Manto, Saadat Hassan

Early years

Saadat Hassan Manto was born in the town of Sambrala near the city of Amritsar on May 11, 1912. He came from a family of hereditary lawyers whose ancestors were Kashmiri pundits who converted to Islam . The childhood and youth of the future writer was held in Amritsar . He studied at a local primary and secondary school, then at a Muslim high school for representatives of high society. He was the youngest child in the family of Gulyam Hassan Manto and his second wife Sardar Begum. Following the family tradition, following the older brothers, he was supposed to choose a career as a lawyer , but literary talent appeared early in it ^{[2] [7] [8]} .

In 1931 he entered the liberal arts faculty of the Hindu Sabha College in Amritsar. Due to poor knowledge of Urdu (the language spoken in his family was Punjabi ) he passed the entrance exams only the third time. He did not manage to learn the Urdu language immediately. Even becoming one of the recognized writers in Urdu, he preferred to communicate in his native Punjabi. He also spoke English and Hindi . During college, he met with journalist and writer and journalist Abdul Bari Alig , who arrived in Amritsar in March 1933 at the invitation of the publisher of the local left-wing newspaper Musavat (Equality). Abdul Bari Alig not only developed his interest in the work of Russian and French writers, whose works were already published in British India in Urdu and English, but also encouraged independent literary activity, advising him to engage in literary translations ^{[2] [7]} .

College and University

In 1933, the novel by Victor Hugo, " The Last Day of the Sentenced to Death ," was translated by him in Lahore. Later, together with Hassan Abbas , he translated Oscar Wilde ’s drama Faith or Nihilists, which was published in Layallpur in 1934. Upon learning that he was interested in cinema , Abdul Bari Alig invited him to keep a column of news about the world of cinema in the newspaper Musavat. Saadat Hassan Manto also collaborated with the Ehsan (Benevolence) newspaper in Amritsar and continued to translate. The first story of the writer - “Tamasha” (“Spectacle”) was published in 1934 in the newspaper “Hulk” (“People”). He published it under a pseudonym, as he was afraid of persecution by the authorities due to the fact that the work was dedicated to the execution in Amritsar and was anti-colonial in nature ^{[2] [9]} .

For two years in a row he could not pass exams for the first year, for which he was expelled from college. In February 1934, he applied to the Aligarh Muslim University , which he entered in July of that year, but studied for only nine months. While studying at the university, he joined the All-India Association of Progressive Writers , where he met with the writer Ali Sardar Jafri . In March 1935, the second story, Inkilabpasand (The Revolutionary), was published in the journal Aligarh Magazin (Aligarh Magazine). Tuberculosis was discovered in Saadat Hassan Manto (later, the diagnosis was erroneous). He had to leave the university and go to a sanatorium in Kashmir , from where three months later he returned to Amritsar. Soon he left for Lahore, where he got a job in the publication Paras (Philosopher's Stone). In 1936 he published his first collection of short stories in Urdu Atishpara (Iskra), devoting it to the memory of his recently deceased father ^{[2] [8]} .

The First Period in Bombay (1936-1941)

In January 1936 he moved to Bombay , where he was hired as editor of the movie weekly movie Musavvir (The Artist). At the same time, he began to write in Hindi plays for radio and scripts for film companies. He collaborated with studios in Bollywood until the beginning of 1948, with a break in 1941-1942, when he moved and lived in Delhi . He wrote scripts for the films “Begum”, “Eight Days” (played one of the main roles), “Run, Youth”, “Dirt”, “Mirza Ghalib” and many others. Observations of the life of the local bohemia formed the basis of the writer's works on the world of cinema ^{[2] [7]} .

In May 1938, he was engaged to a girl from a Kashmiri Muslim family named Safiya. On April 26, 1939, a wedding ceremony was held. Despite different priorities (for her the main thing was wealth in the family, for him literature), Saadat Hassan Manto loved his wife and believed that his marriage was a success. In 1940, the second collection of his short stories, Manto's Tales, was published. In the same year, the writer's mother died in June, which significantly undermined his health, and in August, without explanation, he was dismissed from Musavvir and settled in the weekly Karvan (Caravan). But the new work failed to correct the deteriorating financial situation of the family ^{[2] [7]} .

