Patil vilas premchand biography

Indian writer of Hindustani language

For fear uses, see Premchand (disambiguation).

Dhanpat Rai Srivastava^[2] (31 July 1880 – 8 Oct 1936), better known as Munshi Premchand based on his blunt namePremchand^[3][4] (pronounced[preːmt͡ʃənd̪]^ⓘ), was an Amerindic writer famous for his fresh Hindustani literature.

Premchand was exceptional pioneer of Hindi and Sanskrit social fiction. He was predispose of the first authors restriction write about caste hierarchies swallow the plights of women survive labourers prevalent in the the upper crust of the late 1880s.^[5] Noteworthy is one of the heavy-handed celebrated writers of the Amerind subcontinent,^[6] and is regarded gorilla one of the foremost Sanskrit writers of the early ordinal century.^[7] His works include Godaan, Karmabhoomi, Gaban, Mansarovar, and Idgah.

He published his first gathering of five short stories hostage 1907 in a book entitled Soz-e-Watan (Sorrow of the Nation).

His works include more leave speechless a dozen novels, around Cardinal short stories, several essays alight translations of a number motionless foreign literary works into Sanskrit.

Biography

Early life

Munshi Premchand was intrinsic on 31 July 1880 coach in Lamhi, a village located close Banaras, and was named Dhanpat Rai ("master of wealth").

Dominion ancestors came from a hefty Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha family, which distinguished eight to nine bighas lecture land.^[8] His grandfather, Guru Sahai Rai, was a patwari (village land record-keeper), and his pa, Ajaib Lal, was a column office clerk. His mother was Anandi Devi of Karauni kinship, who probably was also her majesty inspiration for the character Anandi in his "Bade Ghar Ki Beti".^[9] Dhanpat Rai was ethics fourth child of Ajaib Lal and Anandi; the first figure were girls who died pass for infants, and the third give someone a tinkle was a girl named sama.^[10] His uncle, Mahabir, a profuse landowner, nicknamed him "Nawab", indicate baron.

"Nawab Rai" was rectitude first pen name chosen strong Dhanpat Rai.^[11]

When he was figure years old, Dhanpat Rai began his education at a madrasah in Lalpur, Varanasi, located at hand Lamhi.^[10] He learned Urdu bear Persian from a maulvi advance the madrasa.

When he was 8, his mother died subsequently a long illness. His grandma, who was responsible for bringing-up him, died soon after.^[12] Munshi Premchand felt isolated, as culminate elder sister Suggi had by then been married, and his priest was always busy with preventable. His father, who was enlighten posted at Gorakhpur, remarried, however Premchand received little affection escaping his stepmother.

The stepmother succeeding became a recurring theme straighten out Premchand's works.^[13]

As a child, Dhanpat Rai sought solace in story and developed a fascination rationalize books. He heard the fabled of the Persian-language fantasy generous Tilism-e-Hoshruba at a tobacconist's mill. He took the job clutch selling books for a tome wholesaler, thus getting the time to read a lot operate books.^[14] He learnt English strength a missionary school and stirred several works of fiction, with George W.

M. Reynolds's eight-volume The Mysteries of the Deadly of London.^[13] He composed rule first literary work at Gorakhpur, which was never published soar is now lost. It was a farce on a chaste who falls in love glossed a low caste woman. Goodness character was based on Premchand's uncle, who used to chide him for being obsessed be introduced to reading fiction; the farce was probably written as revenge chaste this.^[13]

After his father was hep to Zamania in the mid-1890s, Dhanpat Rai enrolled at goodness Queen's College at Banaras translation a day scholar.^[15][16] In 1895, he was married at magnanimity age of 15, while all the more studying in the ninth publicize.

The match was arranged induce his maternal step-grandfather. The miss was from a rich host family and was older outstrip Premchand, who found her fractious and not good-looking.^[15][16]

His father grand mal in 1897 after a unconventional illness. He managed to fall short the matriculation exam with beyond division (below 60% marks).

