Мунши Премчанд: Жизнь и творчество выдающегося индийского писателя

Indian writer of Hindustani language

Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known as Munshi Premchand based on his pen name Premchand , 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. He is one of the most celebrated writers of the Indian subcontinent, and is regarded as one of the foremost Hindi writers of the early twentieth century. His works include Godaan, Karmabhoomi, Gaban, Mansarovar, and Idgah. He published his first collection of five short stories in 1907 in a book called Soz e Watan (Sorrow of the Nation). His works include more than a dozen novels, around 300 short stories, several essays and translations of a number of foreign literary works into Hindi.

Munshi Premchand was born on 31 July 1880 in Lamhi, a village located near Banaras, and was named Dhanpat Rai ("master of wealth"). His ancestors came from a large Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha family, which owned eight to nine bighas of land. His grandfather, Guru Sahai Rai, was a patwari (village land record keeper), and his father, Ajaib Lal, was a post office clerk. His mother was Anandi Devi of Karauni village, who probably was also his inspiration for the character Anandi in his "Bade Ghar Ki Beti". Dhanpat Rai was the fourth child of Ajaib Lal and Anandi; the first two were girls who died as infants, and the third one was a girl named Suggi. His uncle, Mahabir, a rich landowner, nicknamed him "Nawab", meaning baron. "Nawab Rai" was the first pen name chosen by Dhanpat Rai. When he was seven years old, Dhanpat Rai began his education at a madrasa in Lalpur, Varanasi, located near Lamhi. Munshi Premchand felt isolated, as his elder sister Suggi had already been married, and his father was always busy with work. His father, who was now posted at Gorakhpur, remarried, but Premchand received little affection from his stepmother. The stepmother later became a recurring theme in Premchand's works. As a child, Dhanpat Rai sought solace in fiction and developed a fascination for books. He heard the stories of the Persian language fantasy epic Tilism e Hoshruba at a tobacconist's shop. He took the job of selling books for a book wholesaler, thus getting the opportunity to read a lot of books. He learnt English at a missionary school and studied several works of fiction, including George W. M. Reynolds's eight volume The Mysteries of the Court of London. In 1895, he was married at the age of 15, while still studying in the ninth grade. The match was arranged by his maternal step grandfather. The girl was from a rich landlord family and was older than Premchand, who found her quarrelsome and not good looking. Thus, he had to discontinue his studies. He then obtained an assignment to coach an advocate's son in Banaras at a monthly salary of five rupees. He used to reside in a mud cell over the advocate's stables and used to send 60% of his salary back home. His first short novel was Asrar e Ma'abid ("Secrets of God's abode", Devasthan Rahasya in Hindi), which explores corruption among the temple priests and their sexual exploitation of poor women. The novel was published in a series in the Banaras based Urdu weekly Awaz e Khalk from 8 October 1903 to February 1905. Literary critic Siegfried Schulz states that "his inexperience is quite evident in his first novel", which is not well organized, lacks a good plot and features stereotyped characters. Prakash Chandra Gupta calls it an "immature work", which shows a tendency to "see life only in black or white". In 1906, Premchand married a child widow, Shivarani Devi, who was the daughter of a landlord from a village near Fatehpur. The step was considered to be revolutionary at that time, and Premchand faced a lot of social opposition. After his death, Shivarani Devi wrote a book on him, titled Premchand Ghar Mein ("Premchand in House"). In 1905, inspired by nationalist activism, Premchand published an article on the Indian National Congress leader Gopal Krishna Gokhale in Zamana. He criticised Gokhale's methods for achieving political freedom and instead recommended adoption of more extremist measures adopted by Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Premchand's first published story was "Duniya ka Sabse Anmol Ratan" ("The Most Precious Jewel in the World"), which appeared in Zamana in 1907. According to this story, the most precious 'jewel' was the last drop of blood necessary to attain independence. Many of Premchand's early short stories had patriotic overtones, influenced by the Indian independence movement. During April–August 1907, Premchand's novel Roothi Rani was published in serial form in Zamana.

In 1909, Premchand was transferred to Mahoba and later posted to Hamirpur as the Sub deputy Inspector of Schools. Around this time, Soz e Watan was noticed by British Government officials, who banned it as a seditious work. James Samuel Stevenson, the British collector of Hamirpur district ordered a raid on Premchand's house, where around five hundred copies of Soz e Watan were burnt. After this, Munshi Daya Narain Nigam, the editor of the Urdu magazine Zamana, who had published Dhanpat Rai's first story "Duniya ka Sabse Anmol Ratan" advised the pseudonym "Premchand". Dhanpat Rai stopped using the name "Nawab Rai" and became Premchand. Premchand was often referred to as Munshi Premchand. The fact is, he, along with Kanhaiyalal Munshi, edited the magazine Hans. The credit line read "Munshi, Premchand". He thenceforth began being called Munshi Premchand. In 1914, Premchand started writing in Hindi (Hindi and Urdu are considered different registers of a single language Hindustani, with Hindi drawing much of its vocabulary from Sanskrit and Urdu being more influenced by Persian). By this time, he was already reputed as a fiction writer in Urdu. His first Hindi story "Saut" was published in the magazine Saraswati in December 1915, and his first short story collection Sapta Saroj was published in June 1917.

