Hindi-Urdu

(Penguin Petit)

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Ever since the Hindi-Urdu debate has been raging, Manto has tried to understand what the fuss is about. And while Maulvi Abdul Haq Sahib, Dr Tara Singh and Mahatma Gandhi seem to know all there is to know, the matter remains as elusive as ever to Manto.

As Manto struggles to understand a seemingly pointless debate, what follows is an imagined conversation between Munshi Narain Parshad and Mirza Muhammad Iqbal who are arguing about the merits of lemon water over soda water.

If anyone knows how to pack a punch and be tongue-in-cheek at the same time, it’s Manto. Hilarious and brilliant, Hindi-Urdu is a fine example of the shape short fiction can take in the hands of a prolific writer like him.