Saadat Hasan Manto: The unmatched craftsman

Saadat Hasan Manto, the legendary story teller, is more than a creative mind and his body of work is a world view in itself.

He has an undeniable presence whether one loves him and hates him. The more fervent the rebuff becomes the more determined the presence proves.

He shocked society by reflecting its oblivion and touched the chords that arouse nervousness. As a master of art, he penned stories like a witticism. Much has been written and said about Manto and his art, and much more will come in the future.

However, it may be sordid or painful, as he evoked the imagination to grasp the reality. But reality it is.

Engaging blacks and whites of life experiments, he pursued the grey to the brightest and bleakest ends. In order to accept the darker side of the society and its actors, he exposed our own insecurities.

Manto appreciated naïve innocence and crooked cunnings, wishing to search the soul through very physical expositions of human behaviors. He decries a soulless social setup and engaged with those who may be the children of less God, as it becomes the responsibility of those who claim to be perfect.

Hence, Manto committed another sin by revealing the paucity of moral space to grant understanding and sympathy.  At one place, Manto describes himself saying, “The story is written by God, Manto only writes the last sentence”.

With an unmatched skill, this was the confidence of a sensitive mind. He left no space for anyone who can change a single word or give some other version of his description.

Manto left no space for alternatives when he wanted to portray a certain image through his characters and narratives. There were no alternatives for him, not at all.

He constantly challenged the double-standard of the society and raised questions about the dormant conscience of society, Manto merely asked the reader to accept his write ups as reality because he brought forth the sensuous or the erotic part of the human nature.

The great maestro was first and last humanist on the earth, who wrote only for humanism. He narrated stories of evil, having desires to highlight the good, not the evil.

His lust was not for lust, coercion was not for coercion, sin was not for sin, oppression was not oppression, but everything was meant to stir up a deeper understanding of unseen agenda of a hypocritical social setup.

He wanted to save abasement, misery and pain to give life another chance. The reality is that he has a message that hasn’t died after a 100 years.

He had once written about himself:”Saadat Hasan will die one day, but ‘Manto’ will never die”.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=22067

Posted by Faisal Farooq on May 11 2012. Filed under Editorial, Opinion, Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.