Pakistan is celebrating the 108th birth anniversary of renowned Urdu short story writer Saadat Hasan Manto. His birthday is trending at number one on Twitter and Google even honoured the writer with a doodle.
The doodle was designed by artist Shehzil Malik, who took to social media to share the news. Talking about the late author, Malik said, “I’m a big fan of Manto. He is a hero to me for pushing the envelope in Pakistan through his art (which I try to do and often get in trouble) so this is the perfect assignment! His stories are dark, beautiful, brutal, honest; once you read them, you can’t forget them. He used his words as a mirror to society, to speak truth to power, and would not back down in the face of intimidation.”
Meanwhile, people from Pakistan, as well as India celebrated the acclaimed writer and his words on Twitter.
About Manto
Manto was born in Ludhiana, British India on May 11, 1912. The writer spent his life in Bombay before shifting to Lahore after the Partition. Though he was already an acclaimed name before the Partition, it was his vivid and intense stories on the partition that earned him critical acclaim. Manto produced 20 collections of short stories, five collections of radio dramas, three of essays, two of sketches, one novel and a clutch of film scripts. He wrote about sex, desire, alcoholics, prostitutes which led to him being charged with obscenity six times – thrice in British India before 1947, and thrice in Pakistan after. Despite this, he received the Nishan-e-Imtiaz from the Government of Pakistan.
Some of his most praised works include Thanda Gosht, Khol Do, Toba Tek Singh, Iss Manjdhar Mein and Babu Gopi Nath.
Manto’s life and works have also been adapted into two feature films: one by Sarmad Khoosat and another by Bollywood filmmaker Nandita Das.
Manto passed away on January 18, 1955, in Lahore at the age of 42.
