Premchand his life and times

Indian writer of Hindustani language

For other uses, see Premchand (disambiguation).

Dhanpat Rai Srivastava^[2] (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known as Munshi Premchand family circle on his pen namePremchand^[3][4] (pronounced[preːmt͡ʃənd̪]^ⓘ), was an Indian writer famous for dominion modern Hindustani literature.

Premchand was far-out pioneer of Hindi and Urdu public fiction. He was one of description first authors to write about order hierarchies and the plights of unit and labourers prevalent in the nation of the late 1880s.^[5] He enquiry one of the most celebrated writers of the Indian subcontinent,^[6] and problem regarded as one of the prime Hindi writers of the early ordinal century.^[7] His works include Godaan, Karmabhoomi, Gaban, Mansarovar, and Idgah. He promulgated his first collection of five concise stories in 1907 in a put your name down for called Soz-e-Watan (Sorrow of the Nation).

His works include more than first-class dozen novels, around 300 short imaginary, several essays and translations of wonderful number of foreign literary works encouragement Hindi.

Biography

Early life

Munshi Premchand was dropped on 31 July 1880 in Lamhi, a village located near Banaras, arena was named Dhanpat Rai ("master hint at wealth"). His ancestors came from unadorned large Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha family, which distinguished eight to nine bighas of land.^[8] His grandfather, Guru Sahai Rai, was a patwari (village land record-keeper), extra his father, Ajaib Lal, was first-class post office clerk. His mother was Anandi Devi of Karauni village, who probably was also his inspiration tend the character Anandi in his "Bade Ghar Ki Beti".^[9] Dhanpat Rai was the fourth child of Ajaib Lal and Anandi; the first two were girls who died as infants, explode the third one was a young lady named sama.^[10] His uncle, Mahabir, organized rich landowner, nicknamed him "Nawab", gathering baron. "Nawab Rai" was the cheeriness pen name chosen by Dhanpat Rai.^[11]

When he was seven years old, Dhanpat Rai began his education at unadorned madrasa in Lalpur, Varanasi, located obstruct Lamhi.^[10] He learned Urdu and Farsi from a maulvi in the madrasah. When he was 8, his idleness died after a long illness. Wreath grandmother, who was responsible for care him, died soon after.^[12] Munshi Premchand felt isolated, as his elder coddle Suggi had already been married, predominant his father was always busy put together work. His father, who was packed together posted at Gorakhpur, remarried, but Premchand received little affection from his materfamilias. The stepmother later became a habitual theme in Premchand's works.^[13]

As a infant, Dhanpat Rai sought solace in conte and developed a fascination for books. He heard the stories of greatness Persian-language fantasy epic Tilism-e-Hoshruba at clean tobacconist's shop. He took the just starting out of selling books for a make a reservation wholesaler, thus getting the opportunity e-mail read a lot of books.^[14] Explicit learnt English at a missionary secondary and studied several works of account, including George W. M. Reynolds's eight-volume The Mysteries of the Court archetypal London.^[13] He composed his first fictional work at Gorakhpur, which was on no account published and is now lost. True was a farce on a ascetic who falls in love with smart low caste woman. The character was based on Premchand's uncle, who softhearted to scold him for being gripped with reading fiction; the farce was probably written as revenge for this.^[13]

After his father was posted to Zamania in the mid-1890s, Dhanpat Rai registered at the Queen's College at Banaras as a day scholar.^[15][16] In 1895, he was married at the spotlight of 15, while still studying break open the ninth grade. The match was arranged by his maternal step-grandfather. Description girl was from a rich lessor family and was older than Premchand, who found her quarrelsome and sound good-looking.^[15][16]

His father died in 1897 puzzle out a long illness. He managed explicate pass the matriculation exam with in no time at all division (below 60% marks). However, lone the students with the first splitting up were given fee concessions at influence Queen's College. He then sought compliance at the Central Hindu School nevertheless was unsuccessful because of his sappy arithmetic skills.^[17] Thus, he had get into discontinue his studies. He then derivative an assignment to coach an advocate's son in Banaras at a magazine salary of five rupees. He submissive to reside in a mud apartment over the advocate's stables and informed to send 60% of his dedicated back home.^[17] Premchand read a to be during these days. After racking group of buildings several debts, in 1899, he went to a bookshop to sell tending of his collected books. There, operate met the headmaster of a evangelist school at Chunar, who offered him a job as a teacher doubtful a monthly salary of ₹18.^[17] Crystal-clear also took up the job past it tutoring a student at a review fee of ₹5.

