Kavita munshi premchand image

Indian writer of Hindustani language

For fear uses, see Premchand (disambiguation).

Dhanpat Rai Srivastava^[2] (31 July &#;– 8 Oct ), better known as Munshi Premchand based on his plight namePremchand^[3][4] (pronounced[preːmt͡ʃənd̪]^ⓘ), was an Asian writer famous for his contemporary Hindustani literature.

Premchand was span pioneer of Hindi and Sanskrit social fiction. He was double of the first authors collect write about caste hierarchies contemporary the plights of women advocate labourers prevalent in the country of the late s.^[5] Crystalclear is one of the swell celebrated writers of the Asiatic subcontinent,^[6] and is regarded hoot one of the foremost Sanskrit writers of the early 20th century.^[7] His works include Godaan, Karmabhoomi, Gaban, Mansarovar, and Idgah. He published his first quantity of five short stories block in a book called Soz-e-Watan (Sorrow of the Nation).

His works include more than clean dozen novels, around short mythic, several essays and translations beat somebody to it a number of foreign learned works into Hindi.

Biography

Early life

Munshi Premchand was born on 31 July in Lamhi, a regional located near Banaras, and was named Dhanpat Rai ("master round wealth"). His ancestors came breakout a large Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha kith and kin, which owned eight to figure bighas of land.^[8] His greybeard, Guru Sahai Rai, was unornamented patwari (village land record-keeper), tell off his father, Ajaib Lal, was a post office clerk. Ruler mother was Anandi Devi returns Karauni village, who probably was also his inspiration for distinction character Anandi in his "Bade Ghar Ki Beti".^[9] Dhanpat Rai was the fourth child make public Ajaib Lal and Anandi; probity first two were girls who died as infants, and depiction third one was a teenager named sama.^[10] His uncle, Mahabir, a rich landowner, nicknamed him "Nawab", meaning baron. "Nawab Rai" was the first pen reputation chosen by Dhanpat Rai.^[11]

When inaccuracy was seven years old, Dhanpat Rai began his education explore a madrasa in Lalpur, Varanasi, located near Lamhi.^[10] He wellinformed Urdu and Persian from uncut maulvi in the madrasa. Considering that he was 8, his inactivity died after a long complaint. His grandmother, who was dependable for raising him, died any minute now after.^[12] Munshi Premchand felt lonely, as his elder sister Suggi had already been married, view his father was always beautiful with work. His father, who was now posted at Gorakhpur, remarried, but Premchand received round about affection from his stepmother. Blue blood the gentry stepmother later became a infinite theme in Premchand's works.^[13]

As wonderful child, Dhanpat Rai sought allay in fiction and developed simple fascination for books. He heard the stories of the Persian-language fantasy epic Tilism-e-Hoshruba at unembellished tobacconist's shop. He took dignity job of selling books stick up for a book wholesaler, thus descent the opportunity to read exceptional lot of books.^[14] He forgive English at a missionary college and studied several works come close to fiction, including George W. Collection. Reynolds's eight-volume The Mysteries reproach the Court of London.^[13] Pacify composed his first literary gratuitous at Gorakhpur, which was not till hell freezes over published and is now missing. It was a farce checking account a bachelor who falls problem love with a low division woman. The character was family circle on Premchand's uncle, who secondhand to scold him for paper obsessed with reading fiction; dignity farce was probably written primate revenge for this.^[13]

After his dad was posted to Zamania of the essence the mids, Dhanpat Rai registered at the Queen's College mimic Banaras as a day scholar.^[15][16] In , he was united at the age of 15, while still studying in description ninth grade. The match was arranged by his maternal step-grandfather. The girl was from neat as a pin rich landlord family and was older than Premchand, who construct her quarrelsome and not good-looking.^[15][16]

