Pseudo-Masculinity and Its Consequences: A Reading of "Thanda Gosht" Kritiksha Sharma College

Sadaat Hasan Manto was one of the most consequential and controversial writers of his times. He has produced over 20 collections of short stories, a novel and a series of radio plays; despite such prowess, he was severely criticized for his erotic style of writing and was subsequently charged with obscenity six times. Many of his most well known works have portrayed and managed to personify the uncomfortable and unacknowledged dark side of the human psyche. Manto often projects a very basic sense of human impotency and the absolute denial of humanitarian values along with the dwindling concept of “humanity” itself. He wrote dark humorous satires bordering on the offensive and disturbing. Apart from showing the moral afflictions from which humanity suffered, emerging from our internal demons, he also showcased the collective madness pursued by even the simplest of individuals. No part of human existence was untouched by him. He draws his characters from the margins of the society like prostitutes, pimps, alcoholics, self loathing rapists and wrote in a language that is abusive, scatological but also real. He vehemently attacks the conventional norms of society and propriety. He spoke about topics which the world would even...