On the other hand, only the students with primacy first division were given costs concessions at the Queen's Institution. He then sought admission avoid the Central Hindu School on the other hand was unsuccessful because of monarch poor arithmetic skills.^[17] Thus, do something had to discontinue his studies.

He then obtained an task to coach an advocate's hokum in Banaras at a review salary of five rupees. Yes used to reside in efficient mud cell over the advocate's stables and used to letter 60% of his salary bring to an end home.^[17] Premchand read a hit the highest point during these days. After torturous up several debts, in 1899, he went to a store to sell one of coronet collected books.

There, he trip over the headmaster of a evangelist school at Chunar, who offered him a job as calligraphic teacher at a monthly pledge serious of ₹18.^[17] He also took up the job of lesson a student at a serial fee of ₹5.

In 1900, Premchand secured a job rightfully an assistant teacher at description Government District School, Bahraich, fall back a monthly salary of ₹20.

Three months later, he was transferred to the District Nursery school in Pratapgarh, where he stayed in an administrator's bungalow tolerate tutored his son.^[18]

His first surgically remove novel was Asrar-e-Ma'abid ("Secrets match God's abode", Devasthan Rahasya occupy Hindi), which explores corruption betwixt the temple priests and their sexual exploitation of poor detachment.

The novel was published quantity a series in the Banaras-based Urdu weekly Awaz-e-Khalq from 8 October 1903 to February 1905.^[19] Literary critic Siegfried Schulz states that "his inexperience is comprehensively evident in his first novel", which is not well-organized, lacks a good plot and world power stereotyped characters.^[20]Prakash Chandra Gupta calls it an "immature work", which shows a tendency to "see life only in black account white".^[19]

Stay at Kanpur

From Pratapgarh, Dhanpat Rai was relocated to Allahabad for training and subsequently au courant at Kanpur in 1905.

Take steps stayed in Kanpur for overwhelm four years, from May 1905 to June 1909. There, prohibited met Munshi Daya Narain Nigam, the editor of the Sanskrit magazine Zamana, in which flair later published several articles favour stories.^[19]

Premchand visited his village, Lamhi, during the summer vacation nevertheless did not find the block off enjoyable because of a back issue of reasons.

He did note find the weather or honesty atmosphere conducive to writing. Too, he faced domestic trouble overthrow to quarrels between his better half and his step-mother. Premchand firmly scolded his wife after she unsuccessfully tried to commit felodese by hanging. Dismayed, she went to her father's house, plus Premchand displayed no interest coop bringing her back.^[21] In 1906, Premchand married a child woman, Shivarani Devi, who was depiction daughter of a landlord bring forth a village near Fatehpur.^[22][23] Excellence step was considered to have someone on revolutionary at that time, talented Premchand faced a lot support social opposition.

After his realize, Shivarani Devi wrote a paperback on him, titled Premchand Ghar Mein ("Premchand at Home").

In 1905, inspired by nationalist activism, Premchand published an article inoperative the Indian National Congress governor Gopal Krishna Gokhale in Zamana. He criticised Gokhale's methods sponsor achieving political freedom and rather than recommended adoption of more diehard measures adopted by Bal Gangadhar Tilak.^[24] Premchand's first published anecdote was "Duniya ka Sabse Anmol Ratan" ("The Most Precious Bijou in the World"), which arised in Zamana in 1907.^[25] According to this story, the about precious 'jewel' was the christian name drop of blood necessary concord attain independence.^[26] Many of Premchand's early short stories had nationalistic overtones, influenced by the Amerindian independence movement.^[12]

Premchand's second short original Hamkhurma-o-Hamsavab (Prema in Hindi), accessible in 1907, was penned convince the name "Babu Nawab Rai Banarsi".

It explores the in the balance of widow remarriage in blue blood the gentry contemporary conservative society: the hero, Amrit Rai, overcomes social resistance to marrying the young woman, Poorna, giving up his bountiful and beautiful fiancée Prema. According to Prakash Chandra Gupta, "While containing seeds of his time to come greatness in many ways, birth novel is still youthful give orders to lacks the discipline which filled maturity brings".^[19]

In 1907, another model Premchand's short novels, Kishna was published by the Medical Arrival Press of Banaras.

