Premchand is considered as a writer not only of India but also of the Asian continent. Premchand's biggest success was that he knew the changes taking place in the society, its centre, contradictions and expressed it through his experiences. He is a creator who has become a tradition and an idiom himself.
Dhanpat Rai alias Premchand has contributed timeless creations in Hindi literature. These include novels like Godaan, Gaban, Karmabhoomi, Rangbhoomi and creations like Bade Ghar Ki Beti Aur Do Bailon Ki Katha. What is the meaning of being Premchand today? Is he still relevant? If a writer starts writing a story, he is given the title of being Premchand. He is such a writer who himself has become a tradition and a proverb. Even 144 years after Premchand's birth, his stories and his characters are on people's tongues. His characters can still be felt around us.
The greatest painter of human suffering
Senior storyteller Uday Prakash says that Premchand is important because even today about 65 to 70 percent of India's population is dependent on agriculture. Whenever it seemed that India was developing industrially, we had to look towards the villages. Premchand is considered a writer not only of India but of the Asian continent. Of all those countries which have a mixed economy.
Being Premchand is not an easy task
Writer Anamika says, 'Every storyteller tries to bring social scientific truth and psychological truth in his writing. Premchand has a sharp understanding of psychology as well as the structures of society. If you want to see the wealthy class, you will find characters like 'Malti', if you want to recognize the wrinkles on the face of poverty, you will find 'Hori'. If you want to see the irony of the middle class, you will find it in 'Gaban'. In 'Rangbhoomi', he invested Gandhian brilliance in the Dalit society. There is also Christian Sophia and her family. In a story like 'Panch Parmeshwar', you find characters like Jumman.
Any writer becomes great because of his range, breadth and depth. His characters include children, teenagers and old aunt. Premchand is the one who saw people of all categories of society so closely. An idealistic realistic society is found in his writings. No novel becomes great just like that. In this way, you also find aphorisms in Premchand's writings.'
Satyanand Nirupam, editor of Rajkamal Publications, says that Nirala had written about Premchand that whenever he sees Rajendra Prasad and Jawaharlal Nehru, he remembers Premchand and realizes that literature has not bowed its head in front of politics, but it is held even higher. Being Premchand is not an easy task. He was a man with a freedom mindset.
Greed to transcend one's time
New writers also understand the meaning of Premchand very well. Young writer Divya Prakash says, 'When someone starts writing, he is definitely influenced by writers like Premchand or Shakespeare or Maupassant. All these people surround the writer, then he writes something. I always say that I am indebted to all these people from Harivansh Rai Bachchan to Dharamvir Bharti, Rahi Masoom Raza. When I write, I try to repay this debt. For me, being Premchand means whether I am able to leave some impact by writing. It is a different matter how many people read me. Every writer has this greed to transcend his time as Premchand did. This is the biggest thing.'
If you write a story, you have become Premchand
The proof of the writer's greatness is that it has become a proverb. Anurag Vats, editor of the literary app 'Bing Hindi', says that telling someone that if you write a story, you have become Premchand is a proof of the writer's presence and relevance. No writer has been as great as Premchand, a painter of human sufferings and pain. Some scholars may have a different opinion that there are writers greater than Premchand. But my personal opinion is that Premchand is a big, important and never forgotten name in the Hindi story world. Its other meaning is that if you write, write like Premchand. Write big, effective, deep, important, exemplary and documentary like him.
Why is Premchand relevant
On this issue, Divya Prakash says, 'There is a theory behind the writers who have been relevant in the world. They had some vision for mankind. He has a story called Mantra in which Dr. Chaddha does not look at the son of an old man and when his own son is bitten by a snake, the same old man saves his son's life. That is, goodness always wins.'
On the other hand, Satyanand says, 'His relevance is not just about his writing ability or the choice of subjects in his fiction, but more so about his thoughts and his writerly dharma. Wherever there is oppression, autocratic power, neglect of basic needs of man and dominance of capital, politics of religious animosity, feudal dominance, Premchand's need will be felt. He did not write just for the sake of writing. He wrote with a deep sense of responsibility towards society. While reading his books 'Chithi-Patri' and 'Vividh Prasanga', it seems that he lived in the writer's personality every moment, whether awake or asleep. He aspired to mold man in the same way as he wanted to see a free and humane society.
In a letter to Banarasidas Chaturvedi, he had written, 'I have no desire for my two sons. I only want them to be honest, truthful and of firm intentions. I hate luxurious, rich and flattering children.' How many people can think of this in today's time?
Everyone has their own specialty
On the question of who can be called the Premchand of today, writers have different opinions. Senior storyteller Uday Prakash says, 'It is difficult to say. But the character of Surdas written by Premchand in 'Rangbhoomi' is from the time when industrialization was taking place. Lands were being acquired. When 'Godaan' was written, the moneylender system was in vogue. But at that time the morality was such that whoever took a loan was morally compelled to repay it. But today there is a banking system, so people are running away with loans. They do not have the moral compulsion to repay their loans like Hori.
In such a situation, if someone writes now when the banking system has collapsed, then it is Premchand. Some personalities, whether in politics or in some other field, have historical references behind them. Premchand has written about his times. Now new changes are taking place. Now whoever records these changes, can be Premchand.'
Once a classic is written, it cannot be written again
Writer Anamika says that once a person has written a classic, he cannot write it again. Everyone has their own distinct characteristics. The rose is beautiful in its own way and the lotus in its own way. Every writer who is serious, has a wide range, has depth, understands the ironies of society and also understands the irony of the human mind. Creates such characters that start living in your mind like a village. Writers who do so much work are there in every era. But there cannot be another Premchand.
On this Divya Prakash says, 'It was not that Premchand was the best writer of his time. When he used to write, Tagore and Sharatchandra were very famous. No one has a name like Sharat till date. These people were important because they were recording their time very honestly. Therefore, only the one who is recording his time honestly can be called today's Premchand. But being today's Divya Prakash or someone else would be greater than being Premchand because there is only one Premchand. No one will be able to do that even after trying a thousand times.'
Shailesh Bharatwasi, editor of Hind Yugam, is also of the opinion that Premchand had his own importance and the new generation writers have their own importance. Premchand was famous among the common people and touched people's hearts, if we look at that scale then I see Niloptal Mrinal and Divya Prakash Dubey in today's era.
Questioning the power is important
Every writer somewhere wants to be like Premchand. But why only Premchand? When asked this, Divya Prakash says, 'Whenever anyone writes, he is compared to Premchand because we have very few examples. Hindi is a very new language. On the other hand, it has been 400 years since Shakespeare left English.'
On the other hand, Satyanand says that many people want to be writers like Premchand, but how many are able to make a multi-layered effort to communicate with the public and question the power? The meaning of being Premchand is not flat. That writer who aspired for social change was made of a different clay. Jainendra Kumar has not written without reason, 'Wherever there was life, Premchand ji had his eyes on it. Where there was show-off, Premchand was not even curious about it.'
Uday Prakash sees a new possibility in this. He says that even today the possibility of being Premchand remains just like the possibility of becoming Gandhi.
Regarding this, Shailesh believes that people want to become Premchand because even today people find themselves in his writings.