#Nirwasan #MunsiPremchandStory #BestofMunsiPremchand
Dhanpat Rai Srivastava[1] (31 July 1880 - 8 October 1936), better known by his pen name Munshi Premchand[2][3] (pronounced [mʊnʃiː preːm t͡ʃənd̪] (About this soundlisten), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. He is one of the most celebrated writers of the Indian subcontinent,[4] and is regarded as one of the foremost Hindi writers of the early twentieth century.[5] His novels include Godaan, Karmabhoomi, Gaban, Mansarovar, Idgah. He published his first collection of five short stories in 1907 in a book called Soz-e Watan.
He began writing under the pen name "Nawab Rai", but subsequently switched to "Premchand", Munshi being an honorary prefix. A novel writer, story writer and dramatist, he has been referred to as the "Upanyas Samrat" ("Emperor among Novelists") by writers. 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.
Dhanpat Rai Srivastava was born on 31 July 1880 in Lamhi, a village located near Varanasi (Benares). His ancestors came from a large Kayastha family, which owned eight to nine of land.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8] His uncle, Mahabir, a rich landowner, nicknamed him "Nawab", meaning baron. "Nawab Rai" was the first pen name chosen by Dhanpat Rai.[9]
Munshi Premchand Memorial Gate, Lamhi, Varanasi
When he was 7 years old, Dhanpat Rai began his education at a Madrasa in Lalpur, located near Lamhi.[8] He learnt Urdu and Persian from a maulvi in the madrasa. When he was 8, his mother died after a long illness. His grandmother, who took the responsibility of raising him, died soon after.[10] 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.[11]
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.[12] 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.[11] He composed his first literary work at Gorakhpur, which was never published and is now lost. It was a farce on a bachelor, who falls in love with a low-caste woman. The character was based on Premchand's uncle, who used to scold him for being obsessed with reading fiction; the farce was probably written as a revenge for this.[11]
After his father was posted to Jamania in the mid-1890s, Dhanpat Rai enrolled at the Queens College at Benares as a day scholar.[13][14] 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.[13][14]
His father died in 1897 after a long illness. He managed to pass the matriculation exam with second division (below 60% marks). However, only the students with first division were given fee concession at the Queen's College. He then sought admission at the Central Hindu College, but was unsuccessful because of his poor arithmetic skills.[15] Thus, he had to discontinue his studies. He then obtained an assignment to coach an advocate's son in Benares 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.[15] Premchand read a lot during these days. After racking up several debts, in 1899, he once went to a book shop to sell one of his collected books. There, he met the headmaster of a missionary school at Chunar, who offered him a job as a teacher, at a monthly salary of ₹ 18.[15] He also took up the job of tutoring a student at a monthly fees of ₹ 5.
In 1900, Premchand secured a job as an assistant teacher at the Government District School, Bahraich, at a monthly salary of ₹ 20. Three months later, he was transferred to the District School in Pratapgarh, where he stayed in an administrator's bungalow and tutored his son.[16]
30 сен 2024
