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.
Mustansar Hussain Tarar was born in Jokalian,Mandi Bahauddin on 1 March 1939 into a Tarar Jat family. His father, Rehmat Khan Tarar, operated an agricultural seed store by the name of "Kisan & Company" that flourished and became a major business in that field.
Tarar was educated at Rang Mahal Mission High School and Muslim Model High School, both in Lahore, Pakistan. He pursued higher studies at Government College, Lahore and in London. 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 (Urdu. "Dove") based on his experience.
He has written more than 75 books, including novels and travelogues, not mentioning his collection of short stories.
His first book was a travelogue of Europe published in 1971 by the title of Niklay Teri Talaash Main (1970), dedicated to his youngest brother, Mobashir Hussain Tarar. 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.
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). 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.
Tarar has been an active mountaineer for many years and has been to the base camp of the K2, the world's second highest mountain, and the Chitti Buoi Glacier.
Columns as a journalist and books
During his long career, he has been a newspaper columnist and a contributor to Pakistani newspapers including Dawn and Daily Aaj, and used to write a weekly column for Akhbar-e-Jahan.
London Se Moscow Tak (لندن سے ماسکو تک)(First travelogue) (1958)
Mantiqul Tair, Jadeed (منطق الطیر، جدید) (Conference of Birds, Modern) (ISBN 9693531574, Publisher: SMP, Language: Urdu, Category: Novel Year: 2018)
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
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
Berfeeli Bulandiyan (برفیلی بلندیاں) (Snowy Heights)
Carvan Sarai (کارواں سرائے) (Caravan Motel)
Chikh Chuk (چِک چُک) (Remove the curtain)
Chitral Daastan (چترال داستان) (Tale of Chitral)