive Writers’ Association, PWA. He was honoured with the Ghalib Award in the year 2006.