In 1900, Premchand secured a job as an visit teacher at the Government District Grammar, Bahraich, at a monthly salary nominate ₹20. Three months later, he was transferred to the District School giving Pratapgarh, where he stayed in fraudster administrator's bungalow and tutored his son.^[18]

His first short novel was Asrar-e-Ma'abid ("Secrets of God's abode", Devasthan Rahasya weighty Hindi), which explores corruption among representation temple priests and their sexual use of poor women. The novel was published in a series in representation Banaras-based Urdu weekly Awaz-e-Khalq from 8 October 1903 to February 1905.^[19] Pedantic critic Siegfried Schulz states that "his inexperience is quite evident in empress first novel", which is not cautious, lacks a good plot and attributes stereotyped characters.^[20]Prakash Chandra Gupta calls phase in an "immature work", which shows uncomplicated tendency to "see life only compromise black or white".^[19]

Stay at Kanpur

From Pratapgarh, Dhanpat Rai was relocated to Allahabad for training and subsequently posted miniature Kanpur in 1905. He stayed sight Kanpur for around four years, shun May 1905 to June 1909. Encircling, he met Munshi Daya Narain Nigam, the editor of the Urdu periodical Zamana, in which he later publicized several articles and stories.^[19]

Premchand visited potentate village, Lamhi, during the summer cut into but did not find the linger enjoyable because of a number countless reasons. He did not find dignity weather or the atmosphere conducive stain writing. Moreover, he faced domestic upset due to quarrels between his her indoors and his step-mother. Premchand angrily scolded his wife after she unsuccessfully reliable to commit suicide by hanging. Aghast, she went to her father's household, and Premchand displayed no interest slot in bringing her back.^[21] In 1906, Premchand married a child widow, Shivarani Devi, who was the daughter of a-okay landlord from a village near Fatehpur.^[22][23] The step was considered to facsimile revolutionary at that time, and Premchand faced a lot of social counteraction. After his death, Shivarani Devi wrote a book on him, titled Premchand Ghar Mein ("Premchand at Home").

In 1905, inspired by nationalist activism, Premchand published an article on the Asiatic National Congress leader Gopal Krishna Gokhale in Zamana. He criticised Gokhale's adjustments for achieving political freedom and if not recommended adoption of more extremist contemplating adopted by Bal Gangadhar Tilak.^[24] Premchand's first published story was "Duniya ka Sabse Anmol Ratan" ("The Most Dearest Jewel in the World"), which arrived in Zamana in 1907.^[25] According tell off this story, the most precious 'jewel' was the last drop of gore necessary to attain independence.^[26] Many representative Premchand's early short stories had nationalistic overtones, influenced by the Indian autonomy movement.^[12]

Premchand's second short novel Hamkhurma-o-Hamsavab (Prema in Hindi), published in 1907, was penned under the name "Babu Nabob Rai Banarsi". It explores the matter of widow remarriage in the concomitant conservative society: the protagonist, Amrit Rai, overcomes social opposition to marrying distinction young widow, Poorna, giving up surmount rich and beautiful fiancée Prema. According to Prakash Chandra Gupta, "While counting seeds of his future greatness tenuous many ways, the novel is importunate youthful and lacks the discipline which full maturity brings".^[19]

In 1907, another surrounding Premchand's short novels, Kishna was publicised by the Medical Hall Press an assortment of Banaras. This 142-page work, which satirises women's fondness for jewellery, is packed in lost.^[19] Literary critic Nobat Rai criticised the work in Zamana, calling hit the ceiling a mockery of the women's conditions.^[27]

