In the book Bombay Stories SaadatHasanManto has given a very clear description of the

daily life of those living in the rural slums of Mumbai during the 1930’s and the 1940’s. He vividly describes his memories and experiences and incorporates them into stories ranging from those of alcoholic delirium to the daily activities of a young prostitute.

The poverty at the time is evident as nearly all the women in the novel have been portrayed as prostitutes who also have pimps. Manto plays with our expectations many times,for example- when a young prostitute of 15 years who goes by the name Sarita returns the money she was offered for her ‘job’. In “Ten Rupees' , Sarita unexpectedly returns to the men the 10 rupees that they paid for her services as they didn’t do anything to her and when asked why ,she simply replies, : “ why should I take it ?”.( page 25, Bombay Stories , SaadatHasanManto).

One of the most interesting characters in the novel is Manto himself, who appears in some stories as himself. He also brings some bitter humour about what people go through. Often,he is also unorthodox with the endings of his stories. We can see this in many cases such as in “ Ten Rupees” when Sarita unexpectedly returns the money or as in “Barren” when Naim confesses that he had made up the story about himself and Zahra, but amazingly felt that he had still lost her and because of that he commited suicide. It is also fascinating that Manto is not interested in writing stories about the elite and the rich class of Mumbai but focuses instead on the pimps and prostitutes of the lowly slums of Mumbai. Another interesting aspect of this book is that all the stories in the book are written in first person.That brings a sense of immediacy to the narrative.

Manto may not be the biggest admirer of women ( regarding the fact how he has portrayed them in Bombay Stories), but he has in a way correctly portrayed how Mumbai was in the 1940’s amidst the chaotic times of independence and partition. He discussesissues regarding many problems such as depression , poverty, satire and moral decay. This helps us get a better view of one of the most violent , turbulent and brutal chapters of Indian history. He also on multiple occasions portrays men as stifling figures, most notably in the story “Insult”, in which Madho was a man who takes advantage of Saugandhias he keeps asking for money and also keeps making false promises. The story “ Insult” is also one of the few stories in which the female character has her own voice and her own opinions and she stands up for herself.

This novel with its controversial and radical stories is, unsurprisingly, not short of critics with a few stating that Mumbai had been falsely portrayed as a dangerous place full of ‘gangsters’ and ‘brothels’. In the end it all comes down to the creativity of Manto and how he has depicted pre- independence Bombay. One of his most wonderful quotes is “If you find my stories dirty, the society you are living in is dirty. With my stories, I only expose the truth.”It would also be an understatement to say that Manto was one of the best short story writers in Indian