Kalidasa is called the Bard of India. What Shakespeare did to English and Kalidasa did to Sanskrit, Premchand did to Hindi - the use of the language itself. To use the very language to say something effectively, to bring out the beauty of the language, and to cover difficult subjects with ease, beauty and humour. That is Premchand. The more one reads him, the more one loves him.
For the generation that thinks that only new authors, new books and new songs are relevant to us; That old songs, old books and old authors are for the "old" people - i invite you, personally, to sample Premchand.
You will not find the writing dated. The reason the Bard is not dated is that human emotions remain the same. We find new words for them, that's all. Our metaphors might change but our emotions are absolutes.
It is important for all children to read Premchand - there is no better knower of the child's heart in popular Hindi fiction.
The next question is, where does one get Premchand?
Print: Diamond Publications has a very affordable set of Premchand books. Mansarovar(his 8 volume compilation of short stories) is priced at INR 75 per volume.
Audio: Please see the Esha site. We have compiled about 66 Premchand stories in Audio. You can also google for Premchand stories audio and get them at other sites. The advantage of audio is that even if you can't read Hindi, you can hear the story and enjoy it.
Video: DD has a series called "Tehreer" based on Premchand's stories. Please buy it. Its an investment worth making. especially for children, this is probably the best way to introduce them to Premchand.
What are your favorite Premchand stories/ novels? I loved Bade Bhai Sahab - its hilarious.
8 comments:
i wanna read premchand
i cant be on gtalk from work, and when i'm home, its 8am to 11am in india, so i never see you too. :(
xoxo
premchand's works has always been awesome.....i have read many of those....:)
I love all of Premchand's work. Esha is a delight for those like me who would rather listen to his stories. Keep up the good work. Best wishes.
Quite a few of Premchand's works have been adapted to movies. I have Godan and few others lying with me. Let me know if you are interested and I shall pass on the disk to you.
@ Amrita: ooo.. ok.. i miss u all the same.. :( sometime soon then.
Hi Cynosure: :-) Gud to know that.
Hi ihm: Happy to hear that.. :-)
Hi Himanshu: of course! how cld i forget THAT?! Also u have a movie collection, right? ok, lets talk abt that sometime..
Godan... I specially bought it in hindi and not its English version.. There were a few which I read way back when I was in school but cant remember what stories they were...
wrote a post about him today. please do check :)
Hi Adee: Just read and came to my blog from there :-) You are awesome!
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