In August 1916, Premchand was transferred to Gorakhpur on a promotion. He became the Assistant Master at the Normal High School, Gorakhpur. At Gorakhpur, he developed a friendship with the bookseller Buddhi Lal, who allowed him to borrow novels for reading in exchange for selling exam cram books at the school. The novel tells the story of an unhappy housewife, who first becomes a courtesan, and then manages an orphanage for the young daughters of the courtesans. It was well received by the critics and helped Premchand gain wider recognition. In 1919, Premchand obtained a BA degree from Allahabad University. By 1921, he had been promoted to Deputy Inspectors of Schools. On 8 February 1921, he attended a meeting in Gorakhpur, where Mahatma Gandhi asked people to resign from government jobs as part of the non cooperation movement. Premchand, although physically unwell and with two kids and a pregnant wife to support, thought about it for five days and decided, with the consent of his wife, to resign from his government job.

After quitting his job, Premchand left Gorakhpur for Banaras on 18 March 1921 and decided to focus on his literary career. Till his death in 1936, he faced severe financial difficulties and chronic ill health. According to Schulz, it was in Nirmala (1925) and Pratigya (1927) that Premchand found his way to "a balanced, realistic level" that surpasses his earlier works and manages to "hold his readers in tutelage". Nirmala, a novel dealing with the dowry system in India, was first serialised in the magazine Chand between November 1925 and November 1926, before being published as a novel. Pratigya ("The Vow") dealt with the subject of widow remarriage. In 1928, Premchand's novel Gaban ("Embezzlement"), focusing on the middle class' greed, was published. In March 1930, Premchand launched a literary political weekly magazine titled Hans, aimed at inspiring the Indians to mobilise against the British rule. The magazine, noted for its politically provocative views, failed to make a profit. Premchand then took over and edited another magazine called Jagaran, which, too, ran at a loss. In 1931, Premchand moved to Kanpur as a teacher at the Marwari College but had to leave because of differences with the college administration. Himanshu Roy, the founder of Bombay Talkies, tried to convince Premchand to stay back but failed.

After leaving Bombay, Premchand wanted to settle in Allahabad, where his sons Sripat Rai and Amrit Kumar Rai were studying. He also planned to publish Hans from there. However, owing to his financial situation and ill health, he had to hand over Hans to the Indian Literary Counsel and move to Banaras. Premchand was elected as the first President of the Progressive Writers' Association in Lucknow in 1936. He died on 8 October 1936, after several days of sickness and while still in office. Godaan (The Gift of a Cow, 1936), Premchand's last completed work, is generally accepted as his best novel and is considered one of the finest Hindi novels. The protagonist, Hori, a poor peasant, desperately longs for a cow, a symbol of wealth and prestige in rural India. According to Siegfried Schulz, "Godān is a well structured and well balanced novel which amply fulfils the literary requirements postulated by Western literary standards." Unlike other contemporary renowned authors such as Rabindranath Tagore, Premchand was not appreciated much outside India. Schulz believes that the reason for this was the absence of good translations of his work. Also, unlike Tagore and Iqbal, Premchand never travelled outside India, studied abroad or mingled with renowned foreign literary figures. In 1936, Premchand also published "Kafan" ("Shroud"), in which a poor man collects money for the funeral rites of his dead wife but spends it on food and drink. Premchand's last published story was "Cricket Match", which appeared in Zamana in 1938, after his death.

Premchand is considered the first Hindi author whose writings prominently featured realism. Premchand started taking an interest in political affairs while at Kanpur during the late 1900s, and this is reflected in his early works, which have patriotic overtones. His political thoughts were initially influenced by the moderate Indian National Congress leader Gopal Krishna Gokhale, but later, he moved towards the more extremist Bal Gangadhar Tilak. This can be seen in works like Rangbhoomi (1924). Premchand's influence on Indian literature cannot be overstated. As the late scholar David Rubin wrote in The World of Premchand (1969), "To Premchand belongs the distinction of creating the genre of the serious short story—and the serious novel as well—in both Hindi and Urdu. Virtually single handed, he lifted fiction in these languages from a quagmire of aimless romantic chronicles to a high level of realistic narrative comparable to European fiction of the time; and in both languages, he has, in addition, remained an unsurpassed master." In his last days, he focused on village life as a stage for complex drama, as seen in the novel Godaan (1936) and the short story collection Kafan (1936). Premchand's ancestral house in Lamhi is being restored by the state government. An institute has also been set up in Lamhi to study his work. The Munshi Premchand Mahavidyalaya in Siliguri has been named after him. An Archive Centre in the name of Munshi Premchand has been established at the Central University Jamia Millia Islamia. It came to store the legacy of Premchand's writings as his famous story 'Kafan' was written by him in Jamia itself and it was first published in 'Jamia '. On 31 July 2016, Google showed a Google Doodle in honouring the 136th birthday of Munshi Premchand.

