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The World of Premchand: Selected Short Stories
This is a new collection of translations of thirty stories written by Premchand, who virtually created the genre of short story writing in Hindi and Urdu. The selection reveals the wide range of Premchand's genius and the scope of his appeal. While most of the stories are woven against a rural backdrop, some also demonstrate an urban sensibility.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published October 23, 2001
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458 people want to read
About the author
Munshi Premchand
1,156 books1,155 followersMunshi 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.
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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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 19, 2012
Premchand is simply awesome! Witty and poignant collection of short stories. His short stories are profound and quite significant to the current state of affairs.
February 2, 2019
Wonderfully written, satirical, astute and compassionate social commentary. Great stories.
My favorites:
“The Road to Salvation.”
~ The pride the peasant takes in seeing his fields flourishing is like the soldier’s in his red turban, the coquette’s in her jewels, or the doctor’s in the patients seated before him. Whenever Jhingur looked at his cane fields, a sort of intoxication came over him. He had three bighas of land which would earn him an easy six hundred rupees. ~
“Man’s Highest Duty.”
~ Brother, let’s become wandering sadhus. When there’s not the slightest pleasure left in life, what’s a man to do? Now tell me, if you don’t get something decent to eat even on a day like this, how’s a body to keep going? ~
“A Moral Victory.”
~ But Moteram said, “I have accomplished my purpose. This is a divine joy that can’t be obtained for any amount of money. If you have any respect for me, then order some more sweets exactly like this from the same shop.” ~
(The two short-stories above contain the character of Moteram Shastri. A Brahman, a high-caste member, with a large belly and a sweet tooth).
“The Price of Milk.”
~ After all, God is known as the redeemer of the lowly. But the traditions of society have to be considered too! One would feel embarrassed just to approach that door. Maheshnath might be the master of the village, one would be obliged to go there, but let it be understood that it was odious. ~
(The people of the village didn’t enjoying going near the door of this house, because a small boy, named Mangal, belonged to the caste of the untouchables. The ending of this story is beautiful, even as it is heartbreaking).
My favorites:
“The Road to Salvation.”
~ The pride the peasant takes in seeing his fields flourishing is like the soldier’s in his red turban, the coquette’s in her jewels, or the doctor’s in the patients seated before him. Whenever Jhingur looked at his cane fields, a sort of intoxication came over him. He had three bighas of land which would earn him an easy six hundred rupees. ~
“Man’s Highest Duty.”
~ Brother, let’s become wandering sadhus. When there’s not the slightest pleasure left in life, what’s a man to do? Now tell me, if you don’t get something decent to eat even on a day like this, how’s a body to keep going? ~
“A Moral Victory.”
~ But Moteram said, “I have accomplished my purpose. This is a divine joy that can’t be obtained for any amount of money. If you have any respect for me, then order some more sweets exactly like this from the same shop.” ~
(The two short-stories above contain the character of Moteram Shastri. A Brahman, a high-caste member, with a large belly and a sweet tooth).
“The Price of Milk.”
~ After all, God is known as the redeemer of the lowly. But the traditions of society have to be considered too! One would feel embarrassed just to approach that door. Maheshnath might be the master of the village, one would be obliged to go there, but let it be understood that it was odious. ~
(The people of the village didn’t enjoying going near the door of this house, because a small boy, named Mangal, belonged to the caste of the untouchables. The ending of this story is beautiful, even as it is heartbreaking).
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March 22, 2025Premchand reminds me of Basheer.
This review is written just to appreciate Premchand.
The two short stories that I had as a part of academic reading were-‘The Shroud’ and ‘The Child’.
Let me just rant about the child. The first line of the story states:
“People call Gangu a Brahmin.He considers himself one, too”.
Take a minute and just appreciate how Premchand is deconstructing the caste-system in two sentences.
The next element that I love about this story is that it is narrated by a hypocritical land-lord. Omg!Premchand is so brilliant. He is daring. The whole notion of whether Gangu is a Brahmin or not confuses the readers and even gives them time to think about this societal construct.
Ykw, I’m ready to polish my Hindi skills just to read his stories in Hindi but I guess he used to write in Urdu.(nvm).
He shows the stark reality of pre-independent India.Like the real-picture.Premchand and his writings should be studied in depth because on surface it may seem simple but man it does have a lot of depth.
This review is written just to appreciate Premchand.
The two short stories that I had as a part of academic reading were-‘The Shroud’ and ‘The Child’.
Let me just rant about the child. The first line of the story states:
“People call Gangu a Brahmin.He considers himself one, too”.
Take a minute and just appreciate how Premchand is deconstructing the caste-system in two sentences.
The next element that I love about this story is that it is narrated by a hypocritical land-lord. Omg!Premchand is so brilliant. He is daring. The whole notion of whether Gangu is a Brahmin or not confuses the readers and even gives them time to think about this societal construct.
