Google paid homage to the celebrated Pakistani writer, playwright and poet on his 108th birth anniversary with a doodle.
The doodle was designed by Pakistani illustrator, Shehzil Malik, who took to Instagram and shared it. Alongside the doodle, she wrote a caption, which read, “Today is Saadat Hasan Manto’s 108th birthday and I was asked to draw the Google Doodle to commemorate the occasion.”
Talking about the late author, Malik penned “Manto is a hero to me, so this was a huge honour. Go find the artwork on the Google homepage- and if you haven’t read Manto, you need to get on that immediately!”
The writer, known for his stories of Indian partition, Manto was a distressingly prophetic and daring writer. He was born into a middle-class Muslim family in the predominantly Sikh city of Ludhiana on May 11, 1912.
In his early 20s, he translated Russian, French and English short stories into Urdu, and through studying the work of western writers he learned the art of short story writing. He usually wrote an entire story in one sitting, with very few corrections, and his subjects tended to be those on the fringes of society.
Manto, who had penned stories in different languages, wrote at least 22 collections of short stories, a novel, five series of radio plays, three collections of essays and two collections of personal sketches.
The playwright, known for his controversial content, has been widely popular when it came to pop culture.
Sarmad Khoosat’s film on him made waves in the Pakistani film industry. The film, Manto, was critically acclaimed and starred Khoosat in titular role among Saba Qamar, Sania Saeed and Mahira Khan.
Last year, a Bollywood film Manto, loosely based on his life won big at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. The film starred critically acclaimed Indian actor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and was helmed by award-winning director Nandita Das.
Siddiqui was lauded for his brilliant portrayal of Manto onscreen.
