They called him Hero

There can be countless reasons for loving Lahore, depending on your inclinations and interests. For me it’s always the bookshops, especially those that deal in old and rare collections.

Lahore is home to many old bookshops which have long catered for the readers. Anarkali Bazaar, in particular, boasts a large number of them. As you approach the place from The Mall, you will notice an old building, called The Bible Society, on your left. Right across this building, there is a narrow lane, known as Pratap Street, which was lined by a host of bookstores where you could get old books in plenty. One would enjoy browsing through bookshelves, over cups of hot tea ordered from a nearby tea stall. Many of these shops don’t exist now, but they have left behind fond memories of the place as well as people associated with it. One such shop was Hero Books, owned by the iconic Syed Ghulam Ali aka “hero” — so called because of the fact that he had appeared in a Pakistani feature film).

Hero Books offered easily the best collection. It had books on a wide range of subjects, be it art, history, philosophy or religion. An organised person, Ghulam Ali had separate sections for general books, handwritten rare manuscripts, old tickets and files he had prepared of old newspapers and literary journals. What worked in his favour was the fact that he was well versed in the trade.

Ghulam Ali was one of the few people who started selling old books soon after the creation of Pakistan in Lahore. Those who are regulars at old bookshops in the city still remember the gentleman who was not only a fine human being but also a great bookseller.

Born in Saharanpur, in Uttar Pradesh, India, to an educated family, Ghulam Ali migrated to Lahore with his parents and siblings at the time of Partition. After doing a few odd jobs, he invested his meagre earnings in books and set up a stall on the pavement in front of The Bible Society building, circa 1954. He never looked back. His stall soon gained popularity, especially among students from the nearby Government College (GC) who also enjoyed striking a conversation with him.

Ghulam Ali ran his solo show, so to say, with great dedication and passion for five long decades. Hard work and honesty paid off and he was able to buy a shop in Pratap Street, in 1962. He named it Hero Books.

A handsome man with a fine taste for poetry and movies, Ghulam Ali’s first love, however, wasn’t books — he wanted to become an actor and even tried his luck in Pakistani films. “He’d frequent the studios on Multan Road,” recalls his son Shahzad Ali, who has continued in his father’s profession, albeit taken it online.

“He didn’t get any roles in the beginning, but he didn’t give up. Eventually, he bagged a few films; Maut Meri Zindagi being one of them.”

Shahzad Ali says he started to assist his father at the bookstore in 1980s. “As a 12-year-old, I saw towering literary personalities of the time such as Intezar Hussain, Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, Nasir Kazmi, Hafeez Jalandhari, Mumtaz Mufti, Shorish Kashmiri, Ashfaq Ahmad and Habib Jalib visiting the shop.”

Once in a while, foreign tourists would also show up at the shop. They’d love the collection. “My father routinely received letters from people in European countries who had been to Hero Books and kept in touch. He had hired a person to carry out correspondence with his foreign clients. He would also courier books to his customers based out of Lahore,” Shahzad Ali adds.

Ghulam Ali Hero served the people of Lahore for long, providing them with books, magazines and other reading stuff. After 2002, his health deteriorated and he handed over his shop to his elder son, Shahzad Ali. He passed away in January 2007 in Lahore. One of the pioneers of old bookshops in Lahore was thus gone. A few years after his death, Shahzad Ali shut shop and moved to Malaysia where he dealt in old books. Presently, he is based in Islamabad and deals in books using online platforms. His two brothers are employed in private sector.

The writer can be reached at altafhussainasad@gmail.com