Identity: Popular novelist and prolific writer

Khan Mahboob Tarzi is counted among those Urdu novelists who achieved remarkable popularity among the general reading public. He belonged to the Tatarzai tribe of Afghanistan, which is why he used “Tarzi” with his name. His ancestors migrated and settled in Lucknow.

Khan Mahboob Tarzi was born in 1910 in the Hussain Ganj area of Lucknow. He received his early education at Wesley Mission School and later passed high school from Ameer-ud-Daulah Islamia College. He then went to Aligarh Muslim University, where he earned a B.Sc. degree. He began his literary career with short stories, which were published in leading literary magazines of the time such as Zamana, Nairang-e-Khayal, Aalamgir, and Monthly Saqi.

His professional life was marked by a wide variety of experiences. After completing his education, he worked for some time as a supervisor in a lock-manufacturing factory in Aligarh and later became a storekeeper in the army. He also tried his hand in the film industry, worked as an assistant in Calcutta’s Kardar Company, and presented a dance and music programme titled Paristan with R. P. Bhargava. For some time, he was associated with the Lucknow Radio Station and was later transferred to Delhi. In 1941, he left this job and rejoined the army. In 1944, he was transferred to the U.P. Touring Drama Company, which entertained soldiers. After World War II, he worked with Sine Tone Film Company, but this experience too did not last long. In 1948, he established his own film company named “Gandhi Kala Kendra,” but it also failed to succeed.

Tarzi was also interested in translation and journalism. He worked for newspapers such as Roznama Awadh, Urdu, and others. Eventually, he left journalism and devoted himself entirely to novel writing. He had a long association with Naseem Inhonvi, and most of his novels were published by Naseem Book Depot. His association with the publisher lasted from 1933 to 1957, though there were occasional differences.

At that time, Lucknow’s literary scene included novelists like Mael Malihabadi, Salamat Ali Mehdi, Nadim Sitapuri, Wahshat Mahmoodabadi, Shaukat Thanvi, and Mujahid Lakhnavi. Publishing houses such as Naseem Book Depot, Maktaba Kalyan, Idara-e-Farogh-e-Urdu, Parwaz Book Depot, Novel Ghar, and Ilmistan were also very active. One remarkable aspect of Tarzi’s career is that his novels were published by many institutions, and his popularity led to the establishment of several new publishing houses. In 1957, he left Naseem Book Depot and joined Idara-e-Farogh-e-Urdu.

Tarzi was famous for his extraordinary speed of writing. The exact number of his novels has always been debated—some estimate two hundred, others two hundred and fifty, and some even more.

Despite receiving limited attention from serious literary critics, Khan Mahboob Tarzi remains one of the most popular Urdu novelists. His novels were widely read, repeatedly reprinted, and secured a permanent place in the publishing history of Urdu fiction.

Death: Khan Mahboob Tarzi passed away in 1960.