Saadat Hassan Manto, despite his short life of 43 years, managed to become well known for many decades to come. Considered one of the greatest writers of short stories in South Asian history, he wrote a total of 22 collections of short stories, 1 novel, 5 series of radio plays, 3 collections of essays, 2 collections of personal sketches. Throughout his life, however, his work was widely criticised for obscenity for which he was tried multiple times. Whenever criticised, however, he would say, "If you find my stories dirty, the society you are living in is dirty. With my stories, I only expose the truth."
Manto, who wrote about the deepest of issues in society, ended up creating masterpieces that make one think about taboos that one would otherwise prefer not to think about. Here are five of his best quotes:
1) I feel like I am always the one tearing everything up and forever sewing it back together.
2) I wondered why people consider escapism so bad, even the escapism on display right then. At first it might appear unseemly, but in the end its lack of pretension gives it its own sort of beauty.
3) If you cannot bear these stories then the society is unbearable. Who am I to remove the clothes of this society, which itself is naked. I don't even try to cover it, because it is not my job, that's the job of dressmakers.
4)“To tell you the truth, the world seemed full of sad people – those who slept on the uncovered stoops of shops as well as those who lived in high-rise mansions. The man who walks about on foot worries that he doesn’t have decent shoes to wear. The man who rides the automobile frets that he doesn’t have the latest model car. Every man’s complaint is valid in its own way. Every man’s wish is legitimate in its own right.”
5) “For me, remembrance of things past has always been a waste of time, and what’s the point of tears? I don’t know. I’ve always been focussed on today. Yesterday and tomorrow hold no interest for me. What had to happen, did, and what will happen, will.”
He even wrote an epitaph for himself...
“Here lies Saadat Hasan Manto. With him lie buried the arts of short-story telling. Here he lies underneath tons of mud still wondering if he was a better short-story writer than God.”
The actual epitaph, however, didn't have the text that Manto wanted.
The text now translates to, "This is the grave of Saadat Hasan Manto, who still thinks that his name was not a recurring letter on the inscription of life."
Recently, a film was made based on Manto's life story. Here's a short clip from the film in which Sarmad Khoosat played Manto.