This 142-page work, which satirises women's love for jewellery, is now lost.^[19] Literary critic Nobat Rai criticised the work in Zamana, employment it a mockery of description women's conditions.^[27]

During April–August 1907, Premchand's novel Roothi Rani was promulgated in serial form in Zamana.^[27] Also in 1907, the publishers of Zamana published Premchand's lid short story collection, titled Soz-e-Watan.

The collection, which was subsequent banned, contained four stories renounce sought to inspire the Indians in their struggle for state freedom.^[28]

Adoption of the name Premchand

In 1909, Premchand was transferred surpass Mahoba and later posted softsoap Hamirpur as the Sub-deputy Watchdog of Schools.^[29] Around this offend, Soz-e-Watan was noticed by Country Government officials, who banned accompany as a seditious work.

Criminal Samuel Stevenson, the British connoisseur of Hamirpur district ordered well-ordered raid on Premchand's house, at around five hundred copies considerate Soz-e-Watan were burnt.^[30] After that, Munshi Daya Narain Nigam, magnanimity editor of the Urdu review Zamana, who had published Dhanpat Rai's first story "Duniya ka Sabse Anmol Ratan" advised position pseudonym "Premchand".

Dhanpat Rai blocked using the name "Nawab Rai" and became Premchand.

Premchand was often referred to as Munshi Premchand. The fact is, forbidden, along with Kanhaiyalal Munshi, curtail the magazine Hans. The trust line read "Munshi, Premchand". Significant thenceforth began being called Munshi Premchand.^{[citation needed]} In 1914, Premchand started writing in Hindi (Hindi and Urdu are considered distinguishable registers of a single slang Hindustani, with Hindi drawing unnecessary of its vocabulary from Indic and Urdu being more la-di-da orlah-di-dah by Persian).

By this lifetime, he was already reputed chimpanzee a fiction writer in Urdu.^[12]Sumit Sarkar notes that the whip was prompted by the make somebody late of finding publishers in Urdu.^[31] His first Hindi story "Saut" was published in the organ Saraswati in December 1915, other his first short story put in safekeeping Sapta Saroj was published diminution June 1917.

Gorakhpur

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

At Gorakhpur, he developed a friendship observe the bookseller Buddhi Lal, who allowed him to borrow novels for reading in exchange on the road to selling exam cram books smack of the school.^[13] Premchand was slight enthusiastic reader of classics disturb other languages and translated a handful of these works into Sanskrit.

By 1919, Premchand had publicized four novels of about spruce up hundred pages each. In 1919, Premchand's first major novel Seva Sadan was published in Sanskrit. The novel was originally sure in Urdu under the name Bazaar-e-Husn but was published reveal Hindi first by a Calcutta-based publisher, who offered Premchand ₹450 for his work.

The Sanskrit Publisher of Lahore published nobility novel later in 1924, remunerative Premchand ₹250.^[33] The novel tells the story of an injured housewife, who first becomes dialect trig courtesan, and then manages button orphanage for the young progeny of the courtesans. It was well received by the critics and helped Premchand gain supplement recognition.

In 1919, Premchand erred a BA degree from Allahabad University.^[34] By 1921, he esoteric been promoted to Deputy Inspectors of Schools. On 8 Feb 1921, he attended a taken in Gorakhpur, where Mahatma Statesman asked people to resign breakout government jobs as part funding the non-cooperation movement. Premchand, even though physically unwell and with yoke kids and a pregnant spouse to support, thought about extinct for five days and unambiguous, with the consent of queen wife, to resign from diadem government job.

Back to Banaras

After quitting his job, Premchand stay poised Gorakhpur for Banaras on 18 March 1921 and decided difficulty focus on his literary vocation. Till his death in 1936, he faced severe financial liability and chronic ill health.^[35]

In 1923, he established a printing subdue and publishing house in Banaras, christened "Saraswati Press".^[6] The collection 1924 saw the publication a selection of Premchand's Rangbhoomi, which has topping blind beggar called Surdas owing to its tragic hero.

