In early 2025, I had the unique privilege of visiting the home of Surender Mohan Pathak (सुरेन्द्र मोहन पाठक, Surendra Mohana Pāṭhaka) to interview him. “SMP” as he is commonly known by his fans, is one of, if not the most prolific writers of popular Hindi mystery novels, having published his first, पुराने गुनाह नए गुनाहगार (Purāne gunāha nae gunāhagāra, “Old sins, new criminals”) in 1963. Despite being in his 80s, SMP continues to write and to publish; at the time of this writing, he has penned close to 300 titles, including those in his “Sunil Series” (based on the journalist investigator character Sunil), his “Sudhir Series” (which follows the detective Sudhir Kumar Kohli) and his “Vimal Series” (wherein “Vimal” is but one pseudonym for the Robin Hood-like criminal protagonist).

Highlighted here are SMP titles held in UT Libraries collections alongside SMP’s own comments and reflections upon his work. These books are part of the growing UT South Asian Popular & Pulp Fiction Collection.

With thanks to Surender Mohan Pathak, Sameer Rawal, Minakshi Thakur, and USIEF's Fulbright-Nehru Program.

Citation: Rader, Mary, curator. (2025). Surender Mohan Pathak In His Own Words. https://exhibits.lib.utexas.edu/spotlight/south-asian-popular-and-pulp-fiction/feature/exhibit-surendra-mohan-pathak