Manto : A Life In Words

Like that great Soviet writer Maxim Gorky, whose works Sadaat Hasan Manto greatly admired and would later translate into Urdu- the later started his life almost like a tramp, could not pass the matriculation examination, which could have been his ticket into educated, cultured bourgeois society, despite attempting it twice. Yet Manto rose to become one of the greatest Urdu writers of the 20th century amid much personal tribulation and anguish and decided to drink his life away in a hurry at the age of 42? 


Manto was born into a respectable middle-class Kashmiri family of Ludhiana in 1912 and was the only son from his father's second wife (his father's first wife bore him three sons and seven daughters). Being the underdog and odd one out in his own family probably had something to do with Manto's later affinity with the underdog in his literary work. Then came Bari Alig, a leftist writer and activist who quickly became Manto's mentor and encouraged him to read French and Russian classics and to translate them. Manto, by then already a small-time author, successfully translated into Urdu the work of such writers as Victor Hugo, Oscar Wilde and Maxim Gorky. 


Manto's sympathy with the downtrodden and with the Bolshevik revolution can be traced to his encounter with these writings; in fact, some of his best writing consists of translations of Hugo and essays on the revolution and Gorky. Those who are unconvinced about or downplay his socialist sympathies should peruse Manto's earliest collection of short stories, Aatish Paray (Flakes of Fire, 1936), and Manto kay Afsanay (Stories of Manto, 1940). 

Soon after the success of these early collections of short stories, Manto got married, in a match arranged by his elder sister. The years leading up to the partition of India were spent in frequent oscillation between Bombay and Delhi in search of permanent work, and some of his best work, in the form of essays and radio plays, came in this period. This was also the time when he had his first three run-ins with British law over the publication of three stories, “Black Shalwar”, “Smoke” and “Odour”, that were deemed obscene, but he was never convicted.

The partition of India in 1947 shattered Manto personally and financially, but his best creative work was undoubtedly produced after his migration to Pakistan. It also transformed him from a consummate connoisseur of wine into an alcoholic. Had he remained in India, he may have become a great film scriptwriter, as his numerous Indian friends who stayed behind believed. But he could see no future for himself in a partitioned country beset by a murderous communal frenzy, and he had already sent his wife and children to Pakistan. He also thought that at least the new Muslim state would give him the sort of acceptance, respect and financial security that would be on a par with what he had got in undivided India. 

But the new ideological state closed its doors to him even before the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case of 1956, when the minuscule Communist Party was deemed enough of an ideological threat to the custodians of the nascent undemocratic state for them to ban it on a trumped-up charge of sedition. 

Baul : A Continuing Tradition

Bauls are bards, composers, musicians, dancers and actors all rolled into one, and their mission is to entertain. Through their songs, pauses, gestures, and postures, these nomadic mendicants spread the message of love and ecstasy to lands far and wide. In a land devoid of mechanical entertainment, Baul singers were a major source of entertainment once in the British era. Tagore was fond of their songs and many of his best creations were evidently inspired by the Bauls. 

Tagore as Baul : painting by Abanindranath Tagore

Perhaps the best known Baul of yesteryear was Lalan Fakir. Lalan songs called lalongeeti in Bangladesh are still very popular and singers sings these with myriad improvisations. Along side these modern singers also exist the traditional Bauls. 


People still love to watch them sing and dance, their narration of folk tales, and even commentary on contemporary issues through highly melodious songs and an extraordinarily high-pitched rendition. Although their lyrics speak the language of the village folks, their songs are appealing to one and all. The songs are simple and direct, profusely emotional, enjoyable, and needs no special knowledge for appreciation.

Lee Lozowick

In the previous post, we had spoke about Parvathy Baul, perhaps the most known face of these wandering minstrels. This week we will speak about Lee Lozowick (aka Lee Khepa Baul or Lee Kṣepā Baul,  an American spiritual teacher and a Baul. Lee was largely responsible for popularizing  this tradition to the west. Lee had come to India in search of enlightenment and became a disciple of Yogi Ramsuratkumar. Then later he took to Baul and earned the name of Khepa Baul (Mad Baul). 

Although he resonated deeply with the Vedantic traditions of India, devoting himself and later his students to the wandering Baul minstrels,  he however did not stay with the school for long. In his last days, he had adopted so many ways of preachings and philosophies, that he had  carved a unique and unconventional path through the postmodern spiritual landscape of the west mocking sacred cows with his “crazy wisdom” approach, fronting a series of blues-rock bands, and adopting the role of a spiritual guru.