Mustansar Hussain Tarar (Urdu: مستنصر حسين تارڑ; Mustanṣar Ḥusẹ̄n Tāraṙ) S.I. (born 1 March 1939) is a Pakistani author, travel enthusiast, mountaineer, writer, novelist, columnist, TV host and former actor.[1]
Early life
Mustansar Hussain Tarar was born in Gujrat District on 1 March 1939 at his maternal grandparents' house, according to the preface of his book, Lahore Awargi.[2] But he was raised in Lahore with his family that hailed from Mandi Bahauddin. His father, Rehmat Tarar, operated a small agricultural seed store by the name of "Kisan & company" that later flourished to become a major business in that field.[3]
Tarar was educated at Rang Mahal Mission High School and Muslim Model High School, both in Lahore, Pakistan.[4] He pursued higher studies at Government College, Lahore and in London.[4] While abroad he spent much of his time watching movies, hanging out with friends and reading books. In 1958, he attended the World Youth Festival in Moscow and wrote a book named Fakhta (Dove) based on his experience.[4][5]
Career
He has written more than 50 books including novels and a collection of short stories in his career.[2]
His first book was a travelogue of Europe published in 1971 by the title of Nikley Teri Talaash Main (1970), dedicated to his youngest brother, Mobashir Hussain Tarar.[2] This followed a period during which he travelled in seventeen European countries, and spearheaded a new trend of travelogues in Urdu literature. So far he has over forty travelogues ('Safar Nama' in Urdu) to his credit.[2][4]
He also became a television actor and was, for many years, a host of Pakistan Television Corporation's (PTV) live morning show Subah Bakhair (1988) (Good Morning).[1] His unconventional and down-to-earth style of hosting earned him great popularity among people from all circles of life. He is one of the most recognised personality among children as he spent a big part of transmission time addressing children exclusively. He called himself chacha jee (paternal uncle) of all Pakistani children and soon became known by this title.
Shadi Online was a matrimonial show conceived by a private TV channel (Geo TV). It ran for more than 350 episodes and later was turned into an online matrimonial website. Tarar was selected as the host due to the trust of people, especially parents, had in him.[2]
An autograph by Mustansar Hussain
Tarar has been an active mountaineer for many years and has been to the base camp of the famous mountain K2 and the Chitti Buoi Glacier.[4]
Columns as a journalist and books
During his long career, he has been a newspaper columnist and a contributor in Pakistani newspapers including Dawn and Daily Aaj, and used to write a weekly column for Akhbar-e-Jahan.[4]
Andulus Mayn Ajnabi (اندلس میں اجنبی) (Stranger in Spain) (ISBN No:9693515471, Publisher:SMP, Language:URDU, Category: SAFAR NAMA Year: 2009) First published in 1972[2][6]
Bay Izti Kharab (بے عزتی خراب) (Insulting dishonor) – This phrase is deliberately wrong and commonly used this way in local communities, thus the book name[2]
Pakistan Academy of Letters PAL nominated him in 2022 for Kamal-e-Fun Award (Lifetime Achievement Award) shared with Ashu Lal Faqeer but he refused to take the 'half award'.
