Tag Archives: Toba Tek Singh

A Hundred Years of Manto

31, Laxmi Mansions, Hall Road, Lahore

“Here lies buried Saadat Hasan Manto in whose bosom are enshrined all the secrets and art of short story writing. Buried under mounds of earth, even now he is contemplating whether he is a greater short story writer or God.”

May 2012 will mark the hundredth birth anniversary of the man who wrote that epitaph for himself, Saadat Hasan Manto (1912-1955). One cannot help but compare Manto’s centennial to Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s last year, preparations for which had begun much in advance. There seems to be an odd silence about Manto. Continue reading A Hundred Years of Manto

Do I look painDoo?

This post is dedicated to Nadeem F. Paracha.

Photo by 'Life Church Burnley' Flickr: "shoorkot road toba tek sing love this palce.but need much improvement"

[Photo by ‘Life Church Burnley’ on Flickr: “shoorkot road toba tek singh love this place but need much improvement”]

So on Facebook I saw a fellow Punjabi who lives in vilayat has listed his hometown as Toba Tek Singh, Pakistan, which I thought was very cool. Why didn’t I get this idea? Never mind, I thought, like all good ideas this must be stolen. My hometown on Facebook now is also Toba Tek Singh, Pakistan. It was only much after going mad over Manto’s story did I discover that Toba Tek Singh was a real place in west Punjab. Always wondered what its people thought about the story. Continue reading Do I look painDoo?