"These days if you flip through the newspapers, you will read stories of murder, rapes or robberies. So, I take cues from such incidents and build up an imaginary world to bring freshness into the plots," Pathak said.

Despite falling readership, publishing house Harper Collins "took a chance" with the pulp fiction genre to maintain a balance in their Hindi publishing division. So far, they have published two books - "Jo Lare Deen Ke Het" and "Colaba Conspiracy" - by Pathak, with a third book in the pipeline; and this decision has been "fruitful".

"The readership of the genre may have come down, but it still remains hugely popular. Fans buy ten books by Pathak at a time, while also pre-booking them," Minakshi Thakur, senior commissioning editor, Harper Collins, told us.

"Pathak is the undisputed king of Hindi crime writers in India," she said, adding that his first two books sold over 50,000 copies which is "equivalent to a best selling English writer".

And in keeping the market of this genre "alive" readers like Vikas Jha play an important role.

"There is no match for writers like Pathak and (Ved Prakash) Sharma. I still remember the day when I had picked up my first copy from this railway station six years back. And I have just picked up a new book to read while on my way home to Bihar," Jha told us.

"These books provide 'full-on entertainment' with their racy plots keeping me glued till the last page," Jha added.

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