Manto: Pandrah Kahaniya

Saadat Hasan Manto Saadat Hasan Manto was born on May 11, 1912 in Samrala, Punjab. Finishing his High School in 1931, he continued his studies at the Aligarh Muslim University. Manto was also a film script writer, radio drama writer and a journalist. The amount of discussion and debates that have happened on his writings in the last century, has not happened with any other writer of not only Hindi and Urdu literature but of any literature of any language. Maybe that is the reason, why after Chekov, it is Manto who has made a name with his stories. ‘Thanda Gosht’, ‘Toba Tek Singh’, ‘Kali Shalwar’, ‘Mozelle’, ‘Dus Rupaye’ are some of his famous stories. Apart from his collection of short stories, he had written a novel, five collections of his radio drama, three collections of essays and two collections of sketches. Manto had to face six court trials on grounds of obscenity, thrice before Pakistan was made and thrice later. However, he was never proved guilty. His stories have been translated in various languages all over the world. The entire body of his work has been published by Rajkamal Prakashan under the title, ‘Saadat Hasan Manto: Dastavez’. Death : 18 January, 1955.