Saadat Hassan Manto (1912__1954) was born in Sambrala (now part of East Punjab) on May 11, 1912. He himself gave birth to ‘Manto’ as he was nearing the end of his school days. The first page of the book contains the following lines titled as
“In memory of a conversation”:
“The milk of human kindness … yes
You’ll forgive the cliche … flow
each Manto character’s chest … “
“Its color will have to be black if society
is to accept that verdict … “
Manto is known for writing unspeakable truths, hidden and dark tales of humanity augmented with pessimism, reality and the dark side of life, depicting socio-political and historical events alongside the nuances of racial and gender discrimination, injustice, violence and everything one can feel. . He gives voice to all those repressed emotions and feelings that everyone wants to express but is not aware of the channel to express, this is the reason why his words coincide with the thoughts of all people regardless of their social status, language and culture. Most of his stories involve a torrent of consciousness, discover everything that runs through the mind of every human being.
He had a strong conviction about his storytelling art, as his own epitaph contains lines:
“Here lies Saadat Hassan Manto along with his art of story writing … even now, under tons of earth, he wonders who is the better story writer … him or God.
Most of his short stories have been written against the background of the partition between India and Pakistan, they cover numerous socio-political issues in such a subtle and concise way that no one can calculate his mastery of weaving words into a tapestry.
“Sakina” is the story that unfolds a grim image of the Indo-Pak partition (1947), along with the shattered dramas and expectations associated with the new land of freedom. This story reveals how the trust of an elderly father is broken by his own companions, whom he thought of as his saviors and confidants. In the opening lines we are told that the special train carrying shelters from Amritsar arrived after eight hours at Mughalpura, beyond the new international border, the first paragraph describes the scene depicting the scene of people looted, injured and brutally murdered. during the riots.
An elderly Sirajuddin awakens to find himself lying on the cold, damp ground of the refugee camp. All around him, he sees a churning sea of humanity, men, women, and children. You want to think and remember, but your memory fades. Images begin to form on the screen of his mind: riots, looting, fires, races, the train station, shooting, the dark night and … and Sakina. Immediately, sirajuddin rises to his feet and, like a madman, pounces on the masses of people around him.
Dejected by the disappearance of his daughter, he looks for someone to take her back. After a few days he meets a group of young people, who have weapons and a truck. They, having received Sakina’s description, promise to locate her and bring her back.
But after locating Sakina, they prove otherwise, instead of handing her over to Sirajuddin, they mercilessly use her and then throw her near the train tracks, where they find her unconscious. When she is taken to the refugee camp hospital, Sirajuddin recognizes her by the black mole on her pale lifeless cheeks and joy creams “Sakina …. Sakina”. But quite shocking for the readers, when the doctor examines the girl’s pulse, he looks at Sirajuddin and moves his head towards the window “Open it”, he says, the girl on a stretcher, that is, Sakina moves, her hands move slowly and opens the knot of her shalwar and pushes the garment up her thighs …
Sirajuddin’s old face lights up with joy, “She is alive …”, he yells, “My daughter is alive …”
The doctor begins to drip sweat.
The plight of defenseless people migrating from one land to another is conveyed through a grisly event that leaves a lasting grim impact on readers. How human beings turn into wild animals during any situation of chaos, when things fall apart and the center cannot sustain itself. One shudders deeply as one gazes through the window pane that opens to the moment when a bloodstained line was drawn between two civilizations and religions at the cost of various lives, sanctities, and honors. When so many parents lost their daughters and got only their incarnations, devoid of soul.
The use of the word “open it” carries symbolism and leads to so many connotations and interpretations. Previously, this story was titled “Khol Do” while it was written in the Urdu version, but when it was translated, its title was changed to “Sakina”. This story is an index of how the social fabric is destroyed when anarchy and disorder prevail in society. The story reveals that the aftermath of any war gives birth to lost generations, who have aimless lives and are subject to agonies, immorality, dissatisfaction and anxiety.
This brief history reflects the socio-political and geographical condition of the migrated people at the time of partition, the religious and cultural differences that became the root cause of two separate kingdoms. The naive and simple attitude of the people, their blind trust in others, the expectations and dreams about the new liberated land, their capacity for sacrifice and suffering. Then their exploitation and manipulation at the hands of the authorities and people around them.
Title: NEGRA MILK (short story anthology)
Author: SAADAT HASSAN MANTO
Translated from Urdu by: HAMID JALAL
Genre: PROSE
Publisher: Sang_e_Meel Publications 1996
Pages: 187
English language
Story Title: SAKINA