Ykw, I’m ready to polish my Hindi skills just to read his stories in Hindi but I guess he used to write in Urdu.(nvm).
He shows the stark reality of pre-independent India.Like the real-picture.Premchand and his writings should be studied in depth because on surface it may seem simple but man it does have a lot of depth.
December 17, 2017
A bit lost in translation.
Want to read
December 15, 2022Read so far:
A Feast for the Holy Man (aka Babaji's Feast, Babaji Ka Bhog)
The Power of a Curse (aka The Lament of the Poor, Garib Ki Hay)
A Catastrophe (Vidhvans)
January Night (aka A Winter's Night, Pus Ki Rat)
Neyur
The Story of Two Bullocks (aka A Tale of Two Oxen, Do Bailon Ki Katha)
Ramlila
The Thakur's Well (Thakur Ka Kuan)
A Desperate Case (aka Despair, Nairasi)
A Day in the Life of a Debt-Collector (Tagada)
A Car-Splashing (aka Splashes from a motorcar, Motor Ke Chinte)
From Both Sides (Dono Taraf Se)
A Moral Victory (Satyagrah)
Man's Highest Duty (aka The Prime Dharma of Man, Manushya Ka Param Dharm)
A Lesson in the Holy Life (aka A Mentor's Advice, Guru-Mantra)
A Little Trick (Chakma)
Penalty (Zurmana)
The Writer (Lekhak)
A Coward (Kayak)
A Servant of the Nation (Rashtra Ka Sevak)
The Chess Players (aka The Game of Chess, Shatranj Ke Khiladi)
The Road to Hell (Nark Ka Marg)
Miss Padma
My Big Brother (Bade Bahi Sahib)--2
Intoxication (Nasha)
The Price of Milk (Dudh Kam Daam)
The Shroud (Kafan)
Deliverance (aka Salvation, Sadgati)
***
A Well-Bred Daughter (aka A Rich Daughter-in-Law, Daughter from a Noble Family, Bade Ghar Ke Beti)
Holy Judges (aka The Voice of God, The Divine Arbiter, Village Judges, Panch Parameshwar)
Old Kaki (aka Aunt Kaki, Boodhi Kaaki)
One and a Quarter Ser of Wheat (aka A Handful of Wheat, Sawa Ser Gehun)
Idgah (aka Eidgaah)
The Child (aka The Boy, Baalak)
Intoxicants All (aka Tipsy on That, Drunk on This; Vaha bhi nasa, vo bhi nasa)
A Feast for the Holy Man (aka Babaji's Feast, Babaji Ka Bhog)
The Power of a Curse (aka The Lament of the Poor, Garib Ki Hay)
A Catastrophe (Vidhvans)
January Night (aka A Winter's Night, Pus Ki Rat)
Neyur
The Story of Two Bullocks (aka A Tale of Two Oxen, Do Bailon Ki Katha)
Ramlila
The Thakur's Well (Thakur Ka Kuan)
A Desperate Case (aka Despair, Nairasi)
A Day in the Life of a Debt-Collector (Tagada)
A Car-Splashing (aka Splashes from a motorcar, Motor Ke Chinte)
From Both Sides (Dono Taraf Se)
A Moral Victory (Satyagrah)
Man's Highest Duty (aka The Prime Dharma of Man, Manushya Ka Param Dharm)
A Lesson in the Holy Life (aka A Mentor's Advice, Guru-Mantra)
A Little Trick (Chakma)
Penalty (Zurmana)
The Writer (Lekhak)
A Coward (Kayak)
A Servant of the Nation (Rashtra Ka Sevak)
The Chess Players (aka The Game of Chess, Shatranj Ke Khiladi)
The Road to Hell (Nark Ka Marg)
Miss Padma
My Big Brother (Bade Bahi Sahib)--2
Intoxication (Nasha)
The Price of Milk (Dudh Kam Daam)
The Shroud (Kafan)
Deliverance (aka Salvation, Sadgati)
***
A Well-Bred Daughter (aka A Rich Daughter-in-Law, Daughter from a Noble Family, Bade Ghar Ke Beti)
Holy Judges (aka The Voice of God, The Divine Arbiter, Village Judges, Panch Parameshwar)
Old Kaki (aka Aunt Kaki, Boodhi Kaaki)
One and a Quarter Ser of Wheat (aka A Handful of Wheat, Sawa Ser Gehun)
Idgah (aka Eidgaah)
The Child (aka The Boy, Baalak)
Intoxicants All (aka Tipsy on That, Drunk on This; Vaha bhi nasa, vo bhi nasa)
January 16, 2020
i want to read this book.
September 6, 2020
hindi classic short stories
January 6, 2025
Very first read of premchand..really good short stories set in small towns pre independent India..nostalgic...next to his novels..
November 26, 2019
Fascinating stories that reflect the lifes of common people in pre-Independent India.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews