Abid Surti is an Indian writer, painter, cartoonist, journalist, environmentalist, playwright and screenwriter from Gujarat. In the 1970s, he created India’s first authentic comic book superhero, Bahadur, for Indrajal Comics, and also created the legendary cartoon strip Dabbuji. Surti has written over 80 books across Gujarati and Hindi, spanning gripping fiction, plays, and children’s literature. His role as an environmentalist is also commendable, and is a part of the ‘Save water’ campaign.
From Creating India’s First Superhero to Saving Water: The Abid Surti Story
Abid Surti, also pronounced as Aabid Surti, was born on 5th May 1935 in Vavera, Gujarat, British India. He was born into a Gujarati Muslim family to Gulam Hussain and Sakina Begum. The family later shifted to the Dongri area of Bombay, where he spent his childhood. His autobiographical novel Musalman accounts his childhood in the poverty-ridden Dongri area of Mumbai, alongside the rise of early underworld figures like Haji Mastan.
He joined the J. J. School of Art in 1954 and obtained a Diploma in Arts. He was deeply influenced by the writings of the Bengali writer, Sharat Chandra Chatterji. He was an expertise in Hindi, Urdu and his mother tongue, Gujarati. In 1965, he married Masooma Begum. The couple had 2 sons.
Abid Surti – The Maverick Author, Cartoonist, and Environmentalist
His broken love as a teenager made him a writer. The story was published in Gujarati in 1965 as Tootela Farishta. Later, he authored more than 80 books – 45 novels, 10 short story collections and 7 plays. He started his career as a freelancer, and has been a columnist in Hindi and Gujarati newspapers and magazines for over 40 years. He also served as the editor of the Gujarati annual magazine, Dayaro, for many years. He received a National Award for his short-story collection, Teesri Aankh, in 1993.
In 1975, his fictional version based on the Devil’s Bible, entitled The Black Book, created a nationwide controversy. He earned the nickname the “Salman Rushdie of India,” and the award-winning book was translated into seven languages. He authored the novel, In the Name of Rama, inspired by a true incident during the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
His career as a painter and cartoonist
Abid Surti is credited with using creative and original techniques to paint with oil and watercolours for his paintings. He has held 16 exhibitions in India and abroad. He turned into a creator of cartoons for the first time during 1952–53 for a Gujarati magazine, Ramakadu. Over the years, he created some cartoon characters like Bahadur, Dabbuji, Inspector Azad and Inspector Vikram for different comic magazines, which became iconic. Thus, he wrote both books and created cartoon characters for children.
His famous comic strips, Doctor Chinchoo Ke Chamatkar, were published in the Hindi magazine Parag from 1963 to 1965. The cartoon Dhabbuji and comics of Bahadur, Inspector Azad, Inspector Vikram and Shuja were published for English magazines.
Abid’s role as an environmentalist
Abid Surti founded Drop Dead, a water conservation initiative in Mumbai, in 2007. To avoid leaks of taps and fix them, every Sunday, he used to visit homes in the neighbourhood, along with a plumber and an assistant. They also raise awareness through posters and pamphlets, and Abid paid the expenses from his pocket.
Abid Surti – Some interesting and lesser-known facts.
1. He sued the makers of the Bollywood film, Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge, claiming that the film was based on his Gujarati novel, Bauter Varas No Babo, published in 1976 and later translated into Hindi as Bahatar Saal Ka Baccha. Read more about the film’s director.
2. He has authored a satirical ghazal with common English words.
3. The Indian Government even commissioned a documentary short film titled ABID (1970) to capture his artistic philosophy.
4. Surti has been awarded the Hindi Sahitya Sanstha Award by the Uttar Pradesh government in 2007 and the Gujarat government for his children’s literary work, Rangat.
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