Dear Manto.

THE GREAT MAVERICK

Dear Manto,

 You fascinate me. You make me question the society I am part of. You are the reason I blame my glorious past. I held them responsible for all that you went through. I am proud that in a turbulent age you lived in, Manto engaged in issues, today people are not brave enough to voice! They cancelled you because they were afraid to accept what you wrote, but they could never deny the truth in your observation.

They called you the foul mouthed, alcoholic, womanizer and illiterate, But you were the compassionate destroyer, the monarch of story writing, penning down the true face of human at the cost of your life and health. What they all labelled as ' vulgarity ' , was actually the birth of originality by the bright and unrestrained intellect! You could have opt for a simpler and easy way, but you choose to balance yourself on a tightrope. You were adamant to attain knowledge by your way and to process it in your distinctive style. You avoided anything common, because you weren't anything close to it, were you Manto?

I have this on going battle inside of me. I always come back to one question. Has the people not rejected your ideas, if the world never collapsed onto you, if you weren't so eager to get the approval ( or it was also one of your many acts ? ) if you didn't leave Bombay and Delhi, if you actually opened a shop when Saffia bagum told you to. If Manto was not burned at the stake, not excluded from the masses, didn't go through the hell, would you be what you are today?

 Whatever you wrote gained historical status today my friend. The word 'MANTO' means liberation now. The dark face of our society that you unveiled years ago, has been accepted today. You won, Manto. People are free to express in art, they are no longer judged but appreciated. You are the pioneer of the social realism, and so many others took that path thanks to your paved one. For me you are the biggest conundrum of Urdu literature. And the day you died, so many unborn creative pieces died. Because no one had/have courage required to pen them down, but you.

 Your talent reflected your desire to enhance the understanding of complexity of human existence. The path you took to understand the sensitivity of pain might be questionable but the outcome can never be erased or forgotten.You transcend time, culture, you outdid yourself. You were what you were, and my friend, you defended fiercely your choices to remain true!

Yours

A confused admirer.