Main chalta phirta Bambai hoon," declared Saadat Hasan Manto in one of his many stories that meandered through the bylanes of a city he lived in for only 12 years, but which continued to reside in his heart long after. This Friday marks his 64th death anniversary, and to celebrate the iconic writer and his love for the city, Manto ki Bambai, a series of dramatised readings of his lesser-known works will be presented at multiple venues. The four-day event has been conceptualised by Jameel Gulrays, founder of Katha Kathan, an initiative that aims to bring people closer to Indian languages through literature.

"Manto continues to remain relevant today. Just consider these lines he wrote decades ago, 'Yeh mat kaho ki ek lakh Hindu mare hain, ya ek lakh musalman. Yeh kaho ki do lakh insaan mare hain' [It's not one lakh Hindus, or Muslims who have died. Call it the death of two lakh human beings]," says Gulrays, who, along with his team will present nine of Manto's works, where he presents a picture of the city's glamorous world and its underbelly.