Hello everyone. So this is the third post in the 'My Favourite Author' series. You can read the previous guest posts HERE.
Today, I'm happy to host Sona, an avid reader and blogger. She writes about her favourite author --- Saadat Hasan Manto!
'If you find my stories dirty, the society you are living in is dirty. With my stories, I only expose the truth." - Saadat Hasan Manto (1912-1955)
Novelist, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, short story
writer, Manto is considered one of the finest in Urdu literature. His work is
stark and 'uncomfortable' to the custodians of society's morality. He was
reviled by the establishment in his lifetime, having been charged for obscenity
multiple times. Why then, is he a writer who was considered ahead of his times?
Because Manto’s writing is realistic, holding out hard
hitting facts. He chose to expose when others looked away.
He is best known for his stories about the partition of the
subcontinent. He challenged the hypocrisy and the sham morality of the society.
Manto's work reiterates that literature
does not need to be polite and that political satire can comment on the present
day happenings.
One of his most controversial short stories 'Khol Do', is a
shocking portrayal of the violence and the depravity of people at the time of
the partition. The ending of the story is like a punch to your gut. 'Thanda
Gosht', another intense story depicts how the rape of women was a way to punish
the people of the 'other community'.
'The Assignment' is bone chilling and much as you wish to
believe in trust, loyalty and brotherhood, you cannot.
Women in Manto’s Stories ---
The women in his stories were considered 'scandalous'; he
drew them from unconventional backgrounds such as brothels. They were sexually
liberated and showed characteristics that are mostly attributed to males: rage,
vengeance, driving their destiny. I consider Manto a feminist who humanizes
women through his realistic portrayal.
Manto was called vulgar because the women he wrote about
were neither weak nor sexually repressed. There is a mention of lesbianism and
first sexual stirrings in 'A Wet Afternoon'. 'Kaali Shalwar' features a small
town prostitute Sultana, who is disillusioned by Bombay. 'Mozail', the story of
a Jewish woman living in Bombay, showcases her free spirit, her independence of
thought, her courage in the face of rioters and her complete disregard for the
facade of religion.
One of his best known stories, 'Toba Tek Singh', based on
his own experience in a mental asylum, brings out the agony and the absurdity
of partition.
I don't recommend Manto to everyone, even though he is my
favourite writer. Manto's work has the capability to shock, to bring you out of
your being so that you never feel the same again. It takes courage to look at
the mirror that Manto holds to your face. He delves into the darkest part of
the human psyche. His stories are rooted in the real life incidents of the
partition violence, the fake morality that people uphold and in the dignity of
women, even when they are prostitutes.
What a wonderful choice. I read a few of his his essays in his book 'Why I Write' and was amazed at how relevant his thoughts were in the current times despite being written decades ago. His stories are stark and gut wrenching.
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