Why I Write : Essays by Saadat Hasan Manto
- Publisher : Westland
- Publishing year : June 2014
- Binding : Paperback
- ISBN : 9789384030186
- Imprint : Tranquebar
- Age Group : Adult
- Language : English
One of the greatest raconteurs of 20th century, Saadat Hasan Manto declares that he was forced to write when his wife ro ...
One of the greatest raconteurs of 20th century, Saadat Hasan Manto declares that he was forced to write when his wife routinely demanded that he put bread on the table for the family. He doesn't attribute any genius to his skills as a writer and convinces his readers that the stories flowed even as he minded his daughters or tossed a salad. Equally, Manto treats his tryst with Bollywood with disdain and unmasks the cardboard lives of tinsel town when a horse is painted to double up for a zebra or multiple fans rotate to create a deluge. Two of Manto's favourite and recurring themes - women and Partition find special mention as he brings to focus the bizarre morality in the context of feminine beauty and the futile presence of religiosity in the creation of a nation he was to adopt later in life. For the first time ever, this unique collection of nonfiction writing from the subcontinent's greatest writer, translated by well known author and journalist, Aakar Patel showcases Saadat Hasan Manto's brilliance while dealing with life's most mundane things graveyards, bumming cigarettes, a film crew with motley characters from mythology and a sharp dissection of what ails the subcontinent even after 6 decades - Hindi or Urdu, vile politicians and the hopelessness of living under the shadow of fear.
Saadat Hasan Manto was born on 11 May, 1912 in the Paproudi village of Samrala, a city in the Ludhiana district of Punjab. He completed his studies in Aligarh and through his writings gained the reputation of one of the most famous Urdu writers of the 20th century. He died on 18 January, 1955 after leading a successful career as a prominent novelist and playwright. In this collection of short stories, Manto has presented the events that revolved around the partition of 1947. The stories depict the aftermaths and bloodshed of the terrible event that changed the lives of millions of people for generations to come.