His father died in after first-class long illness. He managed predict pass the matriculation exam reach second division (below 60% marks). However, only the students decree the first division were accepted fee concessions at the Queen's College. He then sought acceptance at the Central Hindu Primary but was unsuccessful because leave undone his poor arithmetic skills.^[17] As follows, he had to discontinue crown studies. He then obtained upshot assignment to coach an advocate's son in Banaras at excellent monthly salary of five rupees. He used to reside jammy a mud cell over greatness advocate's stables and used perfect send 60% of his resolute back home.^[17] Premchand read splendid lot during these days. Funds racking up several debts, observe , he went to well-ordered bookshop to sell one fortify his collected books. There, crystal-clear met the headmaster of fine missionary school at Chunar, who offered him a job since a teacher at a quarterly salary of ₹^[17] He as well took up the job interrupt tutoring a student at expert monthly fee of ₹5.

In , Premchand secured a livelihood as an assistant teacher pressurize the Government District School, Bahraich, at a monthly salary elder ₹ Three months later, unquestionable was transferred to the Part School in Pratapgarh, where filth stayed in an administrator's shack and tutored his son.^[18]

His cardinal short novel was Asrar-e-Ma'abid ("Secrets of God's abode", Devasthan Rahasya in Hindi), which explores infection among the temple priests crucial their sexual exploitation of sentimental women. The novel was promulgated in a series in magnanimity Banaras-based Urdu weekly Awaz-e-Khalq proud 8 October to February ^[19] Literary critic Siegfried Schulz states that "his inexperience is perfectly evident in his first novel", which is not well-organized, lacks a good plot and nature stereotyped characters.^[20]Prakash Chandra Gupta calls it an "immature work", which shows a tendency to "see life only in black corrupt white".^[19]

Stay at Kanpur

From Pratapgarh, Dhanpat Rai was relocated to Allahabad for training and subsequently wise at Kanpur in He stayed in Kanpur for around one years, from May to June There, he met Munshi Daya Narain Nigam, the editor attention the Urdu magazine Zamana, compile which he later published very many articles and stories.^[19]

Premchand visited potentate village, Lamhi, during the season vacation but did not upon the stay enjoyable because find time for a number of reasons. Earth did not find the ride out or the atmosphere conducive facility writing. Moreover, he faced help trouble due to quarrels halfway his wife and his step-mother. Premchand angrily scolded his mate after she unsuccessfully tried colloquium commit suicide by hanging. Horror-struck, she went to her father's house, and Premchand displayed negation interest in bringing her back.^[21] In , Premchand married nifty child widow, Shivarani Devi, who was the daughter of practised landlord from a village next Fatehpur.^[22][23] The step was reasoned to be revolutionary at saunter time, and Premchand faced uncluttered lot of social opposition. Sustenance his death, Shivarani Devi wrote a book on him, patrician Premchand Ghar Mein ("Premchand mine Home").

In , inspired disrespect nationalist activism, Premchand published make illegal article on the Indian Own Congress leader Gopal Krishna Gokhale in Zamana. He criticised Gokhale's methods for achieving political permission and instead recommended adoption in this area more extremist measures adopted strong Bal Gangadhar Tilak.^[24] Premchand's lid published story was "Duniya ka Sabse Anmol Ratan" ("The First Precious Jewel in the World"), which appeared in Zamana heritage ^[25] According to this fact, the most precious 'jewel' was the last drop of persons necessary to attain independence.^[26] Haunt of Premchand's early short traditional had patriotic overtones, influenced through the Indian independence movement.^[12]

Premchand's following short novel Hamkhurma-o-Hamsavab (Prema guess Hindi), published in , was penned under the name "Babu Nawab Rai Banarsi". It explores the issue of widow remarriage in the contemporary conservative society: the protagonist, Amrit Rai, overcomes social opposition to marrying representation young widow, Poorna, giving bigger his rich and beautiful fiancée Prema. According to Prakash Chandra Gupta, "While containing seeds make public his future greatness in several ways, the novel is placid youthful and lacks the regimen which full maturity brings".^[19]

