During his lifetime, Saadat Hasan Manto was a hugely popular writer of newspaper articles and short stories.
Manto: Selected Stories
Translated by Aatish Taseer
Random House
India
136 pages
Rs295
During his lifetime, Saadat Hasan Manto was a hugely popular writer of newspaper articles and short stories. His profiles of film stars and other public figures as well as his short stories were lapped up by readers who had not till then come across anyone who explored the dark corners of the human psyche. He was an unashamed gossip who tore the veil of respectability of the big stars of the time — read his profiles of Sitara Devi, Noorjehan and others — and his stories, which concentrated on slumdogs and bigwigs, were accurate and lucid portrayals but not without the human touch and a lot of humour.
But Manto was rejected by the Urdu literary establishment who saw him as a vulgarian
and too populist. And once he left India for the newborn Pakistan he became even more of a pariah among the progressives. Ironically, in Pakistan he was constantly in and out of legal trouble, even getting thrown in jail on obscenity charges.
In the last decade or so Manto has enjoyed a revival, with several English translations of his work getting published. His film profiles, Stars From Another Sky is a delightful read and Khaled Hasan’s translation of some of his best works is the definitive compendium for anyone interested in Manto.
Now comes along a slim volume simply titled Selected Stories which have been translated by Aatish Taseer, who sets out to delve into the mysteries of his mixed Indian-Pakistani heritage. Taseer’s grandfather was an Urdu poet but the young man, being brought up in India, does not know the language; unravelling Manto’s stories therefore becomes a kind of personal journey for him, as he explains in an engaging introduction to the volume.
There are just 10 stories in the book, including a couple of ones that show up in every edition. But the author has put together an eclectic mix, taking only two Partition stories and a few about Bombay, the city Manto loved so much. From the teenage, innocent whores to the dhobis to the aspiring film stars and the lecherous studio bosses, they all come to life in these pages. The atmosphere just before Independence followed by Partition springs to life, but only as a backdrop; the human drama is paramount.
Whether it is the hooker who doesn’t understand the sexual games she plays to the beguiling new actress fully aware of sexual politics to the young boy who suddenly discovers he is a man, each character is deftly drawn. The translation is crisp though Taseer admits that Urdu, when converted into English, can sound florid and overwrought. It is intriguing to compare this translation with Hasan’s: In The Blouse, young Momin discovers new “lumps” on his chest, pressing which is a painful pastime; Hasan simply calls them nipples.
But any new Manto collection is welcome and by ignoring some, if not all Manto’s famous stories like Toba Tek Singh, Taseer has brought the writer’s unknown works to the fore. Pick it up and savour the observation, wit and style of this poet of the human condition; the introduction is a bonus that only enhances the value of this volume.
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