Premchand’s 137^th Birth Anniversary 

Premchand (1880-1936)

Even one hundred and thirty seven years after his birth, the fact that the Birth Anniversary of  Premchand – who was my paternal grandfather (Dada) - is celebrated on July 31^st, with immense joy and fervour, at different places across the country, particularly in his beloved village of Lamhi ( near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh). Numerous seminars and  discussion; dramatized performances of his stories; serialisation of his literary creations on TV and other social media, which are held on the occasion, bear testimony to his vast popularity and  continued relevance.   

Premchand’s life holds an intrinsic interest although his was an ordinary enough life, at least till the point he achieved public acclaim. He himself was not only conscious of this fact but also tended somewhat to overstate it. In a passage, he claimed that his life was like “a stretch of plain and level ground” and warned that “those who would rather climb mountains are bound to be disappointed here”!

I was born fifteen years after the death of Premchand (October 8, 1936). During my childhood I was not aware of his literary eminence, as my father late Sripat Rai, (elder son of Premchand) was a shy and introvert person, who was not only quite reclusive by nature, but also very reticent to talk about his father, particularly, with us children. Only one novel statement of his made me curious and which I still remember is when he mentioned that Premchand , in his short life span, had written so much that it would take an ordinary mortal several life times to just read and fully absorb!

 It was, however, my Hindi teacher ( Mr Pandey)  in St Joseph’s High School, Allahabad, perhaps in Std IV or V , while teaching Premchand’s story “Thakur ka Kuan”  disclosed to the class my literary lineage! Mr Pandey was a great lover and and avid reader of Premchand, in particular, the use of elegant Hindi idioms and phrases by the writer in his numerous creative works. It was a matter of tremendous satisfaction and indeed pride that Pandey sir was teaching Hindi to one of Premchand’s grandsons!

Later of course, as I grew up, I read, not only, most of Premchand’s stories - in the 8 volumes of Mansarovar  - but also his novels and letters. Most of my knowledge about Premchand , as a real life person, however,  I gained from the excellent biography written by my Dadi amma, Shivarani Devi  Premchand Ghar Mein,  and also the biography written by my Chacha, Amrit Rai Premchand: Qalam ka Sipahi  (which was later masterfully translated as Premchand – A Life by Harish Trivedi in 1982 and published by People’s Publishing House, New Delhi).

Premchand holds the unique position of creator of the modern novel and short story in simultaneously two Indian languages, Urdu and Hindi. In his creative life of thirty-three years he has left behind a body of work which is outstanding in quality and stupendous in quantity. It consists of some three hundred short stories (some of them still surfacing), fifteen big and small novels, three plays, translations, some essays on languages and literature, and a sizeable bulk of journalist writing.

 Premchand is, in fact, the first writer in any Indian language (in time followed by several other eminent men of literary genius) who brings such profound understanding or our village and rural scene to bear on his writings. With stories like Kafan, Shatranj ke Khilari, Sadgati, Poos Ki Raat, Savaa Ser Gehun, Bade Bhai Sahab, Juloos,  Gulli Danda, Lottery and Eidgah and novels like Premashram, Rangbhoomi, Godan, Gaban, Kayakalp, Karmbhoomi , as also, shorter ones like Nirmala and Pratigya, he took the Urdu and Hindi fiction into the wide world  of live flesh-and - blood  human beings, thus making it a truly modern genre of writing – a vehicle of the writer’s social concerns. The short story is the genre, in particular, wherein Premchand is considered one of the world’s great masters.

Premchand is universally acknowledged as the best portrayer of peasant India among modern writers. He is widely translated at home and abroad. It is no surprise therefore that the renowned film stalwart Satyajit Ray chose Shatranj ke Khilari and Sadgati for direction of the only films he made in the Hindi language.

The burning issues so realistically and vividly highlighted by Premchand exist and flourish in India even at present. His stark portrayal of the rural and farmer’s distress; hypocrisy of “ponga” pundits peddling their superstition; untouchability; caste system; rural poverty and distress; frustration of youth; exploitation of women; corruption; family life; as well as, social and political unrest, are some of the issues and problems Premchand forcefully portrayed wielding his powerful pen as a sword whose relevance and importance have not diminished with the passage of time. His writings will continue to draw tremendous interest and sustained inspiration among all lovers of Hindi and Urdu literature across the globe. 

Anil Rai
28th July 2017