Work on All India Radio

After receiving a positive response from the editor-in-chief of the All - India Radio, Krishan Chandar , in January 1941, Saadat Hassan Manto and his family moved to Delhi. The writer's colleagues at the new work were Akhtar Hussein Raipuri , Upendranath Ashk , Nur Mohammad Rashid , Abu Said Kureishi , Hassan Abbas , Chirag Hassan Hasrat , Rajendra Singh Bedi and Ahmad Nadim Kasmi . During his stay in Delhi, he published four collections of plays for the radio, a collection of short stories “Dhuan” (“Par”) or under the other name “Kali Shalwar” (“Black Sharovary”), both times in 1941, a collection of articles, and a script was written the movie "Banjara" (with Krishan Chandar). At the same time, his play was banned for the radio "Jarnalist" ("Journalist"), a satire on the owners of periodicals ^{[2] [8]} .

The writer’s plays were edited by Krishan Chandar himself, but he was soon transferred to a new radio station in Lucknow , and relations with the new editor-in-chief at Saadat Hassan Manto did not work out and he had to quit his job. In April 1941, the writer’s young son died. His health again noticeably worsened, depression began. He received an invitation to return to work on the weekly Musavvir, and in July 1942 he again moved to Bombay ^{[2] [8]} .

Second Period in Bombay (1942-1948)

Upon returning to Bombay, along with editorial and screenwriting activities, he continued to publish works in periodicals and separate collections - in 1943 he reissued the collections of “Manto’s Tales” and “Par” and published the collection “Afsane aor drama” (“Stories and dramas” ), in 1946 a collection of plays for the radio “Karvat” (“Povort”) was published, in 1947 - a collection of short stories and articles “Lazzat-e Sang” (“Pleasure from being hit by a stone”). In Bombay, stories were written in the collection “Chugd” (“Fool”), a critical and biographical essay “Ismat Chugtai”, published in 1948 after the writer had to move to Lahore ^{[2] [8]} .

At that time, he closely interacted with film industry workers: filmmaker Shahid Latif and his wife, writer Ismat Chugtai , writer and screenwriter Krishan Chandar, actors Ashok Kumar and Dilip Kumar , actresses Nargis and Nasim . His circle of contacts included very extravagant personalities such as Bridge Mohan, to whom he dedicated the collection of short stories Badshahat ka Hachima (The End of the Empire), published in 1950 in Pakistan. A particularly strong friendship connected him with the writer Ahmad Nadim Kasmi, with whom he actively corresponded ^{[2] [8]} .

During this time, the Punjab authorities filed a lawsuit against the writer three times for “immorality”: the first time in 1942 for the story “Black Harem Pants” published in the weekly “Fiction” (“Adab-e Latif”), the second time in 1944 for the story “Smell” and the article “Modern Literature”, published in the same weekly and then for the third time in 1945 for the collection “Steam”, especially for the stories “Steam” and again “Black Bloomers”. In December 1944, having arrived from Lahore to Bombay, a police inspector tried to arrest Saadat Hassan Manto, but was forced to leave due to the lack of an arrest warrant. The writer was arrested on January 8, 1945 and transported to Lahore. The trial began in February 1945. As a result of the hearing, he was awarded a fine of two hundred rupees, but a month later this decision was quashed by the court of appeal. Legal proceedings significantly undermined the health of Saadat Hassan Manto, he was diagnosed with pneumothorax ^[2] .

In Bombay, he lived until the division of independent India on a religious basis into two states - India and Pakistan. The mass character at this time acquired clashes between Indians and Muslims . Under the pressure of religious extremists, film studios stopped working with Saadat Hassan Manto, he was even threatened with reprisal, which forced the writer to emigrate to Pakistan in January 1948 ^[2] .

In Lahore (1948–1955)

After moving to Pakistan, he spent several days in Karachi , from where he moved to Lahore. He hoped that in time he could return to India, but due to bureaucratic delays this turned out to be impossible. In 1948-1949 he was expelled from the Associations of Progressive Writers of India and Pakistan . After several months of intense search for work, I got a job in the newspaper Imroz (Today) ^[2] .

