LAHORE, May 14: A four-day (May 14-17) theatre festival titled ‘Tribute to Manto’ celebrating 100 years of prolific short story writer Saadat Hasan Manto opened at Alhamra Art Centre, The Mall, on Monday.
The festival has been organised by Ajoka Theatre in collaboration with information and culture department and Lahore Arts Council.
The tribute is part of a series of events planned by Ajoka to celebrate Manto’s centenary which will be held throughout the year in both Pakistan and India.
Ajoka will present adaptations of Manto’s stories and readings of other relatively less known stories and essays which show his unwavering commitment to humanism and his abhorrence of war and bigotry.
Manto was subjected to sustained harassment, court cases and even admitted to mental hospital. His works were banned for a long time. Even now his works are not given due importance in the curriculum or the media.
Manto lived in Lahore from 1948 until his death in 1955. He left his beloved Bombay after Partition in January 1948 and landed in Lahore where his family had already relocated from Amritsar.
Many believe that Manto’s most prolific period as a writer was the time he spent in Lahore. It was in Lahore that he wrote his master piece `Toba Tek Singh’ and other Partition-related stories such as `Khol Do’, `Thanda Gosht’, `Aakhri Salute’ and the bitterly ironic sketches `Siyah Hashyeh.’ It was in Lahore that Manto stood trial for the many cases brought against him by the State on allegations of vulgarity and obscenity.
Manto’s scathing and often prescient writing on what he sees as he walks about the streets of Lahore soon after Partition, in essays such as `Savere jo Meri Ankh Khuli’, `Dekh Kabira Roya’ is a masterpiece.
The setting of `Toba Tek Singh’ is the Lahore Mental Hospital on Jail Road, where Manto spent some time in the company of some of the characters who he brings to life in one of the world’s greatest short stories.
The performance opened on a thought provoking note with dramatised reading of `Savere Jo Meri Ankah Khuli’ by Furqan Majeed. The reading style was impressive and catchy.
The dramatised reading was followed by the play `Toba Tek Singh.’ The play was adapted by Shahid Nadeem and directed by Madeeha Gauhar. Before the play, a footage featuring Partition scenes was screened with the recorded narration from Manto’s story `Siyah Hashyeh.’
The pain and anguish that Saadat Hasan Manto personally experienced as a result of the events of 1947, was poignantly depicted in the play `Toba Tek Singh’ that took place in the Lahore Mental Hospital, which became a metaphor for the insanity unleashed by the partitioning of India. The set was simple but impressive; barbed wires were reflective of the Partition. The play also included a fabulous mime performance. A jam-packed hall was all praise for an outstanding performance by the artistes.
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