A collection of non-fiction writing from iconic Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto showcases his brilliance while dealing with life's most mundane things - graveyards, bumming cigarettes, a film crew with motley characters from mythology - and a sharp dissection of what ails the subcontinent.
"Why I Write: Essays by Saadat Hasan Manto" is translated by journalist-writer Aakar Patel and published by Tranquebar Press.
"Those who have read him (Manto) in the original, or even heard his words recited by Naseeruddin Shah's magnificent troupe which performs his works, will know Manto's language as that of Bollywood: simple and plain Hindustani. He is an easy man to translate in that sense," says Patel.
"Most of the pieces in this collection were written for newspapers, and except for two, so far as I know, none have been translated before. I have edited, clipped, trimmed and rewritten a few of them, perhaps more than I should have," he says.
In the opening piece "Why I Write", Manto answers the questions which most authors face.
"The most important reason is that I'm addicted to writing, just as I am to drinking. When I don't write, it feels I'm unclothed, like I haven't had a bath. Like I haven't had my first drink," Manto had written in what was published as "Main Afsana Kyon Kar Likhta Hoon".
"I don't actually write the stories, mind you, they write themselves. And that shouldn't be surprising. You see, I haven't had much education. I have, however, written 20 books and I'm often astonished as the thought of who their writer could possibly be," he wrote.
"When the fountain pen is not in my hand, I'm merely Saadat Hasan. A man who knows and is able to express little. It is the pen that transforms me into Manto," he wrote.
