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8/22/2019 UPANYAS SAMRA1

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UPANYAS SAMRAT

MUNSHI PREMCHAND

Munshi Premchand lived from 1880 to 1936 and can justly lay claim to the title

of the best Hindi fiction writer ever. He was born on 31 July, 1880 in a small

village, Lamhi, near Varanasi (U.P.). His parents named him Dhanpat Rai. He

started writing at a young age. Initially, he wrote in Urdu. Later, he wrote only

in Hindi.

Munshi Premchand was the son of a postal clerk. He lost his mother when he

was just 7 years of age. And his father at the age of 14. After his father's demise,

young Premchand took over the responsibility of earning bread for the family.His love of books ensured that he managed to matriculate despite having to facedebilitating economic hardships. He then found employment as a schoolmaster

in small village schools.

While working, Premchand continued his studies and completed his graduation

in literature. He was keen on doing his Masters, but circumstances prevented

him from doing so.

In 1921, influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's call to leave Government jobs,

Premchand resigned from his schoolmaster's job. He was in dire economic

straits. Despite that, he gave up his 23 year old secure if low-paying

Government job. In this decision, his was staunchly supported by his wife.

For a few months after that, he worked for a private school in Kanpur. He could

not keep his job because he was too principled to not become the victim of

office politics. He resigned and left for Varanasi where he taught at the KashiVidyapitha for a few months, and edited 'Maryada'. He then left for Lucknow

where he edited 'Madhuri'. Both 'Maryada' and 'Madhuri' were literary

magazines with low circulation and an uncertain future.


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In a few years, he launched his own literary magazine, 'Hans'. Sometime later,

he launched 'Jagaran' as well. But both magazines were loss-making enterprises.

At a certain point in time Premchand was so heavily in debt because of editing

these magazines, he had to wind up operations and shift baggage to Mumbai.

He had come to Mumbai to write for the Hindi film industry. But here he was

constantly being asked to compromise on his storyline and the integrity of his

characters to suit the whims of film producers.Premchand refused to make such

manipulations, which would hurt the flow of his story. Hence, deeply

disappointed, he made his way back to Varanasi, still struggling against theonset of bankruptcy. While in Mumbai, Premchand had fallen ill and soon after

getting back to Varanasi, he died of ascitis on 8 October, 1936.

He was given the highest accolade of his time, when he was referred to as"Upanyas Samrat". He wrote novels, short stories,essays and children's fiction.

All that he wrote, has stood the test of time, and nearly seventy after his death,

Premchand is still one of India's most widely read authors. His novels, in

particular Godan, Nirmala and Ghaban; are hugely popular. His short stories,

published under various titles enjoy tremendous enthusiasm among modern

readers.

Not surprisingly, Premchand has been translated in many languages. Hundredsof theses have been written on his oeuvre. There is no University in the world

where Premchands works are not an integral part of Hindi studies.

Premchand wrote in a very direct and simple style, and his words made their

own magic. His protagonists were always the people he observed around him.His knowledge of the human psychology and his appreciation of the ironies of

life made him a stellar writer.

In keeping with his clean-cut style and lucid manner, reading Premchand is a

great pleasure. His prose is precise, his descriptions succinct. His protagonistsare sharply etched and easy to empathise with. But what has sustained his

massive popularity over the past eight decades are his storytelling skills. Like

John Grisham today, Premchands strength lies in the skilful portrayal of


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ordinary characters leading extraordinary lives in the most mundane

circumstances. What adds to Premchands universal appeal is the way he has

portrayed women and the minorities. Todays political correctness cannot catch

him out, for his humaneness is genuine and rings true even today. Premchand

was an ethical humanist whose nuanced understanding of the human mind couldcapture the subtlest of emotions and make them part of the universal experience

of being alive.

Premchand lived in an era of great social turmoil for India. He saw traditional

village independence being destroyed by the colonisers. He witnessed thegradual running down of the traditional system of the Indian Undivided Family

owing to the pressure of increased centralisation of jobs in urban centres. He

also noted the fallout of large-scale urbanisation and the consequent

materialistic and acquisitional tendencies it triggered off. His stories and novelsfaithfully record and analyse these tendencies through the trials and tribulations

of his protagonists.

Premchand observed keenly the psychology of a child, brought up in poverty. In

his short story Eidgah, the hero, a small boy from a poor family, goes with his

relatively well-to-do friends. He has a very small amount of money to spare.

Instead of blowing it on fun and toys, he buys a "chimta" for his old

grandmother, who used to burn her fingers on the hot iron "tava".

His novel "Godan" tells the story of a poor man, bound by the society, exploited

by the privileged class and his soul-destroying travails. His protagonists are

often exploited, but are never unjust themselves and retain their humanity. The

badi bahuria, in Bade Ghar Ki Bahu, despite longing to eat a halfway decent

meal, gives it to the postman, who is actually the bearer of bad news. When the

postman tries to decline, she says that she will eat some bathua saag and

manage.

Each novel, each story of Premchand reassures us that humanity is alive and

well. That circumstances may be grim, but there is a god somewhere, and things

are not so bad as they may seem. Premchand sees goodness in every human

being, and hence describes people aptly. Even the most mean and vicious

character will suffer the occasional qualm of conscience. And the most naive


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character is not without heroism. The protagonist of Ghaban overspends heavily

in a bid to impress his newlywed wife. His tale of plight is told with

understanding and empathy. The reader feels a part of Premchand's stories. All

his fictional characters are real. They are living and breathing. Not just black ink

on white paper.

Had Premchand been born in America or Europe, he would have certainly won

the Nobel Prize for Literature and a knighthood too!

I am proud to state that we had the privilege of being the first publishers of what

is perhaps the greatest novel ever written in Hindi - Godan. As leading publisher

and distributors of Hindi and Indic literature, we are proud to stock the works of

Premchand. Come, be a part of the experience. Read Munshi Premchand todiscover perceptive yet simple writing. Lucid style. Prose writing at its very

best.

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