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"Torch Bechnewale" is a short story written by one of India's most famous satirist, Harishankar Parsai. It talks about the fundamental sales strategy humans deployed ever since they first walked the planet: To Sell on Fear. Today's society has taken this to a new extreme, the scarier the narrative, the better the results.

Two friends make a pact to try out their luck for 5 years by going in different directions. When they meet again, they're both in the same business of selling flashlights. They're just working for different companies!

Harishankar Parsai (22 August 1922 – 10 August 1995) was a Hindi writer. He was a noted satirist and humorist of modern Hindi literature and is known for his simple and direct style. He wrote vyangya (satire).

He was born in Jamani village near Itarsi in Hoshangabad district, Madhya Pradesh. He completed his M.A. in Hindi from R.T.M. Nagpur University. After pursuing writing along with his service for some time, he quit his job and took writing as a full-time career. He settled in Jabalpur (M.P) and started a literature magazine called Vasudha. Despite it being highly praised, he had to stop the magazine after the publication suffered economic losses.

Parsai died on 15 August 1995 in Jabalpur. According to The Hindu, by the time of his death, Parsai had revolutionized the art of satire writing in Hindi.

He won Sahitya Akademi Award in 1982, for his satire, "Viklaang Shraddha Ka Daur" 'विकलांग श्रद्धा का दौर'

• Hari Shankar Parsai used to give answers of readers in a column "POOCHHIYE PARSAI SE" in a Hindi News paper DESHBANDHU published from Raipur and Jabalpur.
• A collection of 21 selected stories translated into English by C. M. Naim was published in 1994: Inspector Matadeen on the Moon (Manas Books, Chennai). It was reprinted in 2003 by Katha Press, New Delhi. Several stories and essays are also part of the school curriculum in Central Board of Secondary Education and available in NCERT books.