About Thanda Gosht: Manto first published this story in 1950 in a Pakistani literary magazine. The story is notable for its overt discussions of sexuality outside of marriage and other challenging depictions of the inhumane predations committed during Partition. As a result of publishing this story, he was charged with obscenity. In fact, Manto was tried for obscenity five additional times: thrice under British rule and two additional times in independent Pakistan although he was never convicted. The story takes place in a hotel room where the Sikh protagonists, Ishar Singh and his lover Kulwant Kaur, have a complicated spat about Singh’s mysterious absence. When Singh, who is ordinarily a voracious lover, is unable to copulate with Kaur, she accuses him of infidelity. After several tedious exchanges often using their sexualized code language of playing Trumps, she stabs him in the throat in a fit of rage using his own kirpan (Sikh ritual dagger). As he lay dying, he confesses to abducting a girl, whom we are to assume was Muslim, with the intention of raping her. However, upon laying her down on the ground to perpetrate the crime, he discovers that she is dead. Her “cold flesh” motivates the title of the story. The reader is left to assume that he in fact raped her cold flesh. — C. Christine Fair
***
Just as Ishar Singh entered the hotel room, Kulwant Kaur stood up from the bed. Glowering at him with her piercing eyes, she bolted the door. It was past midnight and the outskirts of town had been plunged into a strange, disquieting stillness.
Kulwant Kaur sat down on the bed, cross-legged. Ishar Singh, preoccupied with disentangling his gnarled thoughts, stood in a corner clutching a kirpan. Several minutes passed in this silence. After some time, Kulwant Kaur felt uncomfortable. She uncrossed her legs, dangled them over the side of the bed and began swinging them to and fro. Ishar Singh remained silent.
Kulwant Kaur had a sturdy build with a wide and ample ass. Her chest was conspicuous because of her excessive bosom which brimmed with flaccid flesh. Her eyes were razor-sharp. There was a steely grey dust of hair above her upper lip. From the structure of her chin, it was obvious that she was a formidable woman not to be trifled with.
Ishar Singh, with his head bowed, remained standing silently in a corner. His tightly bound turban had loosened. The hand which was clutching a kirpan trembled ever so slightly. Despite his rattled state, it was obvious from his height, stature and facial features that he was a most suitable lover for a woman like Kulwant Kaur.
After several more minutes passed in this quietude, Kulwant Kaur erupted in rage. Yet, despite her furor, she could only bring herself to say, “Ishar Singh!” while casting a flirtatious gaze.
Ishar Singh raised his head and looked towards Kulwant Kaur but, unable to endure her bullet-like stare, turned away.
Kulwant Kaur screamed. “Ishar Siyan!” She immediately swallowed her words. She got up from the bed and, as she approached him, asked, “Where have you been all these days?”
Ishar Singh ran his tongue over his parched lips. “I don’t know.”
Kulwant Kaur was seething. “What kind of bullshit answer is that?”
Ishar Singh tossed his kirpan to one side, then stretched out on the bed. It appeared that he had been ill for several days. Kulwant Kaur looked towards the bed which seemed to overflow with Ishar Singh’s hefty body. A wave of sympathy began to wash over her. She placed her hand on his forehead and affectionately queried, “What happened to you, my love?”
Ishar Singh’s eyes were fixed upon the ceiling. He glanced away from the ceiling and began to grope Kulwant Kaur’s familiar face. “Kulwant!”
There was pain in his voice. Kulwant Kaur summoned all of herself to her upper lip, and uttered, “Yes my love!” Then she began to bite it.
Ishar Singh removed his turban. Taking comfort in looking at Kulwant Kaur, he gave her meaty hips a hard slap. He jerked his head away and muttered to himself, “Either this girl is screwed up or I am.”
With a shake of his head, his mane tumbled out of its topknot. Combing his tresses with her fingers, she affectionately asked, “Ishar Siyan, where were you staying all these days?”
“I was at that motherfucker’s house.” Ishar Singh watched Kulwant intently then suddenly began to knead her bulging breasts with both hands. “I swear to Waheguru, you are one hell of a sexy woman!”
Kulwant Kaur coquettishly pushed Ishar Singh’s hand away. “Tell me honestly, where have you been? Did you go to the city?”
Ishar Singh, while knotting his hair atop his head with a single flick of his wrist, responded, “No.”
Kulwant Kaur was pissed. “No. You definitely went to the city…. And you stole a lot of money that you are hiding from me.”