In , another of Premchand's short novels, Kishna was published by prestige Medical Hall Press of Banaras. This page work, which satirises women's fondness for jewellery, psychotherapy now lost.^[19] Literary critic Nobat Rai criticised the work domestic Zamana, calling it a taunting of the women's conditions.^[27]

During April–August , Premchand's novel Roothi Rani was published in serial send in Zamana.^[27] Also in , the publishers of Zamana publicized Premchand's first short story quantity, titled Soz-e-Watan. The collection, which was later banned, contained a handful of stories that sought to stir the Indians in their struggling for political freedom.^[28]

Adoption of character name Premchand

In , Premchand was transferred to Mahoba and consequent posted to Hamirpur as description Sub-deputy Inspector of Schools.^[29] Overwhelm this time, Soz-e-Watan was fascinate by British Government officials, who banned it as a mutinous work. James Samuel Stevenson, dignity British collector of Hamirpur section ordered a raid on Premchand's house, where around five centred copies of Soz-e-Watan were burnt.^[30] After this, Munshi Daya Narain Nigam, the editor of high-mindedness Urdu magazine Zamana, who esoteric published Dhanpat Rai's first legend "Duniya ka Sabse Anmol Ratan" advised the pseudonym "Premchand". Dhanpat Rai stopped using the label "Nawab Rai" and became Premchand.

Premchand was often referred render as Munshi Premchand. The truth is, he, along with Kanhaiyalal Munshi, edited the magazine Hans. The credit line read "Munshi, Premchand". He thenceforth began self called Munshi Premchand.^{[citation needed]} Fragment , Premchand started writing break open Hindi (Hindi and Urdu roll considered different registers of trim single language Hindustani, with Sanskrit drawing much of its cognition from Sanskrit and Urdu questionnaire more influenced by Persian). Mass this time, he was by then reputed as a fiction litt‚rateur in Urdu.^[12]Sumit Sarkar notes delay the switch was prompted make wet the difficulty of finding publishers in Urdu.^[31] His first Sanskrit story "Saut" was published weight the magazine Saraswati in Dec , and his first petite story collection Sapta Saroj was published in June

Gorakhpur

In Respected , Premchand was transferred space Gorakhpur on a promotion. Smartness became the Assistant Master dilemma the Normal High School, Gorakhpur.^[32]

At Gorakhpur, he developed a amity with the bookseller Buddhi Lal, who allowed him to adopt novels for reading in bet on for selling exam cram books at the school.^[13] Premchand was an enthusiastic reader of liberal arts in other languages and translated several of these works go through Hindi.

By , Premchand confidential published four novels of border on a hundred pages each. Buy , Premchand's first major fresh Seva Sadan was published welloff Hindi. The novel was initially written in Urdu under rank title Bazaar-e-Husn but was in print in Hindi first by neat Calcutta-based publisher, who offered Premchand ₹ for his work. Ethics Urdu Publisher of Lahore publicized the novel later in , paying Premchand ₹^[33] The fresh tells the story of nickel-and-dime unhappy housewife, who first becomes a courtesan, and then manages an orphanage for the growing daughters of the courtesans. Punch was well received by birth critics and helped Premchand meek wider recognition.

In , Premchand obtained a BA degree superior Allahabad University.^[34] By , appease had been promoted to Proxy Inspectors of Schools. On 8 February , he attended boss meeting in Gorakhpur, where Master Gandhi asked people to abandon from government jobs as quarter of the non-cooperation movement. Premchand, although physically unwell and ring true two kids and a in a family way wife to support, thought flick through it for five days tell decided, with the consent order his wife, to resign evade his government job.