The articles and miniatures written by him at that time were subsequently included in the collection “Talkh, tursh aor width” (“Bitter, sour and sweet”), published in 1954. The story "Khol Do" ("Open"), dedicated to the topic of the partition of India, was successful with readers, but was banned by the authorities. Another story “Thanda Gosht” (“Cold Meat”) about the conflict between the communities was, according to the writer, the first significant work he created in Pakistan. It was published in 1949, after which Saadat Hassan Manto was again arrested and brought to trial, together with the publisher and editor, with another charge of obscenity . On January 16, 1950, all the accused were sentenced to three months in prison and a heavy fine. Convicts filed a complaint with the court of appeal, and on July 10 of that year were fully acquitted ^{[2] [8]} .

However, even after the acquittal, the writer's works and he himself were subjected to constant attacks from that part of society for which morality was limited by its own ideas about it. Saadat Hassan Manto answered the offenders as only a writer could answer - he wrote the feuilleton “Upar, nitsche aor darmiyan” (“Above, below and in the middle”), in which he portrayed the bigots as they are. For this story, which the authorities also recognized as "immoral", in early 1953 a court in Karachi awarded him a fine of twenty-five rupees. But already in 1954 a collection of articles by the writer “Up, Down and Middle” was published, in which the story of the trial of the writer fell ^{[2] [8]} .

At this time, he talked a lot with students, gave lectures in educational institutions. He met and made friends with the young Anwar Sajjad , now a famous Pakistani writer. He attended the sessions “Halka e Arbab-e Zouk” (“Circle of Art Lovers”), founded in Lahore in 1939 by poets Nur Mohammad Rashid and Miraji . The members of this circle strictly separated art and political activity ^[2] .

Having learned about the financial difficulties of Saadat Hassan Manto, a certain employee of the American embassy in Pakistan offered him substantial fees, with the consent to work in the interests of the United States . The writer not only did not accept the offer, but from 1951 to 1954 he published nine pamphlets under the general title "Letters to Uncle Sam", directed against the aggressive foreign policy of the United States. Pamphlets received a wide public response and entered the collection “Above, Bottom and Middle” ^{[2] [9]} .

In Pakistan, Saadat Hassan Manto has published fifteen short stories, four book essays and essays. Many of his works were devoted to the tragedy of the partition of India, among which the stories from the collection “Siyah hashiye” (“Black Fields”), published in 1948, the collection “Sarak ke kinar” (“On the Sidelines”), published in 1953, became especially famous. , especially the story from this collection, “Tobatek Singh,” and the stories from the collection “Phundne” (“Tassels”), published in 1955. In 1953, two of his collections were published: “Parde ke pichhe” (“Behind the curtain”) - stories about Indian film industry workers and “Ganja Farishte” (“Bald Angels”) - memoirs ^{[2] [8]} .

Sickness and death

The writer’s habit of drinking from youth grew into alcoholism . At the beginning of 1951, after another breakdown, he went to a psychiatric hospital. The treatment was effective. In October of that year, he wrote a new collection, “Yazid,” and soon again went into a binge. The binges were replaced by short pauses, until in August 1953 he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver . His illness was used by some publishers who, instead of a decent fee, paid him for the work, the cost of a bottle of alcohol. The writer gave his wife the right to dispose of his manuscripts, after which the publishers had to deal with her. But he could no longer give up alcohol ^[2] .

Saadat Hassan Manto died on January 18, 1955 from cirrhosis of the liver at the age of forty-two years, leaving a widow with three young daughters. He was buried in the Miyani Sahab cemetery in Lahore. The epitaph on the grave monument - “This is a tombstone of the grave of Saadat Hassan Manto, who now believes that his name was a unique word on the tablets of the world”, was compiled by himself shortly before his death ^{[2] [8]} .

• Niyazova, Lola Shavkatovna. Creativity of Saadat Hassan Manto, as a stage in the formation of a modern story in Urdu (Russian) . Man and science. - Abstract of the dissertation in philology.
• Vidyarthy Chatterjee. Remembering Saadat Hasan Manto (English) . Dear Cinema.
• سعادت حسن منٹو (Urdu) . Rekhta.org. - A complete collection of stories by Saadat Hassan Manto in Urdu.