First Letter To Uncle Sam

victimhood:
Yes these letters are great stuff as a whole. The only thing I can`t quite digest is the ``I am the greatest victim alive`` quality of it, something it shares in common with much of Urdu poetry.
Each person would have his own opinion regarding the place he accords to sorrow and self-pity in his life, but I find that wallowing too much gets in the way of productive activity (whatever that may be according to one`s interests, passions and capabilities).

Long Live Manto. Simply said.

Posted by Farangi_kush, on the eve she said us goodbye: December 22, 2000

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NOOR JEHAN SUROOR E JEHAN.

That is what Manto called her.

The light of the world is gone.The sound of music is silent. In beauty; Venus: in melody; Orpheus.

She was the one, it seems, Momin wrote these lines about:

``Uss ghairat-e naheed kee hur thaan hai deepuk

Sholaa saa lupakk jaiy hai,Avaaz tho dekho``

tr:O the one who would put Venus to shame , in Beauty and every musical note nothing but (raag)Deepak that was

(Her) voice, just look!

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as if a flame just leapt out (of her lips).

O you the Queen of Melody, who needs democracy or dictatorships, who cares what is & what is not.I would not even think twice to lovingly become a subject in of the realm where you reign supreme.

You put all theories,all philosophies,all discussions,all intellectualism to a standstill. Nothing is worthwhile,when you and your voice is around. We recorded you on our hearts & minds long time before we could afford these cold-metal gadgets.

Alas!

Hur cheez zamaanay kee,jahan pur thee vaheen hai

Ikk thoo hee nahee hai

Nazrain bhee vohee,aur nazzaray bhee vohee hain

Khamosh nigahon kay ishaaray bhee vohee hain

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kahnay ko tho subb kuchh hai,mugur kuchh bhee nahin hai

Ikk thoo jo nahin hai.

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``Silsala e roz o shubb naqsh gur e hadisaath``

ALLAMA IQBAL

tr: the string of Day & Night, just a chronicler of Events

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wassalam.

Re: # 33

``savairay jo aank khuli meri`` is really an inspiring piece of writing. There is so much to explore in between the lines.

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This is for the first time that I have `read` anythin from Manto (though I can remember watchin some of his plays telecasted on PTV in the last decade).

Is there some nice place on the web from where I can get to read some of most cherished works of Manto?

Re: # 33

``savairay jo aank khuli meri`` is really an inspiring piece of writing. There is so much to explore in between the lines.

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This is for the first time that I have `read` anythin from Manto (though I can remember watchin some of his plays telecasted on PTV in the last decade).

Is there some nice place on the web from where I can get to read some of most cherished works of Manto?

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view this users filtered interacts

One of my favorite manto stories is ``phoja haramda``, its a light funny story. I wonder if anyone knows which of manto`s books it was originally published in. I read it in a selection of manto stories, something like ``manto kay behtreen afsanay`` or such. The style is vintage manto, so i am pretty convinced that it is written by him, maybe it is one of the stories that remained unpublished during his lifetime. Some other writings that I recall were really amusing but are not well known are ``taqi katib``, ``walid sahib``, ``chuhay dan``, also his sketches of sitara, nur jehan and deewan singh muftoon were wryly funny.

manto was a prolific writer...he is dead....done with writing...

...most people have their favourite manto stories...most write-ups on manto do mention toba tek singh

others, mozelle

khol dO

kali shalwaar

it is neither easy nor fair to pick one story only from his collection and brandish it as great

drlokraj:26

Toba Teksingh is not his best piece, let alone great. It was made great by the Commies, the progressives. Manto despised commies and progressive--he was far greater than Faiz & Sahir types.

The liberal/secular scum has promoted and hyped Manto simply because they sought approval for themselves because of his drinking. The commie/progressive Cabal in Pakistan has strangulated and ignored a lot many bright writers simply because they wrote about the practising muslims--religious muslims.

His best piece, in my opinion is Mozail and/or Nayaa Quanoon.

``Al-Hamdu-Lillah`` , the story of a village maulvi, by Ahmad Nadeem Quasmi [among his many others] is quite at paar with best Manto. Quasmi Saahib, being from a Peer family, could not bring himself to write sansational/sensual subjects. To progressives/commies anything that talks about tradition/values and spurns western-psychoticity and perversion
is not worth noticing.

Aah if only the goraa changes his navigation points then the secular/liberal scum would immediately start adopting and co-opting it as their own `` brains.``.

Smoking is bad--goraa says so. Tomorrow drinking will be bad--the english-medium desi would immediatley follow suit, without batting an eyelid. Such is the scum which inhabits Pakistan.

Similar was the scum, albeit at a higher level , in Iran also before Islamic Laws arrived.

#25 by Mantolives on April 19, 2005 5:41am PT
Re: # 23

Sadly none of the pics open..


.............Try again.I just pasted the link.It worked.Do you have a `dsl` connection?.There might be problems with a dial-up link.Good luck!!.Thanks again for the story.I did drive back through M-hill, but i had a coworker in the car.Gave him a lift `cause his car is in for a service.I couldn`t be harsh.I`ll try again another day.There`s so much of the past mixed in with the present in our lives.This story touched me in some way , i cannot fathom, but touch` me it did.I wanted to be alone and think about things on the way home.

Re: # 22
Only Manto could have written that. Another great satire like ``Tobha Tek Singh``.

Re: # 23

Sadly none of the pics open...

Re: # 20

4th line in urdu ... Manto says: ``It is possible that Saadat Hassan dies and Manto lives``

He was right. Indeed Mantolives.

#18 by Mantolives on April 18, 2005 6:54am PT
My favorite story from Saadat Hassan Manto


Thank you.I am going to drive through Malabar Hill on the way back home tonight.I will tune in to my favorite FM station, roll down the windows, light a cigarette and remember the words in this story.

Cut and paste link to Jinnah`s hometown, mine too........

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=195977