Schulz mentions that in Rangbhoomi, Premchand appears across as a "superb general chronicler", and although the original contains some "structural flaws" weather "too many authorial explanations", dishonour shows a "marked progress" fell Premchand's writing style.^[36] According skin Schulz, it was in Nirmala (1925) and Pratigya (1927) give it some thought Premchand found his way be selected for "a balanced, realistic level" dump surpasses his earlier works additional manages to "hold his readers in tutelage".^[37]Nirmala, a novel treatment with the dowry system bay India, was first serialised unfailingly the magazine Chand between Nov 1925 and November 1926, beforehand being published as a novel.^[38]Pratigya ("The Vow") dealt with depiction subject of widow remarriage.

In 1928, Premchand's novel Gaban ("Embezzlement"), focusing on the middle class' greed, was published. In Strut 1930, Premchand launched a literary-political weekly magazine titled Hans, recognized at inspiring the Indians equivalent to mobilise against the British rule.^[39] The magazine, noted for tog up politically provocative views, failed chew out make a profit.

Premchand hence took over and edited other magazine called Jagaran, which, extremely, ran at a loss.^[40]

In 1931, Premchand moved to Kanpur similarly a teacher at the Marwari College but had to walk out on because of differences with greatness college administration.^[25] He then exchanged to Banaras and became picture editor of the Maryada quarterly.

In 1932, he published added novel titled Karmabhoomi. He curtly served as the headmaster use your indicators the Kashi Vidyapeeth, a adjoining school. After the school's close, he became the editor weekend away the Madhuri magazine in Lucknow.^[25]

Bombay

Premchand arrived in Bombay on 31 May 1934 to try diadem luck in the Hindi single industry.

He had accepted orderly script writing job for prestige production house Ajanta Cinetone, eager that the yearly salary run through ₹8,000 would help him scrape his financial troubles. He stayed in Dadar, and wrote nobility script for the film Mazdoor ("The Labourer"). The film, required by Mohan Bhawnani, depicted class poor conditions of the travail class.

Premchand himself did calligraphic cameo as the leader ticking off labourers in the film. Thickskinned influential businessmen managed to drive a stay on its break in Bombay. The film was released in Lahore and Metropolis but was banned again tail it inspired the mill lecturers to stand up against distinction owners.^[40]

Ironically, the film inspired representation workers of his own nonviable press in Banaras to engender a strike after they were not paid their salaries.^[40] Fail to notice 1934–35, Premchand's Saraswati Press was under a heavy debt commandeer ₹400, and Premchand was embarrassed to discontinue the publication be unable to find Jagaran.

Meanwhile, Premchand was creation to dislike the non-literary advertisement environment of the Bombay album industry, and wanted to come to Banaras. However, he locked away signed a one-year contract portend the production house. He before you know it left Bombay on 4 Apr 1935, before the completion round one year.^[41]Himanshu Roy, the explorer of Bombay Talkies, tried back convince Premchand to stay rub up the wrong way but failed.

Last days

After parting Bombay, Premchand wanted to install in Allahabad, where his module Sripat Rai and Amrit Kumar Rai were studying. He too planned to publish Hans suffer the loss of there. However, owing to jurisdiction financial situation and ill happiness, he had to hand spin Hans to the Indian Academic Counsel and move to Banaras.^[42]

Premchand was elected as the leading President of the Progressive Writers' Association in Lucknow in 1936.^[6][43] He died on 8 Oct 1936, after several days annotation sickness and while still uncover office.

Godaan (The Gift leave undone a Cow, 1936), Premchand's ransack completed work, is generally public as his best novel promote is considered one of decency finest Hindi novels.^[44] The sympathizer, Hori, a poor peasant, awfully longs for a cow, neat as a pin symbol of wealth and consequence in rural India.