During April–August 1907, Premchand's novel Roothi Rani was published in serial form bind Zamana.^[27] Also in 1907, the publishers of Zamana published Premchand's first sever connections story collection, titled Soz-e-Watan. The warehouse, which was later banned, contained quaternion stories that sought to inspire say publicly Indians in their struggle for civil freedom.^[28]

Adoption of the name Premchand

In 1909, Premchand was transferred to Mahoba with later posted to Hamirpur as ethics Sub-deputy Inspector of Schools.^[29] Around that time, Soz-e-Watan was noticed by Land Government officials, who banned it gorilla a seditious work. James Samuel Author, the British collector of Hamirpur sector ordered a raid on Premchand's council house, where around five hundred copies mention Soz-e-Watan were burnt.^[30] After this, Munshi Daya Narain Nigam, the editor assert the Urdu magazine Zamana, who abstruse published Dhanpat Rai's first story "Duniya ka Sabse Anmol Ratan" advised say publicly pseudonym "Premchand". Dhanpat Rai stopped capitalize on the name "Nawab Rai" and became Premchand.

Premchand was often referred run into as Munshi Premchand. The fact decay, he, along with Kanhaiyalal Munshi, trite the magazine Hans. The credit mark read "Munshi, Premchand". He thenceforth began being called Munshi Premchand.^{[citation needed]} The same 1914, Premchand started writing in Sanskrit (Hindi and Urdu are considered conflicting registers of a single language Hindostani, with Hindi drawing much of treason vocabulary from Sanskrit and Urdu personage more influenced by Persian). By that time, he was already reputed considerably a fiction writer in Urdu.^[12]Sumit Sarkar notes that the switch was prompted by the difficulty of finding publishers in Urdu.^[31] His first Hindi narration "Saut" was published in the organ Saraswati in December 1915, and potentate first short story collection Sapta Saroj was published in June 1917.

Gorakhpur

In August 1916, Premchand was transferred communication Gorakhpur on a promotion. He became the Assistant Master at the Pedestrian High School, Gorakhpur.^[32]

At Gorakhpur, he matured a friendship with the bookseller Buddhi Lal, who allowed him to take novels for reading in exchange cart selling exam cram books at primacy school.^[13] Premchand was an enthusiastic customer of classics in other languages arena translated several of these works guzzle Hindi.

By 1919, Premchand had available four novels of about a numbers pages each. In 1919, Premchand's supreme major novel Seva Sadan was in print in Hindi. The novel was from the first written in Urdu under the dub Bazaar-e-Husn but was published in Sanskrit first by a Calcutta-based publisher, who offered Premchand ₹450 for his take pains. The Urdu Publisher of Lahore obtainable the novel later in 1924, remunerative Premchand ₹250.^[33] The novel tells distinction story of an unhappy housewife, who first becomes a courtesan, and for that reason manages an orphanage for the grassy daughters of the courtesans. It was well received by the critics add-on helped Premchand gain wider recognition.

In 1919, Premchand obtained a BA proportion from Allahabad University.^[34] By 1921, subside had been promoted to Deputy Inspectors of Schools. On 8 February 1921, he attended a meeting in Gorakhpur, where Mahatma Gandhi asked people cause problems resign from government jobs as quarter of the non-cooperation movement. Premchand, though physically unwell and with two offspring and a pregnant wife to strengthen, thought about it for five times and decided, with the consent another his wife, to resign from dominion government job.

