Khalid Hasan, Manto, and Kala Kola
I knew Khalid Hasan only through his newspaper columns, which I enjoyed reading. A lifelong journalist and a writer, he observed people closely — their dress and demeanor, what they said and how they said it, and many other things about them. He commented on them playfully in his weekly column, Post Card, in The Daily Times, and reserved his sarcasm dipped in vinegar for people with puffed-up egos.
Among other things, he was curious about the things men did to their hair and commented on them; I happened to share his curiosity.
One day, I sent him a rather mischievous e-mail, my first to him, about the appearance of a Pakistani diplomat on TV he had written earlier as being too full of himself. Khalid Hasan’s reply came back the same day, laced with his usual humor. He was in Washington, D.C., and I was in Islamabad. That exchange of emails started a back-and-forth, which lasted for several months, discussing a variety of subjects, weaving the humorous with the serious. His messages were short, educative, and always humorous. Humor flew out of them like sparks from a grinding wheel when a dull knife was brought to bear upon it. I was the dull knife.
I reproduce some of our exchanges below. I have disguised some names but not others because Khalid Hasan had already mentioned them in his columns.
23 December 2007
Dear KH,
I remember you once wrote something interesting about Mr. S in the embassy in Washington, DC. The other day, I watched him on TV and noticed that he had dyed his hair blond. In his earlier appearances, he had black hair. I know that dyeing one’s hair is pretty common among Pakistani men, but dyeing it blond or reddish-brown seems to be a recent phenomenon, perhaps the result of the “Enlightenment.”
[“Enlightenment” and “enlightened moderation” were the buzzwords during Gen. Musharraf’s rule, popularized by the General himself as his vision for the country.]
AA
Dear AA
He is the same gentleman I used to write about. He is exceedingly fond of a person by the name of S (who happens to be himself, as chance may have it). As for his going blond, it is odd but not surprising. KH
26 December 2007
Dear KH
I thought I should let you know that the hair color of the gentleman we talked about has changed to a darker shade. I guess he might have utilized the services of a professional salon this time. Last time, it looked like a do-it-yourself job. AA
Dear AA
Thank you for the update. Why don’t you suggest that our friend be Pakistan’s official entry in the Miss Universe contest next year? What better way can there be of ushering in the New Year? It will also strike a blow for the cause of Enlightened Moderation. KH
We dropped the diplomat here. Meanwhile, I started reading, among other things, Saadat Hasan Manto’s short stories, the original Urdu version, which I had not read since my college days. In college, we did not pay attention to the introductions or forewords of a book; we jumped straightaway into the stories. But now, with more time on my hands — and more patience — I also read Manto’s introduction to his collection of short stories titled “Thanda Gosht”. In it, Manto describes his court trial on charges of obscenity and the judgments given by the different judges. I wanted to know more. So, I went back to Khalid Hasan.
May 15, 2008
Dear KH
I wonder where one can find the original court judgment on Saadat Hasan Manto’s “Thanda Gosht.” I am referring to the judgment that declared the story not obscene and acquitted Manto. I have read the Urdu version of the judgment written by Manto himself, but I would love to see the original English version (I assume the judge wrote the judgment in English). Since you have done so much work on Manto, I thought you would probably know. Thanks and regards. AA.
May 16, 2008
Dear AA,
I never looked for it, but one would have to be in Lahore (and not in Washington) to lay one’s hands on it. I will ask someone to look for it. If it comes to hand, I will send you a copy. The judgment must have been in Urdu because the language of lower courts was Urdu, not English. KH
Dear KH
Thanks!
Manto says in his story about the trial that the first judge ( First-class magistrate) who convicted him wrote the judgment in English. So, I assume the judgment by the higher judge (Additional District and Sessions Judge), who acquitted him, must have also been in English.
What made me interested in this was the quality of the judgment. It is so well-argued and well-written (I only read Manto's Urdu version). I wonder if any of our judges today could write a judgment like that. AA
Dear AA
The answer is no. Those who wrote those judgments were (as my friend Zafar Rathore says) “Angrez ki baaqiyaat”. Gone, as well as forgotten. KH
May 21, 2008
Dear KH
Sorry for imposing on your time. But I am stumped for the meaning of “zehmat-e-mehr darakhshaan” (زحمت مہر درخشاں ). It’s the title of the introduction by Manto to his book Thanda Gosht. Could you please help? AA
Dear AA,
Zehman-e-mehr-e-darakhshaan is from a Ghalib’s verse:
لرزتا ہے میرا دل زحمت مہر درخشاں پر
میں ہوں وہ قطرہ شبنم ، کہ ہو خار بیاباں پر
Larzata hai mera dil zehmat-e-mehr-e-daraskhshaan par
Mein hoon vo qatra-e-shabnam ke ho khaar-e-biyabaan par
I am like a drop of dew that rests on a thorn in the wild; my heart trembles at the thought of the sun that will (soon) rise (and annihilate me.)
