Tribute to a Master

Munshi Premchand was truly a master who towered over his contemporaries. I read short stories of his as a kid in school and I would end up teary-eyed each time. There won't be another Premchand again.

I have had this suspicion that in order to really experience Premchand one had to have lived in the villages of India. Wonder if anyone born and raised in an urban setting could share his/her views...Would love to be pleasantly surprised.

He was great. I truly loved his short stories in
Hindi subject grade books.
Never exposed to such Hindi in ghatiland before, the
Hindi was so chaste and Sanskrutprachur, that how I felt.

Alig Saab:

I was told by many that Prem Chand wrote novels that contained plenty of anti-Muslim themes. Can this be true?

If not, who wrote anti-Musalman novels?

Kamath

Munshi Premchand (Dhanpat Rai) was a gem of a writer! He ought to be considered a role model for every Indian who ever even THINKS of writing a short story with a desi theme.

No Kamath yaar, he was not anti-Muslim! Read his “Idgaah”! He was a reformer and also he was reconciliatory – one of the few writers who could perceive things down to their grass root level – and he was aware of and appreciated the bonding of communities at the grass root level which existed back in his days – before the demagogues rose up and started destroying the harmony for their own selfish political ends!

And being the reformist that he was, Premchand was not the type that would shirk talking of social problems – whatever community those would fall into. Although many of his stories generally had a positive message – he tried quite often to highlight social evils so as to increase awareness so that people would do something about those problems.

So yes, just like he could talk about the numerous social problems that existed (and some still do) among the Hindus, he felt quite at liberty to highlight the same for the Muslims of the subcontinent – because in his mind and heart, those Muslims were just as much his countrymen as were those Hindus!

Unlike the present day Pinkos with their segregationist mindset – who prefer to look away and pretend there is no problem, he was a real friend and a real friend does not go “no touchy touchy” if one is bleeding!

Re: #5
Salaam Kumar:

If Prem chand is alive today, what themes would have interested him? Or do you think he might be considered a misfit in today's Hindoostan?

Wa Salaam
Kamath

#6
Are you sure you are not thinking of K M Munshi

kamath

Premchand spent his entire life with Muslims; he was one of the original progressives (the kind of progressives one can actually revere, not modern sonya ghandi type); it's hard to imagine him writing anything "against" someone. He only wrote against issues that he felt were hurting the society.

#6 Kamath

[If Prem chand were alive today, what themes would have interested him? Or do you think he might be considered a misfit in today's Hindoostan?]

If the Munshi were alive today...

He would have written about space, the movies, terrorism, India-China war, Indo-Pak war, the religious intolerance, the hypocrisy of politicians, the expatriate experience, the increasing gap between the rich and the poor, the wonders of technology, and about any of the millions of mundane topics under the Indian sky.

Evergreens like Premchand never become misfits in ANY society, especially an alive and vibrant society like India's!

By the way, if he were alive today…

(1) He would be one hundred and twenty seven years old.

(2) He would be earning a bit more (perhaps significantly more) than the stipend of eighteen Rupees per month.

And here is a bit of stuff (from Wikipedia) for those conceited contemporary writers who are so bloated on their own inside “feelings” that they have lost the capability to write anything except about what THEY “feel”!

When asked why he doesn't write anything about himself, he (Premchand) answered: “What greatness do I have that I have to tell anyone about? I live just like millions of people in this country; I am ordinary. My life is also ordinary. I am a poor school teacher suffering family travails. During my whole lifetime, I have been grinding away with the hope that I could become free of my sufferings. But I have not been able to free myself from suffering. What is so special about this life that needs to be told to anybody?”

Yes, the Munshi Premchand was a janitor of sorts – in his own time and in his own way. And therefore, like all the other janitors of the world – he will forever remain in style!

#9 by bjkumar

Thanks for that excerpt. This humility is so touching, I wish some of our present-day celebrities learn something from him.

One other comment - how badly writers like him are neglected in the mainstream. It is as tho' the situations and problems he described are no longer part of our lives !!

There are no fellowships, colleges, writing programs, NOTHING, that truly celebrates his memory. All we have is everyone shaking their heads and saying - great man - wonderful guy - OK now lets do whatever we want.

Here is an article describing how money for his village was stolen:

http://in.news.yahoo.com/060610/48/64z16.html

Re: # 4
Dear Kamath
Writers have always been the victim of some sort of prejudice. The question is not of anti-Muslim or anti-Hindu but the creative ouptput of a writer.

Premchand wrote what he saw, felt and faced. He penned the evils of the society that comprised of all communities including Muslims & Hindus.

Asif Anwar Alig

This article provides much information about Premchand, not much about the book which has been reviewed.Premchand born in "Lamahi" not "Lamati"

Overall this is a very good article, carries much information about Premchand the legend of "Hindustani" language and literature.