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Mansarovar: Part 5

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A compelling literary narrative by the renowned Indian author Prem Chand, set against the backdrop of rural India that explores the lives of common people, their struggles, and aspirations. The well-crafted storytelling captivates readers as they ponder the themes of human complexities and dynamics of human society. The stories shed light on the much prevalent issues like poverty, caste, and morality, and have a perfect blend of insightful plot and relatable characters, making it a must-read for literature lovers.

An enthralling commentary on the dynamics of Indian society and livelihood!

Portrayal of human experiences. Captivating narrative. Ideal for Hindi fiction lovers. A reflection of Indian society. A must-read for literature enthusiasts.

296 pages, Paperback

First published September 22, 2014

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About the author

Munshi Premchand

1,156 books1,157 followers
Munshi Premchand (Hindi: मुंशी प्रेमचंद) was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. He is one of the most celebrated writers of the Indian subcontinent,and is regarded as one of the foremost Hindustani writers of the early twentieth century.

Born Dhanpat Rai, he began writing under the pen name "Nawab Rai", but subsequently switched to "Premchand", while he is also known as "Munshi 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 some Hindi writers. His works include more than a dozen novels, around 250 short stories, several essays and translations of a number of foreign literary works into Hindi.

Premchand is considered the first Hindi author whose writings prominently featured realism. His novels describe the problems of the poor and the urban middle-class. His works depict a rationalistic outlook, which views religious values as something that allows the powerful hypocrites to exploit the weak. He used literature for the purpose of arousing public awareness about national and social issues and often wrote about topics related to corruption, child widowhood, prostitution, feudal system, poverty, colonialism and on the India's freedom movement.

Several of his early works, such as A Little Trick and A Moral Victory, satirised the Indians who cooperated with the British colonial government.

In the 1920s, he was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement and the accompanying struggle for social reform. During this period, his works dealt with the social issues such as poverty, zamindari exploitation (Premashram, 1922), dowry system (Nirmala, 1925), educational reform and political oppression (Karmabhumi, 1931).

In his last days, he focused on village life as a stage for complex drama, as seen in his most famous work Godan as well as the short-story collection Kafan (1936).Premchand believed that social realism was the way for Hindi literature, as opposed to the "feminine quality", tenderness and emotion of the contemporary Bengali literature.

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66 reviews2 followers
September 2, 2017
Great thing about this collection is that reading one story you are really moved an have an urge to find and slap a religious fundamentalist and castist right away, but next story happens to carry a light mood and you just admire Premchand's way of storytelling.
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