Saturday, May 17, 2008, Jamadi-ul-Awwal 10, 1429    

Tribute paid to Manto at NCA

Tahir Rashid

Rawalpindi—Department of Theatre, National College of Arts, Rawalpindi paid rich tributes to the legendary Urdu short story writer Sadat Hassan Manto to mark his 96th birthday.
On the occasion Naeem Tahir and Parveen Malik along with Usman Khalid Butt, Faisal Kamal Pasha and Faheem Azam read the play based on Manto’s famous story “Thanda Gosht” in a spectacular style. Some senior TV artists Batin Farooqui, Ali Tahir and others were also present to watch the play. Veteran producer Sarmad Sahbai directed the play.
They also articulated the proceedings of the court, which was held at Lahore High Court against Sadat Hassan Manto on the charges of vulgar writing in his short story “Thanda Gosht”. During the case, celebrated personalities like Faiz Ahmad Faiz and
Soofi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum defended Manto.
The stage reading was followed by a screening of a contemporary interpretation of Manto’s short story “Niya Qanoon”, directed by Sarmad Sahbai, which was declared best PTV play in 1997. “We have cultural heritage of thousands years old but we could not preserve it in befitting manner and many other countries stole our legacy in culture”.