Immortal Narratives: Exploring Five Evergreen Novels by Munshi Premchand Ji

Last Updated: November 27, 2023

Welcome to a literary exploration delving into the timeless narratives of the Novels’ Emperor, Munshi Premchand Ji. In this post, I unveil short descriptions and provide handy links to immerse you in the captivating stories that brim with life. Are you ready to be enthralled? Let’s dive into the world of Munshi Premchand Stories.

Munshi Premchand Ji was one of the great Indian authors of Hindi literature. Premchand Ji has an indispensable contribution to uplifting the Hindi literature to new peaks. The study of Hindi literature is incomplete without his writings. This is why he is also known as ‘The Emperor of Novel.’

He wrote various stories that express the plight of society. He awakened our country through his books when our country was under the slavery of the British. Due to this fear, the British set several magazines on fire. Munshi Premchand Ji wrote many stories in his lifetime, which still touch the heart.

Godan

‘Godan’ is a story of peasant Bharat (India). This famous novel describes the poverty and helplessness of Hori. The landlord collects what Hori and other poor farmers of the village earn from farming throughout the year. Hori is crushed under the debt day by day, and it makes the end of his life. The story depicts two forms – One is the struggling life of the village-poor farmers, and the second one is the life of the urban-rich. They both meet at one point in the story.

Curious for more? Dive into the details by exploring my post on “Godan: Munshi Premchand’s Portrayal of Rural Bharat – Summary.”

Nirmala

Nirmala is marrying a boy of her age, but her father dies suddenly. For this reason, the boy’s family refuses to marry her. This is why she is married with an old-aged man. Her In-law’s house has plenty of money. She considered it her duty to serve her husband, but it is arduous for her to accept him as husband. In ‘Nirmala’ novel, Premchand Ji has shown the atrocious condition of women.

Curious for more? Dive into the details by exploring my post on “Exploring ‘Nirmala’: A Poignant Novel by Munshi Premchand Ji – Review and Summary.”

Gaban

Jalapa has everything in her home. She hopes to get a necklace from her in-laws during her marriage, but she does not get it. Due to it, she is angry with her husband, Ramnath. He does not tolerate her annoying nature. He borrows money to purchase a necklace, but he is unable to return it. Hence, he embezzles (Gaban) in his office and runs away due to the fear of the police. 

Karmabhoomi

‘Karmabhoomi’ is a revolutionary novel. An agitation is made by the lower caste people to get their rights. The movement occurs in Kashi and its surrounding villages. Amarkant, Samarkant, Salim, Sukhada, and Naina are the main characters of this novel. Amaranth is a rich-family boy, and he is married to Sukhada. His wife and father want Amarkant to take care of the home business, but he doesn’t. One day he gets fed up and leaves home. He stays in a village with low caste people.

Amarkant starts a movement to empower the village people. Sudhda’s life has been changed since Amarkant left home. She also jumps into the movement for the rights of lower caste people in Kashi. It is a turning point in the novel.

Sevasadan

The novel ‘Sevasadan’ is a story of an honest man Krishnachandra. He is a officer in a police station. He is unable to marry his daughter Suman in a good house due to high demand for dowry. Now, he starts a corrupt work to give dowry for the marriage of his two daughters. Due to it, he reaches jail. Suman’s maternal uncle marries Suman to Gajadhar. Gajadhar is poor. After a few days, their relationship deteriorates, and then one day, Gajadhar expels her from his house.

Suman wanders here and there for a few days and then starts prostitution work. She becomes the famous prostitute-lady of the city. Gajadhar becomes a monk. At the end of the story, Gajadhar and Suman meet once again for a while.

Mansarovar

‘Mansarovar’ is a compilation of more than two hundred short stories of Premchand Ji. It was published in eight volumes.

If you are a fan of Munshi Premchand Ji, then you should read these stories once in your life.

Works Cited

1. The feature image used in this post was created on Photopea.com on November 26, 2023 by Preeti Bhandari.