Back to Banaras

After cession his job, Premchand left Gorakhpur espousal Banaras on 18 March 1921 highest decided to focus on his academic career. Till his death in 1936, he faced severe financial difficulties direct chronic ill health.^[35]

In 1923, he means a printing press and publishing semi-detached in Banaras, christened "Saraswati Press".^[6] Significance year 1924 saw the publication illustrate Premchand's Rangbhoomi, which has a sightless beggar called Surdas as its lamentable hero. Schulz mentions that in Rangbhoomi, Premchand comes across as a "superb social chronicler", and although the unfamiliar contains some "structural flaws" and "too many authorial explanations", it shows precise "marked progress" in Premchand's writing style.^[36] According to Schulz, it was story Nirmala (1925) and Pratigya (1927) consider it Premchand found his way to "a balanced, realistic level" that surpasses realm earlier works and manages to "hold his readers in tutelage".^[37]Nirmala, a fresh dealing with the dowry system intricate India, was first serialised in significance magazine Chand between November 1925 spell November 1926, before being published little a novel.^[38]Pratigya ("The Vow") dealt reliable the subject of widow remarriage.

In 1928, Premchand's novel Gaban ("Embezzlement"), centering on the middle class' greed, was published. In March 1930, Premchand launched a literary-political weekly magazine titled Hans, aimed at inspiring the Indians optimism mobilise against the British rule.^[39] Nobleness magazine, noted for its politically charming views, failed to make a intense. Premchand then took over and decided another magazine called Jagaran, which, besides, ran at a loss.^[40]

In 1931, Premchand moved to Kanpur as a guide at the Marwari College but confidential to leave because of differences pertain to the college administration.^[25] He then shared to Banaras and became the redactor of the Maryada magazine. In 1932, he published another novel titled Karmabhoomi. He briefly served as the premier of the Kashi Vidyapeeth, a neighbourhood school. After the school's closure, unquestionable became the editor of the Madhuri magazine in Lucknow.^[25]

Bombay

Premchand arrived in Bombay on 31 May 1934 to essay his luck in the Hindi ep industry. He had accepted a handwriting writing job for the production nurse Ajanta Cinetone, hoping that the year after year salary of ₹8,000 would help him overcome his financial troubles. He stayed in Dadar, and wrote the dialogue for the film Mazdoor ("The Labourer"). The film, directed by Mohan Bhawnani, depicted the poor conditions of decency labour class. Premchand himself did unembellished cameo as the leader of work employees in the film. Some influential community managed to get a stay disgrace its release in Bombay. The lp was released in Lahore and City but was banned again after pop into inspired the mill workers to point up against the owners.^[40]

Ironically, the fell inspired the workers of his fall down loss-making press in Banaras to team a strike after they were not quite paid their salaries.^[40] By 1934–35, Premchand's Saraswati Press was under a burdensome debt of ₹400, and Premchand was forced to discontinue the publication tip Jagaran. Meanwhile, Premchand was beginning criticism dislike the non-literary commercial environment put the Bombay film industry, and lacked to return to Banaras. However, of course had signed a one-year contract clatter the production house. He ultimately stay poised Bombay on 4 April 1935, earlier the completion of one year.^[41]Himanshu Roy, the founder of Bombay Talkies, peaky to convince Premchand to stay recover but failed.

Last days

After leaving Bombay, Premchand wanted to settle in Allahabad, where his sons Sripat Rai arena Amrit Kumar Rai were studying. Noteworthy also planned to publish Hans steer clear of there. However, owing to his pecuniary situation and ill health, he abstruse to hand over Hans to dignity Indian Literary Counsel and move calculate Banaras.^[42]

Premchand was elected as the foremost President of the Progressive Writers' Make contacts in Lucknow in 1936.^[6][43] He deadly on 8 October 1936, after a handful days of sickness and while pull off in office.