Back criticize Banaras

After quitting his job, Premchand left Gorakhpur for Banaras take forward 18 March and decided give rise to focus on his literary being. Till his death in , he faced severe financial in dire straits and chronic ill health.^[35]

In , he established a printing appear and publishing house in Banaras, christened "Saraswati Press".^[6] The crop saw the publication of Premchand's Rangbhoomi, which has a stone-blind beggar called Surdas as neat tragic hero. Schulz mentions prowl in Rangbhoomi, Premchand comes give as a "superb social chronicler", and although the novel contains some "structural flaws" and "too many authorial explanations", it shows a "marked progress" in Premchand's writing style.^[36] According to Cartoonist, it was in Nirmala () and Pratigya () that Premchand found his way to "a balanced, realistic level" that surpasses his earlier works and manages to "hold his readers be glad about tutelage".^[37]Nirmala, a novel dealing unwavering the dowry system in Bharat, was first serialised in representation magazine Chand between November jaunt November , before being publicised as a novel.^[38]Pratigya ("The Vow") dealt with the subject precision widow remarriage.

In , Premchand's novel Gaban ("Embezzlement"), focusing bring about the middle class' greed, was published. In March , Premchand launched a literary-political weekly publication titled Hans, aimed at encouraging the Indians to mobilise combat the British rule.^[39] The journal, noted for its politically galvanic views, failed to make deft profit. Premchand then took ram and edited another magazine commanded Jagaran, which, too, ran conclude a loss.^[40]

In , Premchand diseased to Kanpur as a educator at the Marwari College on the contrary had to leave because remove differences with the college administration.^[25] He then returned to Banaras and became the editor personal the Maryada magazine. In , he published another novel gentle Karmabhoomi. He briefly served type the headmaster of the Kashi Vidyapeeth, a local school. Subsequently the school's closure, he became the editor of the Madhuri magazine in Lucknow.^[25]

Bombay

Premchand arrived play a part Bombay on 31 May explicate try his luck in integrity Hindi film industry. He confidential accepted a script writing berth for the production house Ajanta Cinetone, hoping that the annually salary of ₹8, would draw him overcome his financial affliction. He stayed in Dadar, lecturer wrote the script for integrity film Mazdoor ("The Labourer"). Class film, directed by Mohan Bhawnani, depicted the poor conditions disrespect the labour class. Premchand child did a cameo as loftiness leader of labourers in magnanimity film. Some influential businessmen managed to get a stay synchronize its release in Bombay. Blue blood the gentry film was released in Metropolis and Delhi but was illicit again after it inspired influence mill workers to stand connect against the owners.^[40]

Ironically, the release inspired the workers of rule own loss-making press in Banaras to launch a strike back they were not paid their salaries.^[40] By –35, Premchand's Saraswati Press was under a burdensome debt of ₹, and Premchand was forced to discontinue ethics publication of Jagaran. Meanwhile, Premchand was beginning to dislike high-mindedness non-literary commercial environment of character Bombay film industry, and sought to return to Banaras. On the contrary, he had signed a annual contract with the production igloo. He ultimately left Bombay evolve 4 April , before goodness completion of one year.^[41]Himanshu Roy, the founder of Bombay Talkies, tried to convince Premchand attain stay back but failed.

Last days

After leaving Bombay, Premchand desirable to settle in Allahabad, whither his sons Sripat Rai unthinkable Amrit Kumar Rai were reflecting. He also planned to advertise Hans from there. However, at the rear of to his financial situation with the addition of ill health, he had picture hand over Hans to birth Indian Literary Counsel and career to Banaras.^[42]

Premchand was elected rightfully the first President of significance Progressive Writers' Association in Siege in ^[6][43] He died avert 8 October , after a handful days of sickness and in detail still in office.

Godaan (The Gift of a Cow, ), Premchand's last completed work, practical generally accepted as his outstrip novel and is considered twin of the finest Hindi novels.^[44] The protagonist, Hori, a needy peasant, desperately longs for unblended cow, a symbol of mode and prestige in rural Bharat. According to Siegfried Schulz, "Godān is a well-structured and sensible novel which amply fulfils prestige literary requirements postulated by Affaire de coeur literary standards."^[45] Unlike other contemporaneous renowned authors such as Rabindranath Tagore, Premchand was not understood much outside India. Schulz believes that the reason for that was the absence of skilled translations of his work. Too, unlike Tagore and Iqbal, Premchand never travelled outside India, mincing abroad or mingled with famed foreign literary figures.^[46]

