Daily Times

Tell us about your journey and your foray into the field of writing and TV hosting. How did it all begin for you?

It is a long story and is indeed worthy of an entire book. In short, I was in England in 1958. At that time, a new festival was happening in the Soviet Union where participants from all over the world had been invited. So, somehow I got to take part as well by a fluke. It was the time of the Iron Curtain, so nobody was allowed to go in. So we were about 2,000 people from Britain. We were issued special passports. I must’ve stayed there for three weeks. So when I got back to London, I had the chance of meeting Majid Nizami sahib. He had gotten to know about me being from Pakistan and have been to the Soviet Union. So he contacted me and asked me if I would like to write a travelogue on my trip. That was my first travelogue. So when my sabbatical in London ended, I got back to Pakistan and wrote two or three stories in English in 1969 where Nikle Teri Talash May was about my experiences that I wanted to share with everyone. So, the process started continuing. Alongside, TV was also happening for me as an actor and as a playwright. Finally, I went into hosting. I was the first morning show transmission host. So basically, it’s a long story. Once a journalist approached me and said, “I would like to know details about your life.” I was 77 at that time. Now, I’m 78 Masha Allah, so I said to her, “I’m 77. It’s going to take me 77 years to give you details about my life.” My life has been all about travelling, vagabonding, media, writing, etc. I have never done a 9 to 5 job in my life. I have always freelanced. Among other achievements, just two years back, I was invited by the Moscow State University to give lectureship. So I went there for a month.

How were you as a student? Had you always been into creative writing?

Not particularly writing, but more into watching movies, going to the cinemas and vagabonding and just wasting myself.

Tell us about your fondness for travelling. Do you really consider yourself a travel enthusiast?

I call myself a vagabond, because that is what vagabonds do. They keep going from one street to the other. I have travelled the northern regions of Pakistan a lot and have written a great deal on them as well.

‘There has to be something twisted somewhere in your mind to produce the kinds of things I have with my pen’

Did you never consider keeping a 9am to 5pm desk job?

My inclination was never towards keeping a job like that. Even if I had kept a job like that, it would’ve been fine with me. I did help out my father in his business for a while, though. He was into farming of agricultural goods like seeds, wheat, etc.

What could’ve been an alternate profession for you?

I don’t know. I could’ve been a musician or simply a beggar somewhere. I could’ve been anything.

How supportive was your family when you decided to take up writing and media as a profession?

We were six siblings. I’m the eldest and was loved by all. My father was also a very creative person. He must have written about 40 books on agriculture. He also authored and published a monthly magazine. So, throughout my childhood, we had access to various magazines and books. After I got married, my wife was a big influence on my career. There came a point where I had to choose between writing or joining my father’s business for a steady income. So my wife told me that even though the sensible thing to do right now for you is to join the business, but I know you wouldn’t be happy doing that and I want you to be happy with what you do. So I opted for writing. The first five to six years were very hard. But then owing to my passion, it all got easier. Nothing in my life has ever been planned.

Has money ever been a priority for you?

If money had ever been my priority, I could’ve opted for various other professions.

Have you ever faced criticism or negative feedback on your columns, books or other writings? How do you respond to it?

You see, real literature is always controversial. It’s there to reach out to the masses and speak on their behalf. So those who are against a change are always seen opposing to that literature. It’s happened to me a lot of times when I have written against dictatorship, or the society in general, talking about narrow mindedness, etc. So yes, I do get negative feedback on that. There have been times when I have also faced threats. My friends keep telling me I’ll do good if I join politics. I mean, these days every Tom, Dick and Harry is into politics. I was offered a Pakistan People’s Party ticket once for the National Assembly.

‘If money had ever been my priority, I could’ve opted for various other professions’

You have travelled far and wide around the world. Which has been your favourite vacation spot?

I don’t go for vacations. Uganda was good. I don’t go for trips like normal people do. Because I don’t consider myself normal. Normal people can’t observe and think like I do and put it to pen. There has to be something twisted somewhere in your mind to produce the kinds of things I have with my pen. We do see the same things, but the window in a writer’s mind is different.

Growing up, who have been some writers that you greatly admired?

Up until grade 8, I was not into Urdu literature at all. I did read magazines, etc though. I enjoyed reading Shafiqur Rahman, Rajinder Singh Bedi, etc. I loved reading philosophy and there’s a long list of writers in that too. Haruki Murakami is one writer, I enjoy reading.

                                    Achievements

THE MASTER OF ALL TRADES
The legendary Mustansar Hussain Tarar is a man of many talents and has mastered all of them. He is an author, a travel enthusiast, a writer, a novelist, a columnist as well as a TV host.

AN ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER
Mustansar Hussain Tarar has written more than 50 books including novels and a collection of short stories in his career. He also became a television actor and was, for many years, a host of Pakistan Television Corporation’s live morning show ‘Subah Bakhair’ (Good Morning). His unconventional and down-to-earth style of hosting earned him great popularity among people from all circles of life. He is one of the most recognised personalities among children as he spent a big part of transmission time addressing children exclusively.

HONOURED AT HOME
Tarar has been bestowed with the prestigious Pride of Performance award in Literature.

Published in Daily Times, August 28^th 2017.