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Literature
Authors

collection – there were four in all – were living more ‘traditional’ lives incomplete.
nationalistic in tone, and supported the provide a mirror to those Premchand did not only confine himself to
struggle for independence. Because of this, attempting to escape those writing short stories and novels and articles.
the British rulers banned the book, something lives – both effectively being In many ways he was as much of a writer as
they often did to stifle criticism and to shown as two sides of the same an editor. He set up a publishing house called
prevent nationalistic voices from reaching the coin. Saraswati Press in Varanasi and also edited two
public. The collector of Hamirpur district, Equally much of magazines, Hans and Jagaran. While neither of
where Premchand was at the time, had a raid Premchand’s work focused on them made any money, Hans went on to become
conducted on his house and copies of the book the social conditions of rural a much respected space where new writers were
found there were seized and later burned. and small town India. His last privileged to be published. Later it died out, but
Until this time, Premchand had been writing complete work, and his most was then revived by other, more contemporary
under the name of Nawab Rai, and it was now important one, Godaan (The writers. Premchand’s interests were wide, and
that he turned to what became the name he is Gift of a Cow) tells the story of he also dabbled in cinema, travelling to Mumbai
now recognised by – Premchand. Hori, a poor, honest peasant to work in Hindi cinema. He wrote a script for a
who wishes to have a cow film about the labouring classes, its release was
THE LANGUAGE OF and who falls repeatedly into stayed by the courts, and it was then banned
LITERATURE debt in his attempt to fulfill because factory owners protested that it would
Language was a major issue for Premchand. this wish of his. Godaan is a encourage the labouring classes to revolt.
Writers often say that they do not choose the story that reflects the social This aspect of his career was short-lived though
language they write in, it is the language that realities of the time, its focus and he soon returned to the world of writing,
chooses them. Because of his early education on caste and on issues such as which is what he loved most.
in Persian, and because Urdu was the literary
language of the time, especially in the towns
and cities of Uttar Pradesh in which Premchand BOOKS BY PREMCHAND
spent much of his life, this was the language he
chose to write in. But, in the early 20th century,
as Urdu came to be increasingly associated with
Muslims and pressure mounted for Hindi to be
used as the language of north India, Premchand
began to write in Hindi. Historian Sumit
Sarkar, who has chronicled many historical
developments in the making of modern India,
suggests that this switch could have been
because of the difficulty of finding publishers
in Urdu.
Premchand’s new work, then, was in Hindi,
but he also rendered some of his existing
writings into Hindi. Sevasadan, one of his major
works, a large, sprawling social novel, was
originally written in Urdu as Husn-e-Bazar, but widowhood, respectability for In time, Premchand came to be seen as one
was published first in Hindi and then in Urdu women, the village panchayat of the most important writers of our time.
(it is said to have been inspired by Thackeray’s and more. In time, it was His contribution to literature in Hindi and Urdu
Vanity Fair). to become one of the great is evident in the works of so many writers who
classics of Indian literature. came after him and continues to resonate in the
AN IMPRESSIVE REPERTOIRE In its reflection of the social many books that populate the world of literature
OF WORK realities of the time, Godaan in these two languages. Some members of his
By this time, sometime in the 1920s, his writing acted as an essential part of own family – his sons and his grandchildren –
was in full flow. Although he worked full time, the histories of that time, also took to writing, so the legacy was passed on
he also managed to write alongside, building up providing, through the realistic through the generations. For a writer who began
what was to become a formidable repertoire of depiction of local life, the life in modest circumstances and who had to
work. Women figured prominently in his work, dimension that history, through struggle to study, and then to be able to write,
and several of them can be seen trying to build its focus on documentation this is no mean achievement.
their own lives, fighting circumstances and and evidence, was unable to
taking bold steps that were unusual for the time. show. Without Premchand’s URVASHI BUTALIA is the director and co-founder of
The protagonist in Sevasadan, for example, is a work, our understanding of Kali Women, India’s first feminist publishing house.
housewife who goes on to become a courtesan, social issues in northern India, She is a historian whose research focuses on the
turning the sexual slavery of marriage into a in particular in Uttar Pradesh, Partition and oral histories. Her book, The Other Side
different kind of sexual slavery but one for or the United Provinces, at of Silence, collates the tales of the survivors of the
which she is paid. Throughout his work, women the time, would have been Partition.

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