Anupam Kher: Best form of storytelling done by grandparents

Mumbai, Nov 9 Actor Anupam Kher feels the best form of storytelling is done by grandparents.

“The best form of storytelling has been done by our grandparents, mine used to tell me the same story and just changed the characters names,” said Anupam.

Anupam has narrated Saadat Hasan Manto’s short story “Toba Tek Singh”, a satire set in the time of Partition written in 1954.

“While narrating ‘Toba Tek Singh’, I could feel the sadness of Partition and it’s only a genius like Manto who can write from a mad person’s point of view. That is exactly how I have tried to narrate it, in a way that will make your heart go out to the character,” said the actor.

The story is set a few years after Partition in 1947. In an insane decision, the governments of India and Pakistan decided to exchange Hindu, Sikh and Muslim lunatics. Through the story, Manto highlights the absurdity of Partition as well as the emotional struggle and suffering that millions had to endure owing to the decision.

Although the story is fictional, an actual exchange of psychiatric patients between mental hospitals in Lahore and Amritsar did take place in 1950. “Toba Tek Singh”, now available in audio format, is based on that incident.