I hope this makes Manto’s intent clear and conveys to you the state of mind he was in when he chose this snatch from Ghalib. KH
PS: Where are you based?
Dear KH
Thanks a lot. That really opens a whole new window on the subject. On my own, I wouldn’t have quite understood it. Your translation and the context you provided have lighted a bulb in my head.
I am currently in New York and shuttle between Islamabad and New York. Thanks once again. AA
Khalid Hasan replied the same day and brought up the subject of diplomat S once again, and we went back to the business of hair colors.
May 21, 2008
Dear AA
Every time you read Ghalib you find something new. Meanwhile, Mr. S of the old Hotel Sheherezad, Islamabad, continues to glow on TV, his hair getting closer to blond from its earlier brunette. KH
Dear KH
Haha! I think you should write a column on why Pakistani men, especially politicians, have this obsession with dyeing their hair. Have you seen PE lately, dyed to the gills? AA
Dear AA
A friend of mine calls such ‘dyed to the gills’ Pakistanis sat-rangay kabootar. Why single out PE? What about Mush? Or Shuj? Or Gul? Why, do they think it makes them look younger? The face and the jowls cannot be rejuvenated. When do you think these people will start using Botox? KH
We revert to Manto, once again, but didn’t quite forget the Kala Kola crowd.
May 22, 2008
Dear KH
One last question about Manto. As you might have guessed, I am a recent convert to Manto. And, you know, converts are more ardent than those born in the faith.
In Zehmat-e-mehr-e-darkhshaan (now I know exactly what it means), Manto writes that the Sessions judge had acquitted him of the obscenity charge and finishes the story of his trial there. But I found elsewhere that the government of the day went to the High Court against the acquittal, and the judge, who happened to be Justice Munir, reversed the lower court's decision and re-imposed the fine on Manto. Is that true? AA
Dear AA
Yes, what you report is true. The judgment acquitting Manto was reversed. Aitzaz Ahsan has the record and even made a move to have the court rescind its judgment. I did not keep up with it because of Ahsan’s immersion in the lawyers’ movement. I will ask him for the PLD reference so that we can fish out the judgment. So that makes it Munir’s second judicial crime, the other one being the Maulvi Tamizuddin Case leading to the Doctrine of Necessity. KH
June 7, 2008
Dear KH,
I enjoyed your Postcard today. While reading it, I wondered if this particular “Special Envoy” you talked about has ever been to school.
On a different note, I watched K talk on a news channel tonight. He, too, seems to have joined the Kala Kola Club! I hadn’t noticed it before, but one couldn’t miss it tonight. AA
June 8, 2008
Dear AA
The Envoy has to be heard to be believed. In one single visit, he did more damage than India has done us in one entire year in this town.
Yes, K is now a member in good standing of the Kala Kola Club.
KH
Khalid Hasan wrote the column “Kala Kola Klub” in his next weekly Post Card, in The Daily Times and forwarded me the link with a one-line message:
June 14, 2008
Dear AA
I have fulfilled your “farmaish”. KH
June 14, 2008
Dear KH
Thanks! You have taken a load off my chest.
Yes, I already read your Postcard—colorful as always—and I also wrote a letter to the editor. I simply couldn’t resist.
By the way, I suspect Mr. H also belongs to the ‘Klub’. He may be using a different technology or a different product, but his hair invariably looks like a freshly laid tarmac glued tightly to the surface. No? AA
June 15, 2008
Dear AA
No, Mr. H still has his own hair color. He keeps them glued down because he is losing them from the front, hence the hairdo. He is around 52–53, but don’t worry; give it a few years, and he will be graying — and coloring. KH
June 15, 2008
Dear KH
I think someone should bring to Mr. H’s notice what Dean Rusk (a former US Secretary of State) was reported to have said about people going bald. (Rusk himself was bald.) He said that people who go bald from the back of the head are thinkers; those who are bald from the front are sexy, and those who are bald both from the back and the front think they are sexy.
On the second reading of your Postcard (I had to read it twice to relish it), I think you have come down a bit too hard on poor Tully (By the way, why do they call him Tully?). AA
Khalid Hasan did not reply to this message. Most likely, he was not well. Six months later, he died. RIP