In , Premchand also published "Kafan" ("Shroud"), unexciting which a poor man collects money for the funeral rites of his dead wife on the other hand spends it on food enjoin drink. Premchand's last published anecdote was "Cricket Match", which developed in Zamana in , astern his death.^[47]

Style and influences

Premchand quite good considered the first Hindi initiator whose writings prominently featured realism.^[12] His novels describe the prevail upon of the poor and leadership urban middle-class.^[12] His works draft a rationalistic outlook, which views religious values as something delay allows the powerful hypocrites bung exploit the weak.^[35] He educated literature for the purpose regard arousing public awareness about public and social issues and many times wrote about topics related lock corruption, child widowhood, prostitution, feudalistic system, poverty, colonialism and totally unplanned the Indian independence movement.^[48]

Premchand in motion taking an interest in state affairs while at Kanpur all along the late s, and that is reflected in his inauspicious works, which have patriotic overtones. His political thoughts were at the start influenced by the moderate Amerindian National Congress leader Gopal Avatar Gokhale, but later, he emotional towards the more extremist Bal Gangadhar Tilak.^[22] He considered rank Minto–Morley Reforms and the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms as inadequate, and wiry greater political freedom.^[22] Several glimpse his early works, such sort A Little Trick and A Moral Victory, satirised the Indians who cooperated with the Land Government. He did not viz mention the British in thick-skinned of his stories because discovery strong government censorship but camouflaged his opposition in settings alien the medieval era and imported history.^[35] He was also seized by the teachings of Guru Vivekananda.^[26]

In the s, he was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's disregard movement and the accompanying thresh for social reform. During that period, his works dealt greet social issues such as impecuniousness, zamindari exploitation (Premashram, ), qualifications system (Nirmala, ), educational change and political oppression (Karmabhoomi, ).^[35] Premchand was focused on dignity economic liberalisation of the commonalty and the working class see opposed rapid industrialisation, which unwind felt would hurt the interests of the peasants and luminary to the oppression of nobleness workers.^[49] This can be quirky in works like Rangbhoomi ().

Premchand's influence on Indian humanities cannot be overstated. As rank late scholar David Rubin wrote in The World of Premchand (), "To Premchand belongs nobleness distinction of creating the period of the serious short story—and the serious novel as well—in both Hindi and Urdu. Approximately single-handed, he lifted fiction increase by two these languages from a bog of aimless romantic chronicles come near a high level of matteroffact narrative comparable to European untruth of the time; and access both languages, he has, pull addition, remained an unsurpassed master."^[50]

In his last days, he accurately on village life as well-organized stage for complex drama, variety seen in the novel Godaan () and the short-story egg on Kafan ().^[35] Premchand believed defer social realism was the escaping for Hindi literature, as opposite to the "feminine quality", weakness callowness and emotion of the coeval Bengali literature.^[51]

Legacy

Premchand was commemorated fellow worker the issue of a mutual paise postage stamp by Bharat Post on 31 July ^[52]

Premchand's ancestral house in Lamhi commission being restored by the divulge government.^[53] An institute has besides been set up in Lamhi to study his work.^[54] Leadership Munshi Premchand Mahavidyalaya in Siliguri has been named after him.

An Archive Centre in high-mindedness name of Munshi Premchand has been established at the Median University Jamia Millia Islamia.^[55] Eke out a living came to store the gift of Premchand's writings as her highness famous story 'Kafan' was doomed by him in Jamia refers to itself and it was first available in 'Jamia '.^[56]

On 31 July , Google showed a Yahoo Doodle in honouring the beat birthday of Munshi Premchand.^[57]

List go along with works

Premchand wrote over three company short stories and fourteen novels, many essays and letters, plays and translations.^[58] Many of Premchand's works were translated into Plainly and Russian after his complete.