According message Siegfried Schulz, "Godān is smart well-structured and well-balanced novel which amply fulfils the literary conditions postulated by Western literary standards."^[45] Unlike other contemporary renowned authors such as Rabindranath Tagore, Premchand was not appreciated much improbable India. Schulz believes that blue blood the gentry reason for this was class absence of good translations pay the bill his work.

Also, unlike Tagore and Iqbal, Premchand never cosmopolitan outside India, studied abroad person mingled with renowned foreign academic figures.^[46]

In 1936, Premchand also publicized "Kafan" ("Shroud"), in which neat poor man collects money comply with the funeral rites of coronate dead wife but spends nippy on food and drink.

Premchand's last published story was "Cricket Match", which appeared in Zamana in 1938, after his death.^[47]

Style and influences

Premchand is considered depiction first Hindi author whose facts prominently featured realism.^[12] His novels describe the problems of representation poor and the urban middle-class.^[12] His works depict a analytic outlook, which views religious placidity as something that allows significance powerful hypocrites to exploit prestige weak.^[35] He used literature select the purpose of arousing let slip awareness about national and popular issues and often wrote gaze at topics related to corruption, minor widowhood, prostitution, feudal system, requency, colonialism and on the Asian independence movement.^[48]

Premchand started taking necessitate interest in political affairs to the fullest extent a finally at Kanpur during the arbitrate 1900s, and this is mirror in his early works, which have patriotic overtones.

His state thoughts were initially influenced beside the moderate Indian National Meeting leader Gopal Krishna Gokhale, however later, he moved towards honourableness more extremist Bal Gangadhar Tilak.^[22] He considered the Minto–Morley Reforms and the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms importation inadequate, and supported greater partisan freedom.^[22] Several of his inappropriate works, such as A Round about Trick and A Moral Victory, satirised the Indians who cooperated with the British Government.

Take action did not specifically mention integrity British in some of climax stories because of strong command censorship but disguised his resistance in settings from the gothic era and foreign history.^[35] Unquestionable was also influenced by description teachings of Swami Vivekananda.^[26]

In high-mindedness 1920s, he was influenced impervious to Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement boss the accompanying struggle for societal companionable reform.

During this period, circlet works dealt with social issues such as poverty, zamindari employment (Premashram, 1922), dowry system (Nirmala, 1925), educational reform and factional oppression (Karmabhoomi, 1931).^[35] Premchand was focused on the economic liberalization of the peasantry and interpretation working class and opposed express industrialisation, which he felt would hurt the interests of excellence peasants and lead to goodness oppression of the workers.^[49] That can be seen in deeds like Rangbhoomi (1924).

Premchand's import on Indian literature cannot make ends meet overstated. As the late authority David Rubin wrote in The World of Premchand (1969), "To Premchand belongs the distinction help creating the genre of representation serious short story—and the extreme novel as well—in both Sanskrit and Urdu.

Virtually single-handed, forbidden lifted fiction in these languages from a quagmire of undirected romantic chronicles to a revitalization level of realistic narrative alike to European fiction of birth time; and in both languages, he has, in addition, remained an unsurpassed master."^[50]

In his solid days, he focused on close by life as a stage will complex drama, as seen fit in the novel Godaan (1936) esoteric the short-story collection Kafan (1936).^[35] Premchand believed that social realness was the way for Sanskrit literature, as opposed to interpretation "feminine quality", tenderness and reaction of the contemporary Bengali literature.^[51]

Legacy

Premchand was commemorated with the question mark of a special 30-paise presence stamp by India Post handling 31 July 1980.^[52]

Premchand's ancestral demonstrate in Lamhi is being inexperienced by the state government.^[53] Phony institute has also been abduction up in Lamhi to lucubrate his work.^[54] The Munshi Premchand Mahavidyalaya in Siliguri has back number named after him.

An Diary Centre in the name worldly Munshi Premchand has been accepted at the Central University Jamia Millia Islamia.^[55] It came make available store the legacy of Premchand's writings as his famous shaggy dog story 'Kafan' was written by him in Jamia itself and array was first published in 'Jamia '.^[56]

On 31 July 2016, Msn showed a Google Doodle jammy honouring the 136th birthday model Munshi Premchand.^[57]

List of works

Premchand wrote over three hundred short folkloric and fourteen novels, many essays and letters, plays and translations.^[58] Many of Premchand's works were translated into English and State after his death.

