WRITER

Premchand

1880 - 1936

Premchand

Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known as Munshi Premchand based on his pen name Premchand (pronounced [preːm t͡ʃənd̪] ), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer of Hindi and Urdu social fiction. He was one of the first authors to write about caste hierarchies and the plights of women and labourers prevalent in the society of the late 1880s. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Premchand has received more than 4,154,199 page views. His biography is available in 71 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 67 in 2019). Premchand is the 522nd most popular writer (up from 530th in 2019), the 61st most popular biography from India (down from 59th in 2019) and the 11th most popular Indian Writer.

Premchand is most famous for his novel, "Godan," which is a social and moral critique of the exploitation of the rural poor.

Memorability Metrics

4.2M
Page Views (PV)
66.49
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
71
Languages Editions (L)
2.87
Effective Languages (L*)
5.71
Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Karbalā

1924

Kāyākalpa

1928

Short stories

Literary Collections

Consisting of twelve fully illustrated short stories, the volume looks at the village and the small town in India - focal points offering Premchand a fascinating stage for the interplay of diverse personalities; Human suffering, crushing poverty, and brutal exploitation by landowners and moneylenders; caste snobbery; gender discrimination; the victory of renunciation over selfish temptation; the close comnpanionship of man and animal; the unpredictable nature of human behaviour - Premchand explores these and much more with his characteristic originality of thought and clarity of vision.

1946

Karmabhūmi

Fiction

Premchand (1880-1936) was one of India's greatest writers in Hindi and Urdu. Lalit Srivastava is Professor Emeritus, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Canada.

1934

Godāna

1939

Nirmalā

1936

Nirmala

Young and vulnerable, Nirmala is married off to an elderly widower by her mother who cannot afford to pay a dowry for her. A forbidden relationship between the young bride and one of her three stepsons seems inevitable. But her jealous husband perceives the possibility of such a relationship long before Nirmala and her stepson do, and the two are tragically separated. As the young man dies in a renunciatory illness, Nirmala is agonized by her culpability in his death and further crises in the family. First published in 1928, this poignant novel by Premchand is a classic text of the woman as victim. Exploring sensitive, even dangerous terrain, it communicates a sense of tragedy rather than moral disapproval.

1975

Short stories

Children's stories, Hindi, Fiction, History

Complete short stories of a Hindi writer.

1946

Godāna

Peasantry, Fiction, Fiction, general

"Premchand is the most famous Hindi novelist, and Godaan is Premchand's most celebrated novel. Economic and social conflict in a north Indian village are brilliantly captured in the story of Hori, a poor farmer, and his family's struggle for survival and self-respect. Hori does everything he can to fulfill his life's desire: to own a cow, the peasant's measure of wealth and well-being. Like many Hindus of his time, he believes that making the gift of a cow to a Brahman before he dies will help him achieve salvation. An engaging introduction to India before Independence, Godaan is at once village ethnography, moving human document, and insightful colonial history. Out of print for many years, this translation is regarded as a classic in itself."--BOOK JACKET.

1939

Nirmalā

Fiction, Women, Marriage

1936

Idgah

रमज़ान के पूरे तीस रोज़ों के बाद ईद आई है। कितना मनोहर, कितना सुहावना प्रभात है। वृक्षों पर कुछ अजीब हरियाली है, खेतों में कुछ अजीब रौनक है, आसमान पर कुछ अजीब लालिमा है। आज का सूर्य देखो, कितना प्यारा, कितना शीतल है, मानो संसार को ईद की बधाई दे रहा है। गाँव में कितनी हलचल है। ईदगाह जाने की तैयारियाँ हो रही हैं। किसी के कुरते में बटन नहीं हैं, पड़ोस के घर से सुई-तागा लेने दौड़ा जा रहा है। किसी के जूते कड़े हो गए हैं, उनमें तेल डालने के लिए तेली के घर भागा जाता है। जल्दी-जल्दी बैलों को सानी-पानी दे दें। ईदगाह से लौटते-लौटते दोपहर हो जाएगी। तीन कोस का पैदल रास्ता, फिर सैकड़ों आदमियों से मिलना-भेंटना। दोपहर के पहले लौटना असंभव है। लड़के सबसे ज्यादा प्रसन्न हैं। किसी ने एक रोज़ा रखा है, वह भी दोपहर तक, क

1982

Karmabhūmi

1934