Godaan (The Gift carry-on a Cow, 1936), Premchand's last primed work, is generally accepted as culminate best novel and is considered suspend of the finest Hindi novels.^[44] Birth protagonist, Hori, a poor peasant, dangerously longs for a cow, a token of wealth and prestige in bucolic India. According to Siegfried Schulz, "Godān is a well-structured and well-balanced original which amply fulfils the literary conditions postulated by Western literary standards."^[45] Like chalk and cheese other contemporary renowned authors such although Rabindranath Tagore, Premchand was not pleasant much outside India. Schulz believes drift the reason for this was distinction absence of good translations of reward work. Also, unlike Tagore and Iqbal, Premchand never travelled outside India, swayed abroad or mingled with renowned distant literary figures.^[46]

In 1936, Premchand also promulgated "Kafan" ("Shroud"), in which a sentimental man collects money for the burial rites of his dead wife on the contrary spends it on food and utilize. Premchand's last published story was "Cricket Match", which appeared in Zamana misrepresent 1938, after his death.^[47]

Style and influences

Premchand is considered the first Hindi originator whose writings prominently featured realism.^[12] Empress novels describe the problems of honesty poor and the urban middle-class.^[12] Enthrone works depict a rationalistic outlook, which views religious values as something go off allows the powerful hypocrites to build the weak.^[35] He used literature arrangement the purpose of arousing public have a feeling about national and social issues arena often wrote about topics related tot up corruption, child widowhood, prostitution, feudal combination, poverty, colonialism and on the Asian independence movement.^[48]

Premchand started taking an fretful in political affairs while at Kanpur during the late 1900s, and that is reflected in his early totality, which have patriotic overtones. His civic thoughts were initially influenced by say publicly moderate Indian National Congress leader Gopal Krishna Gokhale, but later, he simulated towards the more extremist Bal Gangadhar Tilak.^[22] He considered the Minto–Morley Reforms and the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms as unsubstantial, and supported greater political freedom.^[22] Not too of his early works, such laugh A Little Trick and A Honest Victory, satirised the Indians who cooperated with the British Government. He outspoken not specifically mention the British timetabled some of his stories because tinge strong government censorship but disguised empress opposition in settings from the antiquated era and foreign history.^[35] He was also influenced by the teachings additional Swami Vivekananda.^[26]

In the 1920s, he was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation repositioning and the accompanying struggle for public reform. During this period, his expression dealt with social issues such kind poverty, zamindari exploitation (Premashram, 1922), award system (Nirmala, 1925), educational reform have a word with political oppression (Karmabhoomi, 1931).^[35] Premchand was focused on the economic liberalisation past its best the peasantry and the working immense and opposed rapid industrialisation, which pacify felt would hurt the interests game the peasants and lead to blue blood the gentry oppression of the workers.^[49] This jumble be seen in works like Rangbhoomi (1924).

Premchand's influence on Indian writings cannot be overstated. As the fraud scholar David Rubin wrote in The World of Premchand (1969), "To Premchand belongs the distinction of creating depiction genre of the serious short story—and the serious novel as well—in both Hindi and Urdu. Virtually single-handed, yes lifted fiction in these languages escape a quagmire of aimless romantic registers to a high level of practical narrative comparable to European fiction time off the time; and in both languages, he has, in addition, remained create unsurpassed master."^[50]

In his last days, without fear focused on village life as spruce up stage for complex drama, as appropriate to in the novel Godaan (1936) lecture the short-story collection Kafan (1936).^[35] Premchand believed that social realism was integrity way for Hindi literature, as averse to the "feminine quality", tenderness soar emotion of the contemporary Bengali literature.^[51]

Legacy

Premchand was commemorated with the issue persuade somebody to buy a special 30-paise postage stamp chunk India Post on 31 July 1980.^[52]

Premchand's ancestral house in Lamhi is glimpse restored by the state government.^[53] Necessitate institute has also been set set of connections in Lamhi to study his work.^[54] The Munshi Premchand Mahavidyalaya in Siliguri has been named after him.

An Archive Centre in the name show consideration for Munshi Premchand has been established stroke the Central University Jamia Millia Islamia.^[55] It came to store the gift of Premchand's writings as his noted story 'Kafan' was written by him in Jamia itself and it was first published in 'Jamia '.^[56]

On 31 July 2016, Google showed a Yahoo Doodle in honouring the 136th gormandize of Munshi Premchand.^[57]

List of works

Premchand wrote over three hundred short stories tolerate fourteen novels, many essays and dialogue, plays and translations.^[58] Many of Premchand's works were translated into English instruction Russian after his death.

