The death of Qazi Anwar Husain brings the works of a legendary figure in Bangladesh to an end. The prolific writer, translator, editor and publisher breathed his last on January 19 at the age of 85 years and six months. The creation of the first Bengali spy novel 'Masud Rana' brought him enormous popularity among a large section of book lovers and readers. For the last 55 years, the spy thriller, Masud Rana, has kept its fans enthralled.
Looking back, it was undoubtedly a ground-breaking event in Bengali mystery fiction when Anwar wrote and published the first Bengali spy-thriller in 1966. Titled, 'DhongshoPahar' (The Hill of Destruction), the central character of the book was Masud Rana a daredevil spy of the country's counter Intelligence agency. The first book rocked the conservative Bengali society as Anwar introduced not only a Bengali spy but also sex in the fiction. Despite heavy criticism, the number of his avid readers was also large which drove Anwar to write and publish the second book of the Masud Rana series titled, 'Bharatnatyam' [Indian (classical) Dance]. It took 10 months to complete the writing while he spent seven months to write the first book.
Before starting to write Masud Rana, Anwar was astounded and shocked when he read 'Dr No' written by Ian Fleming, the creator of British spy fiction character James Bond. His friend Mahbub Amin gave him the book saying that Anwar knew little about international thriller fiction. At that time, Anwar had already started writing and publishing the juvenile mystery fiction series titled, Kuasha (Fog). He set up his press on the premises of their residence at Segun Bagicha in 1963 and the first book of Kuasha was published in 1964 from that press.
As James Bond inspired him to develop a Bengali spy character, he had a daring motorcycle ride to Chattogram, Rangamati and Kaptai. It was to set the story for his fiction. He also read some English fiction and thrillers. So an exhaustive preparation was there. It was also an event, probably not unexpected from Anwar. He was a great fan of Bengali novelist Manik Bandyopadhyay, who took the trouble to visit and stay with fishermen on the bank of river Padma before writing his famous novel, Padma Nodir Majhi (The boatmen of river Padma). On more than one occasion in his later years, Anwar mentioned the it while talking to this scribe adding that most of the writers including himself did not have the devotion of Manik Bandyopadhyay.
In response to an overwhelming demand from readers, Anwar decided to continue the series by adapting English thriller fiction. He understood that writing on his own would take too much time. Moreover, there was almost no experience of writing espionage novel among the writers of that time in this part of the world. So, no book was available to get some idea about thrillers of that kind.
Finally, the young energetic publisher foresaw that a niche market was there for spy fiction. To tap the market, he had to publish his books regularly and also at a cheap price. Without wasting time, Anwar drifted into the uncharted territory of publishing paperback books. Sheba Prokashoni became the pioneer in publishing paperback books printed in newsprint, a low-cost and non-archival paper, in Bangladesh. Qazi Anwar's motto was plain and simple. Readers would buy and read the book for pleasure and then throw them away. There was no reason to preserve the books for long. He, however, proved wrong as many readers preserved the books of Sheba, especially Masud Rana.
A big challenge was the marketing of the newly published books. Anwar introduced the 'discussion' section at the end of each book to communicate with the readers directly by publishing and replying to their letters. Avid readers found it quite exciting as their names got printed. An announcement of the next book was also made. The story summary printed on the back cover of each book also attracted readers.
To diversify marketing, Anwar and his staff also ran mini-covered van bearing the brand name, 'Masud Rana,' and 'Kuasha' on the roads and highways. It was in the late '70s. The innovative publicity helped to draw new readers, the ultimate consumer of Sheba Prokashoni. Regular advertisement of his books also started to appear in Dainik Bangla and Shaptahik Bichitra (both the daily and the weekly are not in existence now). Reviews of Sheba's books were also published in different newspapers like Morning News, Sangbad and Chitrali.
As Sheba Prokashoni diversified its portfolio by publishing the abridged translation of world classics, children and juvenile thrillers and various mystery fictions including the Western genre, the business boomed. Many writers and translators also emerged under the guidance of Qazi Anwar Husain. Rahashay Patrika (the mystery magazine), a monthly magazine like Reader's Digest, started its publication from November 1984 under the editorship of Anwar. The magazine also gained popularity and served as a vehicle for advertising Sheba's books. Moreover, Sheba publishes books throughout the year and does not target the book fair of 21stFebruary.
Over the years, Qazi Anwar Husain developed a unique business model in the publishing industry of Bangladesh. There was no credit-based transaction from the very beginning of Sheba Prokashoni. Book dealers have to purchase the published books paying cash against the due commissions. The publishing house extensively uses the country's national postal service for sending books to retail sellers throughout the country. Individual readers can directly receive the books by post once they have paid a monthly or annual subscription. Sheba's books are always available in the bookstores and rail station newspaper stalls, bus stands, river terminals and at the street corners.
Sheba Prokashoni has also developed a system of regular payment of writers' royalties and honorariums. Usually, writers or translators receive their first and major chunk of royalties within a month of publication. Based on the sales of the books, they then receive quarterly instalments of their royalties. There was even a time when Rahashya Patrika published a notice naming writers to collect dues from the office.
So, late Qazi Anwar Husain also deserves the accolade of a visionary publisher. He was a unique, insightful entrepreneur in the publishing industry of Bangladesh who proved that devoted and creative book marketing is a key to success in the business. His publication business model can be a topic for case study in the universities especially for the students of marketing.
