[Reader-list] 5th post : the career of an ealy ...

[Kamal Kumar Mishra]

     The Career of an early Hindi Jasoosi / Detective fiction writer;
                     GOPAL RAM GAHMARI (1866-1946).

Famous Hindi Jasoosi fiction writer Gopal Ram Gahmari was born in Bara, distt. Gazipur in 1866. He was the only son of Ram Narayan. Both, his grandfather and great grandfather were textile merchants. 

After passing Middle from Gahmar (Gazipur) in 1879, Gopal Ram Gahmari started teaching in Gahmar School. Due to his young age and poor financial situation he could not go for further studies. Gahmari tried to master Urdu and English during the next four years of his teaching in that school. He took admission in Patna Normal School later on, but left the three- year course half way to join as head pundit in Betiya Maharaj School. For some time he  looked after Bandobast in Balia as well. In 1888 he passed Normal exam with first division. In 1889 he was appointed head pundit in Rohtasgarh Middle School. After one year he went to Bombay to work as a writer for Seth Khemraj Shreekrishna Das where he worked until 1899. Gopal Ram Gahmari had reported the famous Tilak trial also. Gahmari went to Calcutta as an editor of Bharat Mitra.In 1900 he came back to Gahmar to start monthly‘Jasoos’(Detective).  

For the next forty years,through“jasoos”,Gahmari made tremendous contribution to the genre. Gahmari wrote and translated more than 150 detective fictions in Hindi. His writings included plays, poetry n a few texts on spirituality.    

Through his writings Gahmari always tried to propagate a simple and easy Hindi. He never liked to write in a Sanskritized language. When it comes to the question of using Khari Boli or Braj Bhasha, Gahmari sided with Sridhar Pathak and supported Khari Boli. Gahmari even tried to convince Pratap Narayan Mishra,the supporter of Braj Bhasha, on that issue and succeeded. 

In his later days Gahmari started living in Benaras where he kept on writing interesting memoirs for newspapers n magazines. Gahmari died on 20th june 1946 in Benaras.

Here are the titles of some of Gahmari’s original jasoosi/ detective novels written between 1890 n 1940  -


1)ajib laash 2) gupt bhed 3) guptchar 4) dabal jasoos 5)khooni kaun hai
6) gaadi men khoon 7) jasoos ki bhool 8)andhe ki ankh 9)jasoos ki chori
10) kile men khoon 11) jasoos par jasoos 12) bhayankar chori 13) roop sanyasi
14) latakti laash 15) kotwal ka khoon  16) hum hawalat men 17) khooni 18) thagon ka thath 19) laash kiski hai 20) ankhon dekhi ghatna 21) khooni ka bhed 22) matopato
23) hatya Krishna 24) apradhi ki chalaki 25) sundar veni 26) apni ram kahani 
27) vikat bhed 28) jasoos ki vijay  29) murde ki janch 30) mem ki laash 31) jasoos ki jawanmardi 32) jasoosi par 33)jaisa munh vaisa thappar 34) sarvar ki suragarsani 
35) khooni ki chalaki 36) chandi ka chakkar 37) ghusan lal daroga 38) bhitar ka bhed
39) dhurandhar jasoos 40) hamari diary 41) Khooni ki khoj 42) jasoos ki diary 43)jasoos ki budhhi 44) kaidi ki karamat 45) devi nahin danvi 46) ladki ki chori
47) sohni gayab 48) doctor ki kahani 49) keshbai 50) ketaki ki shadi 51) ghar ka bhedi 52) nema 53) yog mahima 54)arth ka anarth 55) mare hue ki maut 56) bhayankar chori 57) dekhi hui ghatna 58) jasoos jagannath 59) nagad narayan 
60) dakait kaluram 61) bhyankar bhed 62) swyambara 63) bhandaphor 64)rahasya viplav 65) holi ka harjhog 66) jamindaron ka julm.

There is a whole list of his translated and adapted works as well.
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