Jungle Mein Lash

Jasoosi Duniya #2

by Ibn-e-Safi

Genres: Fiction, Crime

131 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 1952

About the author

Ibn-e-Safi (also spelled as Ibne Safi) (Urdu: ابنِ صفی) was the pen name of Asrar Ahmad (Urdu: اسرار احمد), a best-selling and prolific fiction writer, novelist and poet of Urdu from Pakistan. The word Ibn-e-Safi is an Arabian expression which literally means Son of Safi, where the word Safi means chaste or righteous. He wrote from the 1940s in India, and later Pakistan after the partition of British India in 1947.

His main works were the 126-book series Jasoosi Dunya (The Spy World) and the 120-book Imran Series, with a small canon of satirical works and poetry. His novels were characterized by a blend of mystery, adventure, suspense, violence, romance and comedy, achieving massive popularity across a broad readership in South Asia.

More information about Ibn-e-Safi can be found on http://www.ibnesafi.info and http://www.wadi-e-urdu.com/

Most of the original first edition title images of his novels on goodreads.com were obtained from Wadi-e-Urdu.com website.

Reviews

[Shabana Mukhtar]

For review of the first story Daler Mujrim, please read this post.

This review is also posted on my blog.
Plot Summary

Khuafnaak Jungle opens as a man, Randheer Singh arrives at a railway station and informs about a dead body in the jungle. When they place party arrives at the jungle, things are not as reported. Suddenly, there's firing. One constable gets hurt but the police party saves itself.

The investigations don't lead to any success, and hence the CBI is roped in. Being observant, Faridi identifies a few misconducts right at the beginning. On surface, it is a murder mystery, who-dun-it, and the culprit isn't hard to guess. The murderer keeps twisting the situations to misguide the investigations. Faridi, however, is undeterred and sets out to unfold the mystery, one clue after the other.

There is a rich landlord Dilbeer Singh; a widow Saroj who was married to a renowned scientist; a girl Bimla who was visiting her friend; and her fiance Randheer Singh who wanted to meet her but loses his life. In the end, it is revealed that a bunch of goons were operating together and killed a bunch of people for secrecy.

Review

I know I claim to love his work, and I am a big fan even though I don't like some of the stories. This one was one of those stories that I hated. I must admit, I read this very recently, when I was on a mission to READ EVERYTHING by Ibn-e-Safi. I just didn't like the series of events. There were too many things happening without leading to anything concrete. The other story that I absoltely HATE, is Khatarnaak Boodha and Masnooyi Naak. I find the story line of those two very sbsurd, but more on that later.

Although the mystery elements were dull, the banter between Hameed and Faridi to lighten up your mood. I wish my boss was as good as Faridi. Sigh!

This story also establishes Hameed as a perpetual love-struck young man who cannot seem to control his tongue when women are around. Faridi, on the contrary, seems to derive pleasure from surrounding himself with danger.

Just like the previous story, this story also reminds us that Faridi isn't interested in getting promoted. He doesn't want monies either. He belongs to a rich family and the money and properties he has inherited are enough to last for seven generations. It is his khoji nature that has forced him to be an inspector. We are introduced to his other quirks - dogs, snakes, and whatnot.

That concludes the review for second story of the first issue. What do others feels about this one?

Shabana Mukhtar

[Mehwish]

Khaufnak Jangal is a spy novel, an independent part of 125-books series known as Jasoosi Duniya. I am extremely impressed by the colorful characters, the scene setting, the development of story and a beautiful climax.
In an article I read that Ibn-e-Safi suffered from schizophrenia and that some of his characters were directly inspired by the voices that haunted him. He did a brilliant job of bringing them to life.

I am way too late in discovering this literary treasure but rest assured I have started on the journey nonetheless.

Looking forward to reading more of his work!

[W]

A routine murder mystery,the identity of the culprit is not hard to guess.

