Sadat Hasan Manto

[Ramesh Menon]

Saadat HasanManto

 

May 11 marksthe birth centenary of the modern Urdu writer, Saadat Hasan Manto. Born inIndia in 1912, he died in Pakistan 43 years later. Manto's most enduringliterary legacy were his stories — some just a few lines long — on the violenceagainst innocent Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs in the aftermath of Partition.

 

His storieswere about the Punjab in 1947. But they could be about Delhi, 1984, or Gujarat,2002. The Hindu presents three of his stories, translated into Englishby Kuldeep Kumar.

 

1. PriorArrangement

 

The firstincident took place near the barricade. A constable was immediately posted there.

 

The very nextday, another incident took place in front of the store. The constable wasshifted to where the second incident had taken place.

 

The thirdincident happened near the laundry at midnight. When the Inspector ordered theconstable to move to the new place, he took a few minutes before making therequest: “Please depute me to that spot where the next incident is going totake place.”

 

2. Concession

 

“Please don'tkill my young daughter in front of me...”

 

“OK...let'saccept his request...take off her clothes and push her to the other side..”

 

3. Sorry

 

The kniferipped the stomach open beyond the navel, and the belt was cut. All of asudden, the attacker was full of regret. “Oh...I have committed a mishtek.”

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Ramesh Menon
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