One of the most distinguished Hindi writers of Bhopal Manzoor Ehtesham read out three short stories before the literature lovers of the city. He read out Hindi stories under a literary programme organised by Vagarth, Centre of Indian Poetry, Bharat Bhavan, here on Tuesday.
Manzoor recited three short stories in Hindi, Dharti (The Earth), Chhatri (Shed) and Baaqi Saari Gadiya (The All Cars) at Antrang Hall, Bharat Bhavan. All the short stories relate to the life of a common man and his dreams and expectations. As he was reciting the stories, the audience found themselves lost in the literary world.
Most of the artists, writers and literature lovers of the city were spotted among the audience. They listened to Manzoor with rapt attention as he kept on reciting the stories one after the other.
Notably, Manzoor is one of the most influential voices in contemporary Hindi writing, Manzoor Ehtesham has been publishing fiction for over three decades. He was born in 1948 in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) in a Muslim middle-class family and received his higher education at Aligarh Muslim University and Maulana Azad College of Technology (MANIT), Bhopal.
A significant Muslim voice in modern Hindi fiction, Manzoor Ahtesham is known for his nuanced psychological portraits of Indian Muslims in post-colonial India.
Manzoor Ehtesham”s work has been translated into English, German, and several Indian languages. His widely acclaimed novel Sukha Bargad was translated by Kuldip Singh as A Dying Banyan (New Delhi: Rupa, 2005). His novel Dastan-e lapata is currently being translated into English by Jason Grunebaum and Ulrike Stark.
Manzoor Ehtesham has won many literary prizes in India including the Padma Shri (2003), the Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad Puruskar, the Shrikant Verma Smriti Samman, the Virsingh Deo Award (for Dastan-e lapata), the Vageshwari Award (for Tasbih), the Shikhar Samman, and the Pahal Samman for his collected works. He was also shortlisted for the Sahitya Akademi Award.