Essay Communications' MANTO MANTRA begins with an unusual prayer: a prayer by a 'respectable' member of the society, who urges God to vanquish Manto, the writer who incessantly exposes the ugly underbelly of society. It appears as though the urgent prayer is promptly answered because Manto himself appears on stage next, dressed in a white kurta-pyjama surrounded by eerie music borrowed largely from the 2003 Vishal Bhardwaj film Maqbool. Saadat Hasan Manto himself is the narrator of the play. In a few words Manto takes you through a quick journey from the beginning of his writing career to commenting on the society that he belonged to (or constantly defied) and then introduces one of his favourite recurring characters -- the prostitute. Saugandhi, the protagonist of Manto's story, then takes over the stage from the author.
Saugandhi is struggling to come to terms with the fact that she is past her prime. A customer's reaction confirms her fears and she shares her anxiety with the audience. The piece, unfortunately, comes across as preachy and loses it's impact. The author comes back on stage to introduce the second piece of the evening (and does so for every piece). The introductions also include Manto's personal experiences that have inspired these stories. The second piece is actually a brief snippet that takes a peak into a prostitute's room on a lazy day. The banter between Sultana and a cocky client, Shankar, who refuses to pay her is funny. But that's about it.
The third piece which features two brothers Gama and Bholu is one of the highlights of the production. Gama and Bholu are street vendors who live in servant quarters that they have taken control of. The story plays out in the killing heat when unable to sleep in their quarters, the brothers resort to making their beds on the terrace. Gama constructs a bed with a purdah to protect his wife's modesty, as do the other couples. Bholu gets inspired by his brother and demands that he be married off but little does he understand that marriage isn't the solution to his problems. This is a very nuanced piece. The actors have done a good job presenting it and they are rewarded appropriately by the loudest applause. The other factor that works for the piece is that it is a Manto story devoid of his usual characters, yet entrenched in the society he loved to explore.
The next performance with Mohammedbhai in the lead brings us back to Manto's favourite city, Bombay. Mohammed, Manto tells us, was a local don equally loved and feared. It was Mohammed Bhai's moustache that gave him his dreadful persona, so they take the spotlight in the story. This is another gem from Manto's treasure trove and the cast does complete justice.
From Bombay the play follows Manto to Pakistan where the author and the citizens of the newborn nation are coming to terms with their changed addresses. At this time the armies of the two countries too were coming to terms with having to face each other when only a few months earlier they patrolled the borders together. Ram Singh and Rab Nawaz are two such soldiers who find themselves on either side of the border. The thick friends, who joined the army together, are now enemies. As most such stories go, this one too does not have a happy ending. But what makes this piece different from other war stories is the piercing innocence of the two soldiers forced to make sacrifices for two nations that had still to establish their own identities.
The last piece for the evening was Manto's hard hitting story Khol Do, which is often read together with Thanda Gosht. This short performance focuses only on the final scene described in the story. But that one scene is enough to summarise the entire story. The piece brings the play to an uneasy end just the way Manto would have wanted it.
Overall, MANTO MANTRA is worth an evening at the theatre. The energetic young actors have worked hard on their diction, and in turn gain support from the classic stories by an author, who remains one of the masters of Hindi-Urdu literature. But at the same time MANTO MANTRA is too much of a no-risk production. Sure, the audience has to work hard to grasp the Urdu but it is a fascinating language that's easy to love and Manto certainly knows how to play with it to bring out its best. The actors held up the play but the solo pieces faltered. Taking on relatively unknown names for the play was the only risk the producer and director took. At the end of the day, playing safe with Manto is just plain ironic.
*Aditi Sharma enjoys watching theatre and writing about it.
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