“Only a bastard son would lie to you.”
Kulwant Kaur was silent for a while. Then, all of a sudden, she lost her composure. “But I don’t understand what happened to you that night…. You were lying with me so nicely. You decked me out with all of that jewelry you looted from the city. You were kissing me. Then, all of a sudden, God only knows what happened, you got up, got dressed, then left.”
Ishar Singh became sallow. Seeing his ashen color, Kulwant Kaur said, “Look at your pallor…. Ishar Siyan, I swear to Waheguru, something isn’t adding up.”
“I swear to you, nothing happened.”
Ishar Singh’s voice was listless. This made Kulwant Kaur even more wary. She pursed her lips and emphasized each and every word, “Ishar Siyan! What the hell! You are not the man I knew just eight days ago.”
Ishar Singh at once stood up as if someone had attacked him. He gathered Kulwant Kaur into his burly arms and began to ravish her with all his strength. “My love, know that I am that man…Hold me so tightly that I can feel your bones.”
Kulwant Kaur didn’t stop him, but she persisted, “What happened to you that night?”
“Whatever happened, it happened to some other asshole.”
“You’re not going to tell me?”
“If something had happened, I would tell you.”
“If you are lying, you will have to set me ablaze with your own two hands.”
Ishar Singh put his arms around her neck and then crushed his lips into hers. The hairs of his moustache tickled Kulwant Kaur’s nostrils and she sneezed. Both began to chuckle.
Ishar Singh removed his vest, looked at Kulwant Kaur lustfully, and told her “Get over here. It’s time for round of ‘cards.’”
Tiny beads of sweat sprouted above Kulwant Kaur’s upper lip. She fluttered her eyelashes coyly and told him, “Go to hell.”
Ishar Singh gave her portly hips a fierce pinch. Kulwant Kaur rolled over to one side, writhing in pain. “Ishar Siyan! Don’t do that. It hurts!”
Ishar Singh proceeded. He took Kulwant Kaur’s upper lip between his teeth and gnawed upon it. Kulwant Kaur melted completely. Ishar Singh removed his kurta and tossed it. “Come on. Let’s play a round of ‘trumps.’”
Kulwant Kaur’s upper lip began to quiver. Ishar Singh grabbed the hem of her kameez with both hands and peeled it off her as if he were flaying the skin from a goat and cast it aside. He stared at her naked body then pinched her arm. “Kulwant! I swear to Waheguru, you are one hell of a woman.”
Kulwant Kaur looked at the welt appearing on her arm. “Ishar Siyan, you are a sadistic brute.”
Ishar Singh smiled through his plush, black moustache. “Won’t you let me be a brute today?” he said as he continued with ever more savagery. He began biting Kulwant Kaur’s upper lip. He bit her ear lobes. He gnashed her plentiful breasts. He slapped her hefty hips so hard it could be heard. He showered her cheeks with kisses. He sucked her breasts until they were slathered in his saliva. Kulwant Kaur felt as if she might combust with desire.
But Ishar Singh, despite all of the foreplay, could not get hard. He tried every trick, strategy and play he could remember as if he were a desperate gambler in a losing match. But each of those tactics proved ineffective. Tired of useless foreplay and wanting to fuck, an exasperated Kulwant Kaur exclaimed “Ishar Siyan, you’ve shuffled the cards enough! Cut the deck and deal!”
Upon hearing her exasperation, Ishar Singh felt as if the entire deck of cards had slipped from his hands. Breathless, he stretched out on the bed next to Kulwant Kaur. A layer of cold sweat formed across his forehead. Kulwant Kaur made every effort to arouse him to no avail. Up to this point, everything had passed between them without the need for words. Kulwant Kaur, realizing that her hungry body would not be sated, got up from the bed in a huff. She grabbed the bed sheet that was hanging on the nail in front of her and wrapped herself quickly with it. Her nostrils flared in anger, and she struggled to get the words out. “Ishar Singh! Who is this goddamned woman you’ve been with all these days? Who is this bitch who has squeezed every drop from you?”
Ishar Singh, out of breath and laying on the bed, did not answer.
Kulwant Kaur was apoplectic. “I am asking you, who is this woman? Who is this bitch? Who is this thief? Tell me!”
Ishar Singh, in an exhausted tone of voice, answered “No one, Kulwant Kaur, No one at all.”
