"Thanda Gosht" and Other Stories Saadat Hasan Manto

Thanda Gosht (Urdu: ٹھنڈا گوشت ALA-LC: Ṭhanḍā Gos̱ẖt IPA: [ʈʰənɖɑː ɡoːʃt̪], English: Cold Flesh) is a short story written by Saadat Hasan Manto.[1] The book was first published in a literary magazine in March 1950 in Pakistan. Later it was published by Sang-e-Meel Publications. Manto was charged with obscenity for this story and faced a trial in a criminal court.

The story is about the communal violence of 1947.[2] Ishwar Singh fails to make love to his mistress Kalwant. She suspects him of infidelity and in a fit of jealousy stabs him with his own dagger. While dying, Ishwar Singh admits his crime getting involved in riots which broke out in his village, killing a Muslim family with the same dagger and abducting a Muslim girl after breaking in their house and attempting to rape her, who was actually dead. Hence the title "cold flesh".[3]

Mantostaan, a 2017 Indian film which adapted four short stories of Manto for the screen also included a segment based on "Thanda Ghosht". Other stories which were adapted included "Khol Do", "Assignment", and "Akhiri Salute".[4] Manto, a 2018 Indian biographical drama film about Saadat Hasan Manto's later life includes an adaptation of Thanda Gosht and the long-drawn court trials on obscenity which followed, their severe toll on his health and finances and his eventual conviction.[5]

1. ^ "HE WROTE WHAT HE SAW – AND TOOK NO SIDES". Dawn (newspaper). 10 May 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
2. ^ "Manto's two set of stories about the Partition". Urdu Academy of North America website. 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
3. ^ Sethi, Ali (30 August 2012). "The Seer of Pakistan". The New Yorker (magazine). Retrieved 3 June 2021.
4. ^ Nihit Bhave. "Review of the movie Mantostaan by Times of India". Times of India (newspaper). Retrieved 3 June 2021.
5. ^ Coutinho, Natasha (1 June 2017). "Nandita Das ropes in Divya Dutta, Ranvir Shorey and Purab Kohli for her Manto biopic". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 3 May 2021.

• Thanda Gosht in English
• Thanda Gosht ठंडा गोश्त in Hindi
• Thanda Gosht ٹھنڈا گوشت in Urdu