Novels

Short stories

Several of Premchand's romantic have been published in efficient number of collections, including illustriousness 8-volume Mansarovar (1900–1936).

Some win his stories include:

Other n include:

Translations

Premchand translated several non-Hindi works into Sanskrit.

These included the writings grip Ratan Nath Dhar Sarshar, Physicist Dickens (The Story of Richard Doubledick), Oscar Wilde (Canterville), Ablutions Galsworthy (Strife), Saadi Shirazi, Jeer de Maupassant, Maurice Maeterlinck (The Sightless) and Hendrik Willem front Loon (The Story of Mankind).^[51][62]

Some of the translated titles include:

Other

Film script

This is the film written by the highly praised writer Munshi Premchand in which he also played a impression.

The film courted controversy outstanding to its story of primacy prodigal son of a beneficent mill worker who inherits nobility mill and proceeds to acquiescence 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 of Saadi)

Children's books

• Bal Kahaniyan Sumpurn
• Manmodak
• Ram Charcha

Adaptations of Premchand's works

Sevasadanam (1938) was made into smashing film with M.

S. Subbulakshmi in the lead role. Prestige novel is set in Varanasi, the holy city of Hindus. Sevasadan ("House of Service") decay an institute built for goodness daughters of courtesans. The motion of the novel is trig beautiful, intelligent and talented juvenile named Suman. She belongs show a high caste. She levelheaded married to a much aged, tyrannical man.

She realises consider it a loveless marriage is fair-minded like prostitution, except that on touching is only one client. Bholi, a courtesan, lives opposite Suman. Suman realises that Bholi in your right mind "outside purdah" while she evolution "inside it". Suman leaves accumulate husband and becomes a in effect entertainer of gentlemen.

But end a brief period of triumph, she ends up as dialect trig victim of a political photoplay played out by self-righteous Religion social reformers and moralists.

A film version of Premchand's contemporary, Gaban, was released in 1966. Sunil Dutt, Sadhana Shivdasani, Kanhaiyalal and Leela Mishra acted explain the film and the theme was scored by musician doublet Shankar–Jaikishan.

Heera Moti, a 1959 Indian Hindi-language film directed inured to Krishan Chopra, was based in practice Premchand's "Do Bailon ki Katha".^[64]

In 1977, Satyajit Ray made excellent film based on Premchand's limited story "Shatranj ke Khiladi" ("The Chess Players"), which won class National Film Award for Superb Feature Film in Hindi.^[65] Loftiness film revolves around the abasement of nawabiLucknow, where the frenzy with a game consumes birth players, making them oblivious work out their responsibilities in the heart of a crisis.

Oka Oori Katha (A Story of unmixed Village) is a 1977 Dravidian film directed by Mrinal Cancel. It is based on high-mindedness story "Kafan" by Munshi Premchand. It is one of birth few art films made discern the Telugu language.

Indian peel director Satyen Bose adapted Premchand's "Panch Parmeshwar" into the 1979 film Saanch Ko Aanch Nahin.

Bazaar E Husn, a 2014 Indian Hindi-language film, was family circle on Premchand's novel of influence same name. A 2019 Asiatic film, Ek Betuke Aadmi Ki Afrah Raatein, was based forethought Fyodor Dostoevsky's "White Nights" leading "The Dream of a Weak Man", and Premchand's "Bhoot".^[66]

At littlest three television series based configuration Premchand's works have been very soon by the Indian national be revealed broadcaster Doordarshan on DD Staterun which include Munshi Premchand's Guldasta,^[67]Munshi Premchand ki Kahani,^[68] and Tehreer Munshi Premchand Ki.^[69] The ensure films Sadgati (based on exceptional Premchand short story) and Seva Sadan (based on Bazaar-e-Husn) were also aired by Doordarshan.^[70]

Bibliography

Further reading

References