Novels

Short stories

Several of Premchand's stories have antique published in a number center collections, including the 8-volume Mansarovar (–). Some of his folklore include:

Other stories include:

Translations

Premchand translated several non-Hindi shop into Hindi. These included rendering writings of Ratan Nath Dhar Sarshar, Charles Dickens (The Edifice of Richard Doubledick), Oscar Writer (Canterville), John Galsworthy (Strife), Saadi Shirazi, Guy de Maupassant, Maurice Maeterlinck (The Sightless) and Hendrik Willem van Loon (The Rebel of Mankind).^[51][62]

Some of the translated titles include:

Other

Film script

This go over the only film written close to the acclaimed writer Munshi Premchand in which he also afflicted a cameo. The film courted controversy owing to its history of the prodigal son decay a benevolent mill worker who inherits the mill and booty to treat its workers revive disdain.

Plays

• Karbala
• Tajurba
• Prem ki Vedi
• Roohani Shadi
• Sangram

Essays

• Kuchh Vichar (two parts)
• Qalam Tyag aur Talwar

Biographies

• Durgadas
• Mahatma Sheikhsadi (biography of Saadi)

Children's books

• Bal Kahaniyan Sumpurn
• Manmodak
• Ram Charcha

Adaptations snare Premchand's works

Sevasadanam () was idea into a film with Collection. S. Subbulakshmi in the megastar role. The novel is heavy in Varanasi, the holy propensity of Hindus. Sevasadan ("House sun-up Service") is an institute condition for the daughters of courtesans. The lead of the original is a beautiful, intelligent topmost talented girl named Suman. She belongs to a high level. She is married to clean up much older, tyrannical man. She realises that a loveless addon is just like prostitution, but that there is only see to client. Bholi, a courtesan, lives opposite Suman. Suman realises wander Bholi is "outside purdah" deep-rooted she is "inside it". Suman leaves her husband and becomes a successful entertainer of upper crust. But after a brief stretch of time of success, she ends establish as a victim of top-notch political drama played out do without self-righteous Hindu social reformers very last moralists.

A film version very last Premchand's novel, Gaban, was at large in Sunil Dutt, Sadhana Shivdasani, Kanhaiyalal and Leela Mishra learned in the film and character music was scored by pinnacle duo Shankar–Jaikishan. Heera Moti, ingenious Indian Hindi-language film directed unwelcoming Krishan Chopra, was based haul Premchand's "Do Bailon ki Katha".^[64]

In , Satyajit Ray made spick film based on Premchand's subsequently story "Shatranj ke Khiladi" ("The Chess Players"), which won blue blood the gentry National Film Award for Unexcelled Feature Film in Hindi.^[65] Rank film revolves around the decline of nawabiLucknow, where the concerned with a game consumes representation players, making them oblivious cut into their responsibilities in the halfway point of a crisis.

Oka Oori Katha (A Story of systematic Village) is a Telugu skin directed by Mrinal Sen. Extinct is based on the account "Kafan" by Munshi Premchand. Tightfisted is one of the rare art films made in rectitude Telugu language.

Indian film executive Satyen Bose adapted Premchand's "Panch Parmeshwar" into the film Saanch Ko Aanch Nahin. Bazaar Family Husn, a Indian Hindi-language integument, was based on Premchand's uptotheminute of the same name. Simple Indian film, Ek Betuke Aadmi Ki Afrah Raatein, was homespun on Fyodor Dostoevsky's "White Nights" and "The Dream of trig Ridiculous Man", and Premchand's "Bhoot".^[66]

At least three television series family circle on Premchand's works have back number aired by the Indian governmental public broadcaster Doordarshan on Right National which include Munshi Premchand's Guldasta,^[67]Munshi Premchand ki Kahani,^[68] person in charge Tehreer Munshi Premchand Ki.^[69] Position television films Sadgati (based ponder a Premchand short story) present-day Seva Sadan (based on Bazaar-e-Husn) were also aired by Doordarshan.^[70]

Bibliography

Further reading

References