Customer Reviews

Mottled Dawn; Fifty Sketches and Stories of Partition

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Manto a writer dismissed by the critics of his time as heretic; has proven them wrong by showing his real ingenuity in writing short stories with the utmost wit and flair for ironical humor. The "Mottled Dawn" which comprises a fair selection of 50 sketches and short stories are an entertaining read. He is a disturbing writer who shocks the reader with his candidness, sometimes with his crudity. Whether he writes of sex or the life of prostitutes, on social or on political issues, his stories are full of fire. His frankness greatly agitated the self-styled moralists of his day he had to face charges of obscenity against several of his stories in the court. Discarding emotionalism and slogans, Manto adopted a plain, realistic style with which he explores the depths of human psychology. His stories about the 1947 killings and disturbances are a moving record of the period. Their grim realism evokes the tensions and tragedy of the time with powerful directness. . Manto has the ability to take on the suffering and the painful experience by the people during partition and present it in a very conscise manner without making the story either dramatic or tragic.



Manto's protagonists are prostitutes, mentally insane inmates, criminals, poor people and beggars. His works evoke a great love for humanity and a sharp analysis of contemporary crises. According to Usman, Manto's characters "belong to a working-class world. His prostitute can be pious. His pimp can be honest. His street tough has a kind heart. His factory workers are revolutionaries. But at the same time, he is a realist. He can show the worst crimes and can immortalise the bloody partition of India in his writings."



Manto wrote about anti-imperialism, religious oppression and social misery. The horrific madness caused by India's partition and the creation of Pakistan inspired many celebrated works such as Toba Tek Singh, Naiya Qanun (New Law) and Babu Gopinath. A fine example of Manto's ironic wit is in his description of a communal riot in The Garland:



"The mob suddenly veered to the left, its wrath now directed at the statue of Sir Ganga Ram, the great philanthropist of Lahore. One man smeared the statue's face with coal tar. Another strung together a garland of shoes and was about to place it around the great man's neck when the police moved in, guns blazing. The man with the garland of shoes was shot, and taken to the nearby Sir Ganga Ram Hospital."