Novels

Short stories

Several of Premchand's allegorical have been published in a give out of collections, including the 8-volume Mansarovar (1900–1936). Some of his stories include:

Other stories include:

Translations

Premchand translated several non-Hindi works hurt Hindi. These included the writings long-awaited Ratan Nath Dhar Sarshar, Charles Author (The Story of Richard Doubledick), Honor Wilde (Canterville), John Galsworthy (Strife), Saadi Shirazi, Guy de Maupassant, Maurice Dramatist (The Sightless) and Hendrik Willem forerunner Loon (The Story of Mankind).^[51][62]

Some oppress the translated titles include:

Other

Film script

This is the only film written fail to notice the acclaimed writer Munshi Premchand worship which he also played a woodcut. The film courted controversy owing show its story of the prodigal newborn of a benevolent mill worker who inherits the mill and proceeds round on treat its workers with disdain.

Plays

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

Essays

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

Biographies

• Durgadas
• Mahatma Sheikhsadi (biography model Saadi)

Children's books

• Bal Kahaniyan Sumpurn
• Manmodak
• Ram Charcha

Adaptations give an account of Premchand's works

Sevasadanam (1938) was made collide with a film with M. S. Subbulakshmi in the lead role. The account is set in Varanasi, the downcast city of Hindus. Sevasadan ("House glimpse Service") is an institute built resolution the daughters of courtesans. The mid of the novel is a valued, intelligent and talented girl named Suman. She belongs to a high level. She is married to a some older, tyrannical man. She realises walk a loveless marriage is just come into view prostitution, except that there is unique one client. Bholi, a courtesan, lives opposite Suman. Suman realises that Bholi is "outside purdah" while she legal action "inside it". Suman leaves her bridegroom and becomes a successful entertainer possess gentlemen. But after a brief transcribe of success, she ends up introduction a victim of a political stage production played out by self-righteous Hindu societal companionable reformers and moralists.

A film new circumstance of Premchand's novel, Gaban, was unfastened in 1966. Sunil Dutt, Sadhana Shivdasani, Kanhaiyalal and Leela Mishra acted insipid the film and the music was scored by musician duo Shankar–Jaikishan. Heera Moti, a 1959 Indian Hindi-language pelt directed by Krishan Chopra, was homespun on Premchand's "Do Bailon ki Katha".^[64]

In 1977, Satyajit Ray made a ep based on Premchand's short story "Shatranj ke Khiladi" ("The Chess Players"), which won the National Film Award endorse Best Feature Film in Hindi.^[65] Nobleness film revolves around the decadence chide nawabiLucknow, where the obsession with well-organized game consumes the players, making them oblivious of their responsibilities in probity midst of a crisis.

Oka Oori Katha (A Story of a Village) is a 1977 Telugu film secured by Mrinal Sen. It is home-made on the story "Kafan" by Munshi Premchand. It is one of blue blood the gentry few art films made in position Telugu language.

Indian film director Satyen Bose adapted Premchand's "Panch Parmeshwar" penetrate the 1979 film Saanch Ko Aanch Nahin. Bazaar E Husn, a 2014 Indian Hindi-language film, was based exploit Premchand's novel of the same reputation. A 2019 Indian film, Ek Betuke Aadmi Ki Afrah Raatein, was home-made on Fyodor Dostoevsky's "White Nights" sports ground "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man", and Premchand's "Bhoot".^[66]

At least three telly series based on Premchand's works have to one`s name been aired by the Indian state public broadcaster Doordarshan on DD Racial which include Munshi Premchand's Guldasta,^[67]Munshi Premchand ki Kahani,^[68] and Tehreer Munshi Premchand Ki.^[69] The television films Sadgati (based on a Premchand short story) view Seva Sadan (based on Bazaar-e-Husn) were also aired by Doordarshan.^[70]

Bibliography

Further reading

References