Premchand-Brief Life Sketch

Premchand-Brief Life Sketch

Premchand-Brief Life Sketch

Premchand (1880-1936), real name Dhanpat Rai was an Indian short-story teller, novelist and essayist who wrote profusely in both Urdu and Hindi. 

He was born at Lamhi, a small village near Baranas in Uttar Pradesh. He took his early education in a local madrasa. His first collection of short stories in Urdu entitled Soze-Watan (The Lament of the Country) was published in 1908 under the pseudonym of Nawab Rai. The book was declared inflammatory and he was accused of sedition. All the seven hundred printed copies of ‘Soze-Watan’ were burnt in front of him. This was the first time that a literary work of any Indian writer had been treated with hostility.  Then Dhanpat Rai changed his pseudonym Nawab Rai to Premchand with which he established himself as a writer and earned popularity.

He wrote over three hundred short stories, a dozen novels and two plays, apart from innumerable essays and reviews. As a short story writer, he modernized the form of this genre of literature. He wrote on the themes of caste discrimination, blind faith, follies, dishonesty of government officials, and greed for money with a tone of irony and ridicule. Among his novels ‘Sevasadam’, ‘Gaban’, ‘Nirmala’ and ‘Godaan’ are well-known. Some of his well-known short stories are ‘Panch Parmeshwar,’ ‘Namak Ka Daroga’, ‘Idgaah’, ‘Sadgati’ and ‘Kafan’. 

Premchand also translated some fiction from Urdu and English into Hindi.  He had the credit of editing the magazine Madhuri and Hans.

Premchand chaired the first convention of the ‘Indian Progressive Writers Association’ in 1936.  His writings provide evidence of his commitment to social causes. Many of his works such as Mazdoor, Seva Sadan, Godaan, Gaban, Shatranj Ke Khiladi and Sadgati have been given film versions.

Contributing much to the storehouse of Indian literature he died in 1936. 0 0 0

N.B.  The article ‘Premchand-Brief Life Sketch’ originally belongs to the book ‘Introduction to World Writers‘ by Menonim Menonimus.

Books of Composition by M. Menonimus:

1. Advertisement Writing
2. Amplification Writing
3. Note Making
4. Paragraph Writing
5. Notice Writing
6. Passage Comprehension
7. The Art of Poster Writing
8. The Art of Letter Writing
9. Report Writing
10. Story Writing
11. Substance Writing
12. School Essays Part-I
13. School Essays Part-II
14. School English Grammar Part-I
15. School English Grammar Part-II..

Books of S. Story by M. Menonimus:

1. The Fugitive Father and Other Stories
2. The Prostitute and Other Stories
3. Neha’s Confession

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