Manto had composed his own epitaph about six months prior to his death that goes like: "Here lies Sa'adat Hassan Manto and with him lie buried all the secrets and mysteries of the art of storytelling. Under tons of earth he rests, still wondering who among the two is the greater story writer: God or he." A strong dialogue suiting the characteristic cynical style with which Manto composed his short stories on the dynamics of the society we live in. For personal reasons, the family replaced the gravestone, with the one pictured above. The present inscription, derived from Ghalib's couplet, is still crafted with some cynicism with the repetition of the word grave. The gravestone reads: My Gravestone This epitaph belongs to the grave of Sa'adat Hasan Manto's grave who still believes that his name was not just another inscription on the tablet of life Born May 11, 1912 : Died Jan 18, 1955