Munshi Premchand was one of the most celebrated Indian writers and novelists of the 20th century of the Hindi-Urdu literature. He is often referred to as “Upanyas Samrat” which means “King of Fiction.” Munshi is an honorary prefix that was put before his name to honor the legend that was Premchand. His original name was Dhanpat Rai Srivastava. When he stepped into writing, he coined himself the fancy name Premchand. In his lifetime, Munshi Premchand has written more than a dozen novels, hundreds of short stories and essays and many foreign literary translations to Hindi.
His contribution to Hindi literature is unforgettable, and his writings have made it as important lessons for school textbooks. Studying Hindi literature would be impossible without learning about Munshi Premchand and his work. His work transports people to a different world all together. The times when the concept of zamindaars, cast systems, and joint families existed, India was a different country back then. The functioning of the daily lives of big, joint families, the small, emotional wars between the members, the psyche of the Indian middle class, human greed, all these dramatic nuisances were caught very sensitively, yet at its best in Munshi Premchand’s work.
The almost accurate depiction of emotions and reading minds was his talent which he very well transformed into words. Premchand Stories is a collective work of these novels written by him. Each of these stories were taken up and given a cinematic representation. The show featured these stories in a series of episodes.
As difficult as it is to put novels into motion line by line, each of these stories still continued for around 13 to 15 episodes. Some of his best works like Eidgah, Godaan, Boodhi Kaaki, Nirmala, Namak ka Daroga, Sawa Ser Gehu, etc., made it to the show. Most of these stories were directed and given shape on screen by the very talented, Gulzar. Veteran television and film actors like Pankaj Kapoor, Vrajesh Hirjee, Anjann Srivastava, Surekha Sikri, Ravi Jhankal, Jaaved Khan Amrohi, Raghubir Yadav, etc., took these stories to a different level by their soulful and realistic performances.
The television serial Tehreer Munshi Premchand Ki is a Hindi novel by the famous author Munshi Premchand published in 1936. It is one of the greatest ones written in India. It was turned into a film in 1963 and then again in 2004 the novel was turned into a TV series. The story is a depiction of the Indian rural society that existed in those times. It presents many conditions that are not known to the people in urban areas. It depicts the situation of the villages. The exploitation faced by the farmers and the way their economic conditions leads them to take such steps that destroy their lives is visible through the show.
The story has many characters that depict different sections of the society. Hori Mahato is a farmer who stays with his family. He had a desire to buy a cow like many other people in the village. He takes a loan of Rs. 80 that he uses to purchase the cow from Bhola who is a cowherd. He even tries to cheat his brothers for Rs. 10. However, this results in a fight between Hori’s wife and his younger brother, Heera’s wife. Heera was jealous of Hori for purchasing the cow and thus kills it. He runs away to save himself from the police. However, Hori gives a bribe to the police to save his brother and remove his name from the allegation to kill the cow. The story takes a turn when Bhola’s daughter, Jhunia, a widow, escapes with Hori’s son Gobar after she gets pregnant with his child.
Gobar also runs away on account of the action he will have to face from the other villagers. However, Hori was unable to let go of the poor, helpless girl and therefore accepts Jhunia as their daughter-in-law. As a result, the village Panchayat fines Hori for his wife had handled the attack of a pandit for giving shelter to Jhunia. Again, Hori has to take a loan and pay a certain amount. Now, he has a lot of debt on him, and he marries his daughter off for just 200 rupees to save his ancestral land from being sold. Now he wishes to pay the amount and buy a cow to feed his grandson.
Excessive work leads to the death of Hori. Just before his death, Dhania took all the money she had and made Hori pay the amount to the priest on account of cow donation which fulfills Hori’s dream, but he cannot fulfill his wish to buy a cow to feed his grandson in future. The story shows the misery faced by the people in the rural areas. Hori is a victim of all exploitation and goes through all the problems that are faced by a common man. In spite of all this, he maintains his honesty and knows his duties very well.
In the end, however, all his desires do not come true. His death is said to be a partially satisfied one. This TV show was a very famous serial among the viewers on account of the simplicity of the story and the way it depicts the condition of the people in the rural areas.