Obituary: Great storyteller Mansha Yaad passes away

Inspiration behind Rahain, Urdu, Punjabi stories dies of cardiac arrest; leaves behind four children and a widow.

ISLAMABAD: The inspiration behind the memorable PTV drama serial Rahain and author of dozens of Urdu and Punjabi short stories and novels, Mansha Yaad, passed away in Islamabad on Saturday. He was 72.

Yaad complained of chest pain and was shifted to the Islamic International Hospital where he died of cardiac arrest in the evening. He has left behind three sons, a daughter and a wife to mourn his death.

He was the father of The Express Tribune’s Assistant Accounts Manager Kashif Naveed.

Born in 1937, Yaad remained associated with PTV and Radio Pakistan for decades and proved his mettle as a playwright and storyteller. The famous Urdu drama serial Rahain was based on his award-winning Punjabi novel “Tanwan Tanwan Tara”.

His other writings for TV include Junoon, Bandhan, Pooray Chand ki Raat and Awaz — almost all of them famous and unforgettable. Yaad will be remembered most for his short stories. “Band Muthi main Jugnoo” and “Khala Andar Khala” were two of his most famous short stories.

“His stories always reflected his love for people and the pain he felt for the common man. He was a liberal man and always promoted broadmindedness,” said renowned writer Arshad Mehmood.

Yaad’s first short story appeared in 1955, when he was only 18. However, his first collection appeared in 1975. He published 10 collections of short stories in his lifetime.

“He was the representative of present era in short story writing and will always be remembered. He had a great quality to keep the readers glued to his stories,” said writer Ashfaq Saleem Mirza. He said Yaad’s death is a loss for the entire nation.

Yaad won multiple awards at national and international forums during his lifetime. He was awarded the Pride of Performance for Novel and Short Story Writing by the government in 2004. He was also awarded with Baba Farid Adabi Award for Best Novel Writer in 2006 for his works in Punjabi. The president and the prime minister also expressed grief over his demise.

Harf Academy members and poets Farzana Jana, Asad Baig, Col Maqbool Hussain and Malik Irfan Khani have condoled his death. He will be laid to rest at the H-8 Graveyard in Islamabad on Sunday after Zuhr prayers.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2011.