Munshi premchand biography with images

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A master storyteller, he gave voice to the common man, weaving together tales of poverty, social injustice, love, sacrifice, and nationalism in a language that resonated deeply with both elite and rural readers alike. His wife wrote a book on him after his death named Premchand Ghar Mein means Premchand in House.

He published his first story named Duniya Ka Sabse Anmol Ratan in Zamana in the year 1907.

In the same year, he published his second short novel named Hamkhurma-o-Hamsavab. Later, Zamana published his other works like Bade Bhai Saheb, Beti ka Dhan. His wife also tried to commit suicide because his mother used to scold her a lot.

This challenging childhood, marked by loss and strained family dynamics, led him to find solace in literature.

His personal life, particularly his extramarital affairs as revealed by his second wife, also drew considerable attention and negative commentary. Shortly he served as a headmaster at Kashi Vidyapeeth and later as an editor of the Madhuri magazine at Lucknow.

He went back to Varanasi after leaving his job on the 18th of March in 1921 and started focusing on his literary career.

He once borrowed two and a half rupees so he could buy some clothes.

munshi premchand biography with images

He is a novel writer, story writer, and dramatist.

 

He was born and brought up in a village called Lamhi near Varanasi. His early work, Soz-e-Watan (1907), which had patriotic themes, was banned by the British. His writing was simple but also interesting at the same time.

Basically, he started writing in Urdu so we can find some modernized words that can be known as the mixture of Urdu and Hindi in his work.

Anandi is believed to have been the inspiration for the character “Anandi” in his 1926 novel, “Bade Ghar Ki Beti.”

His grandfather, Guru Sahai Rai, was the village land record-keeper (Patwari). Later he got the job of a teacher with a salary of 18 rupees and it was the headmaster of a missionary school in Chunar who helped him to get this job.

In the year 1900, he got a government job as an assistant teacher at the Government District School, Bahraich, and started getting 20 rupees per month as salary.

He was honored with the title “Upanyas Samrat” (Emperor of Novels) for his unparalleled contributions to Hindi-Urdu fiction.


📜 Early Life and Background

  • Real Name: Dhanpat Rai Srivastava

  • Pen Names: Nawab Rai (initial), later Premchand

  • Date of Birth: 31 July 1880

  • Place of Birth: Lamhi village, near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

  • Father: Ajaib Rai (a postal clerk)

  • Mother: Anandi Devi

  • Caste: Kayastha

  • Language Proficiency: Hindi, Urdu, Persian, English

Premchand’s early life was marked by hardships.

Many of his plays and stories have been translated to various foreign languages posthumously.

Q 5. Then Munshiji got married to a child widow named Shivarani Devi in the year 1906 and became a father of two sons named Sripat Rai and Amrit Rai. After his second marriage, he faced several social oppositions.

He often included Muslim characters in his stories, despite being Hindu, highlighting the depth of his understanding of various communities.

Controversies

Premchand faced criticism for his first marriage and subsequent remarriage to a child widow. His first published short story, “Duniya Ka Sabse Anmol Ratan,” was published in the Urdu magazine Zamana in 1907.

He was one of the first writers to talk about the caste system and the hard lives of women and workers in the late 1880s.

Q.14 What was the prize of Munshi Premchand?

Ans. Premchand was never given a prize. He felt alone and his father got re-married with his stepmother who later became his recurring theme in his works.

He developed a lot of interest in reading books after his mother’s death that’s why he did the job of bookselling to a book wholesaler to get a chance to read more books.

He was an Indian Writer, Novelist, Founder, Editor & Screenwriter.

Munshi Premchand Complete Bio & Career

Born as Dhanpat Rai, Munshi Premchand was an Indian writer. He was chosen to be the first President of the Progressive Writers’ Association, Lucknow.

Q.15 Was Munshi Premchand a poet too?

Ans. Munshi Premchand didn’t write poems, but he wrote a lot of short stories and novels and was a well-known and respected figure in Indian writing.

Q.16 Who was the inspiration of Premchand?

Ans. Gandhi influenced Premchand, and after the author went to a meeting in Gorakhpur where Gandhi asked people to quit their government jobs, the author quit his job as a Deputy Inspector of Schools in Allahabad.

Q.17 How many novels did Munshi Premchand wrote?

Ans. Munshi Premchand wrote about fourteen novels.

Q.18 What is the aim of literature by Premchand?

Ans.

Munshi Premchand remains one of India’s most celebrated authors, captivating readers of Hindustani literature for generations.