Kulwant Kaur, putting her hands on her big hips, bellowed “Ishar Singh, I am going to get to the bottom of this bullshit. I swear to Waheguru Ji. Is there a woman behind this fuckery?”
Ishar Singh wanted to say something, but Kulwant Kaur wouldn’t let him speak. “Just think before you swear to tell me the truth. I am the daughter of Sardar Nihal Singh. I will slaughter you, rendering you bite-sized pieces if you lie to me. Now swear to Waheguru and tell me whether some woman is behind this.”
Ishar Singh, with a big nod, sadly shook his head affirmatively. Kulwant Kaur went berserk. She hastily picked up the kirpan from the corner and removed its sheath as if she were peeling a banana and threw it aside. Then she attacked Ishar Singh.
A fountain of blood burst, spraying everything. Kulwant Kaur, not yet satiated, like a bunch of attacking cats, began to pull Ishar Singh’s hair all the while cursing this unknown mistress. Ishar Singh, after some time and with great difficulty, began begging for mercy. “Leave it, Kulwant Kaur. Leave it.” There was so much pain in his voice. Kulwant Kaur stepped back.
Blood was spewing from Ishar Singh’s neck and was falling upon his moustache. He opened his shivering mouth and looked in her direction with both gratitude and grievance. “My love! You did it so quickly. But whatever happened...it’s good that it happened."
Kulwant Kaur’s body was pulsating: “But who is she? Your mother?”
The blood had reached Ishar Singh’s tongue. As soon as he tasted his own claret, a tingling sensation coursed through his body.
“And me... And me... I have already murdered a sister and six other men…. With this kirpan….”
Kulwant Kaur could not get that other woman out of her mind. “I asked you. Who is this whore?”
Ishar Singh’s vision clouded over. After he regained his focus somewhat, he told Kulwant Kaur, “Don’t call her a whore.”
Kulwant screamed, “I am demanding to know who she is!”
Ishar Singh choked on his words. “I am trying to tell you.” Then he ran his hand over his throat. Seeing his own living blood on it, he smiled. “Men are such strange creatures.”
Kulwant Kaur was waiting for his response. “Ishar Singh, what are you talking about?”
Ishar Singh’s smile was even more visible in his blood-soaked moustache. “I’m trying to explain to you…. But you cut my throat, you fucking bitch…... So now I am going to slowly tell you everything.”
And when he began describing the events that transpired, a layer of cold sweat broke out upon his forehead. “Kulwant! My love…. I just could not tell you what happened with me.... Men are brutal and strange beasts.... In the city, the plundering was out of control. I joined in like everyone else…. I already handed over to you any jewelry or money I managed to snatch. But there was one thing that I hid from you.”
Ishar Singh, feeling pain in his wound, began to moan, “Hai! Hai!” Kulwant Kaur, paying him no regard, mercilessly insisted, “What did you hide from me?”
Ishar Singh, blowing away some of the blood that had accumulated on his moustache, told her, “At that house…... I was robbing. In it…. There were seven...In it, there were seven people. I... murdered...six... with this very kirpan you used on me…. Leave it…... Listen…... There was a girl. Extremely beautiful…. I picked her up and I took her with me.”
Kulwant Kaur listened in silence. Ishar Singh, once again wafted the blood from his moustache, “Kulwant, my love, I can’t even begin to tell you how gorgeous she was…... I intended to kill her too, but I said to myself “No, Ishar Singh. You savor the taste of Kulwant Kaur every day. Go ahead and taste her sweet fruit. See if you like it.”
Kulwant Kaur could only manage to utter “Humph….,”
“Then, I tossed her over my shoulder and set off…. On the way.... What was I saying?.... Ah yes…en route…Near the bank of a channel, I laid her out beneath the snapdragon brush…. At first, I thought I should shuffle the cards, then I thought better of it…...” After so much speaking, Ishar Singh’s mouth became dry.
Kulwant Kaur gulped down her own saliva to wet her throat and asked, “What happened next?”
With great difficulty these words emerged from Ishar Singh’s throat. “I…I...I threw down a card…. But...But…” His voice sank.
Kulwant Kaur tore into him. “Then what happened?”
Ishar Singh opened his eyes which had begun to close, and he looked at Kulwant Kaur’s body, every morsel of which was vibrating. “She…. She had already died...She was already a corpse... Just cold flesh…...My dear, give me your hand.”
Kulwant Kaur placed her hand on that of Ishar Singh which had become even colder than ice.
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