[Syed Ali Hussain Bukhari]

خوفناک جنگل (جاسوسی دنیا)
از: ابن صفی

یہ جاسوسی دنیا کا دوسرا ناول ہے۔ اور یقینا پچھلے ناول سے زیادہ دلچسپ اور سنسنی خیز ہے۔ اسے پڑھتے ہوئے قاری یعنی کہ میں نے اسی وقت کتاب رکھی جب ناول اختتام پذیر ہوا۔

آپ احباب بھی پڑھیئے اور لطف اٹھائیے۔

[Syed Muhammad Hamza]

جاسوسی دنیا کا دوسرا ناول ، میں جیسے جیسے اس سلسلے میں پیش قدمی کر رہا ہوں میری دل چسپی اتنی بڑھ رہی ہے اور فریدی کی صلاحیتوں کا تہہ دل سے معترف ہو چکا ہوں

[Shabana Mukhtar]

Irrespecive of the title, and what rating I give, I love his work.
Ibn-e-safi, the person who introduced me to the world of suspense and thriller at young age of six (ish).
Growing up, it was a challenge to get hold of his books. Thanks to the people who put a lot of effort to digitize all his books.
Since past three years, i read all his 150+ books, Imran Series and Jasoosi Duniya, at least once in a quarter. Yes, that is how much I like his work. Sue me, if it is wrong.

[Srikumar Krishna Iyer]

A very short and interesting thriller, who-dun-it hindi classic.
Really enjoyed reading it.

[विकास 'अंजान']

एक क्लासिक हु डन इट। एक बार पढ़ी जा सकती है।
विस्तृत विचार इधर हैं:
जंगल में लाश

[Harshit Gupta]

One of the best of Ibn-e-Safi I guess, with some mystery that keeps you engaged. Liked it.

[Nitin Jain]

A classic from Ibn-e-Safi's legendary Jasoosi Duniya series, Khaufnak Jangal is a crisp, fast-paced mystery that zips by like a breezy half-hour thriller. Perfect for a one-time read or listen when you want that familiar Imran magic without a long commitment.

[Noor Joyia]

A complete story and suspenseful plot....

[sohail bhatti]

سکول میں ابن صفی کی چند کتب پڑھیں تھیں، سکول کا مطلب 80 کی دھائی کی بات کر رہا ہوں۔ اس وقت پیسے نہیں ہوتے تھے اور سکول کی لائبریری میں ان کی کتب نہیں تھیں۔ ایک دوست سے لے کر پڑھیں تھیں۔ لیکن زیادہ دھیان اشتیاق احمد کے ناول میں رہا۔ میرا ایک دوست ان کا بہت شوقین ہے۔ چنانچہ بہت عرصہ سے ابن صفی میری فہرست میں شامل تھے۔ لیکن میرے پاس ان کے ناول نہ تھے۔ اب جاسوسی دنیا کی ایک طویل فہرست میرے قبضے میں ہے، تمام کو پڑھوں گا۔ ناول میں ابن صفی نے بہت سے واقعات بہت تیزی میں بیان کئے ہیں جس سے کہانی کا تسلسل بگڑ گیا ہے۔ ناول جس زمانے میں لکھا گیا ہے اس وقت کے حساب سے بہت اعلیٰ پائے کا ہو گا لیکن اب ناول نگاری ترقی کر چکا ہے اور جاسوسی کہانیاں پیچیدہ ہو گئیں ہیں۔ پھر بھی ابن صفی ہمارے یہاں کے بہترین لکھاریوں میں سے ہیں اور ان کی کتب کلاسک کا درجہ رکھتی ہیں۔ جس کسی کو بھی کتب بینی کا شوق ہے اور وہ ابن صفی کو نہ پڑھے تو یہ زیادتی ہو گی۔

[Mujeeb ur Rehman]

Location: Dharampur Jungle and Jalalpur.

Characters: Inspector A. K. Faridi, Sergeant S. Hameed, Thakur Dalbir Singh, Dr. Satish, Saroj, Randhir Singh and Bimla Devi.

Villains: Thakur Dalbir Singh and Dr. Satish.

[Ajitabh Pandey]

Inspector Faridi and Sargent Hamid investigate a series of murders one after another. Quite an adventure for Faridi and Hamid and a chance encunter with wolves provided first few clues.