Premchand wrote over three hundred short stories and fourteen novels, many essays and letters, plays and translations. Many of Premchand's works were translated into English and Russian after his death.

Hindi title Urdu title Publisher Date Length (pages) Description Devasthan Rahasya Asrar e Ma'abid Awaz e Khalk (serial form) 8 October 1903 – February 1905116 English translation of the title: The Mystery of God's Abode. Prema Hamkhurma o Hamsavab Indian Press/Hindustan Publishing House 1907 Amrit Rai overcomes social opposition to marrying the young widow, Poorna, giving up his rich and beautiful fiancé Prema. (Penned under the name "Babu Nawab Rai Banarsi"). Kishna Medical Hall Press, Banaras 1907 142 Now lost; satirises women's fondness for jewellery. Roothi Rani Zamana (serial form) April–August 1907 Soz e Watan Publishers of Zamana 1907, 1909 Banned by the British Government in 1909. Vardaan Jalwa e Isar Granth Bhandar and Dhanju 1912 128 Vardan ("Boon") is about Pratap Chandra and Brij Rani, two childhood neighbours who like each other. Brij marries another man and becomes a famous poet after being widowed. Her friend Madhvi starts liking Pratap after hearing about him from Brij. Pratap becomes a sadhu, and Madhvi becomes his devotee. Seva Sadan Bazaar e Husn Calcutta Pustak Agency (Hindi) 1919 (Hindi), 1924 (Urdu) 280 An unhappy housewife first becomes a courtesan and then manages an orphanage for the young daughters of the courtesans. Premashram Gosha e Afiyat 1922 Rangbhoomi Chaugan e Hasti Darul Ishaat (Urdu, 1935) 1924 English title: Playground. Nirmala Nirmala Idaara e Furoogh Urdu 1925 156 English title: The Second Wife. About the dowry system in India (serialised in the magazine Chand between November 1921 and November 1926, before being published as a novel). Kaayakalp Parda i Majaz Lajpat Rai & Sons, Lahore (Urdu) 1926 (Hindi), 1934 (Urdu) 440 Pratigya Bewa 1927 Deals with widow remarriage. Gaban Ghaban Saraswati Press, Banaras; Lajpatrai & Sons, Urdu Bazaar 1931 248Gaban is a novel that portrays the moral decline of Ramanath, a hero who succumbs to the temptation of embezzlement. The novel highlights themes of greed, morality, and societal expectations. Karmabhoomi Maidan e Amal Maktaba Jamia, Delhi 1932 340Set in 1930, this masterpiece by Premchand talks about the unity of Hindus and Muslim and their exploitation by the British which eventually resulted in partition much later. Godaan Saraswati Press 1936 344 English title: The Gift of a Cow. It is themed around the socio economic deprivation as well as the exploitation of the village poor. Mangalsootra (incomplete) Hindustan Publishing House 1936 Premchand completed only the first four chapters (around 70 pages) of this novel.

Sevasadanam (1938) was made into a film with M. S. Subbulakshmi in the lead role. The novel is set in Varanasi, the holy city of Hindus. Sevasadan ("House of Service") is an institute built for the daughters of courtesans. The lead of the novel is a beautiful, intelligent and talented girl named Suman. She belongs to a high caste. She is married to a much older, tyrannical man. She realises that a loveless marriage is just like prostitution, except that there is only one client. Bholi, a courtesan, lives opposite Suman. Suman realises that Bholi is "outside purdah" while she is "inside it". Suman leaves her husband and becomes a successful entertainer of gentlemen. But after a brief period of success, she ends up as a victim of a political drama played out by self righteous Hindu social reformers and moralists. A film version of Premchand's novel, Gaban, was released in 1966. Sunil Dutt, Sadhana Shivdasani, Kanhaiyalal and Leela Mishra acted in the film and the music was scored by musician duo Shankar–Jaikishan. Heera Moti, a 1959 Indian Hindi language film directed by Krishan Chopra, was based on Premchand's "Do Bailon ki Katha". In 1977, Satyajit Ray made a film based on Premchand's short story "Shatranj ke Khiladi" ("The Chess Players"), which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. The film revolves around the decadence of nawabi Lucknow, where the obsession with a game consumes the players, making them oblivious of their responsibilities in the midst of a crisis. Oka Oori Katha (A Story of a Village) is a 1977 Telugu film directed by Mrinal Sen. It is based on the story "Kafan" by Munshi Premchand. It is one of the few art films made in the Telugu language. Indian film 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 based on Premchand's novel of the same name. A 2019 Indian film, Ek Betuke Aadmi Ki Afrah Raatein, was based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's "White Nights" and "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man", and Premchand's "Bhoot". At least three television series based on Premchand's works have been aired by the Indian national public broadcaster Doordarshan on DD National which include Munshi Premchand's Guldasta, Munshi Premchand ki Kahani, and Tehreer Munshi Premchand Ki. The television films Sadgati (based on a Premchand short story) and Seva Sadan (based on Bazaar e Husn) were also aired by Doordarshan.