Munshi Premchand, Munshi Premchand’s 136th Birthday

Munshi Premchand, Munshi Premchand’s 136th Birthday 

Munshi Premchand, Munshi Premchand’s 136th Birthday 

Munshi Premchand, Munshi Premchand’s 136th Birthday

Premchand

Writer

Premchand, better known as Munshi Premchand, Munshi being an honorary prefix, was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature and was regarded as the greatest writer in Hindi Literature. 

Born: July 31, 1880, Lamhi

Died: October 8, 1936, Varanasi

Full name: Dhanpat Rai

Movies: Sadgati, Shatranj Ke Khilari, Gaban, Oka Oori Katha, more

Quotes

Beauty doesn't need ornaments. Softness can't bear the weight of ornaments.

Trust is the first step to love.

To be successful in life what you need is education, not literacy and degrees.

Today’s homepage celebrates a man who filled many pages (of a different kind) with words that would forever change India’s literary landscape. Born Dhanpat Rai in a small village in northern India, the renowned author produced more than a dozen novels, 250 short stories, and a number of essays, many under the pen name Premchand.

 

But it wasn’t until later in life that Premchand really focused on his writing. He was a teacher for many years until he joined the non-cooperation movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in the 1920s. Gandhi influenced much of Premchand’s later work, which brought to light some of India’s most prominent social issues of the time. Although much of it was fiction, Premchand’s writing often incorporated realistic settings and events, a style he pioneered within Hindi literature.

His last and most famous novel, Godaan (1936), inspired today’s doodle, which shows Premchand (sometimes referred to as “Upanyas Samrat,” or, “emperor among novelists”) bringing his signature working-class characters to life. On what would have been his 136th birthday, the illustration pays tribute to the multitude of important stories he told.