Dire Straits!
Ever noticed the similarities between Charles Dickens and our very own Munshi Premchand?
Yes, Dickens was English and Premchand was Indian, but they both were prolific writers and have reflected the harsh reality that marked their times in their work. Both have brought up common social issues in their body of work, and have left heart-rending imprints of their characters in the minds of their readers.
Dickens was born in 1812 in Hampshire in England, Premchand was born in a small village called Lamahi near Banaras. Both had relatively carefree childhoods which were rudely disrupted by incidents in the family. Dickens’ family sank into debt sometime after he turned five. Premchand’s childhood came to a sudden end at the age of 8, when his mother died.
Both of them had responsibilities thrust upon them early in life. Dhanpatrai (Premchand’s real name) had to manage his family, which included his wife, his step-mother and 2 step-brothers when his father died. He first took up a job as a private tutor and then became a teacher. Dickens was sent off to a blacking factory even earlier, when his father was taken away to the Marshalsea debtors’ prison. He managed to go to school later, but left at the age of 15 to work as a clerk and then became a reporter.
Both raise social issues that dogged their society. Both effectively use children as protagonists in their work. Both writers now have an iconic presence in the literature of their country.
What made these great writers so prolific? Dire straits I think! Here were great minds yes, but the drive to write came from a much more basic need—material needs that were required to be fulfilled. Most of us today, tapping away on our keyboards, cannot even imagine the compulsions which these authors operated under.
Who would you rate as the better chronicler of his times? Do write and let me know what you think about this.
Bookmeabook's Weblog 
March 27, 2009 at 8:43 am |
Too true.
Does pain contribute to internalising and bringing out the emotions so well on paper? A train of thought.
Have always wondered why people don’t read Premchand any more…some of its stories still touch a raw cord.
Am going through most of them again, as part of my children’s curriculum.
April 7, 2009 at 8:39 am |
Nice post. I feel to choose who is better in premchand and dickens, is liking choosing first among equals. but yes, i do relate to premchand more may be because i can relate to Indian scenario more.
April 7, 2009 at 5:07 pm |
thank you for your insights, archana and aradhna. also, aradhna, one of premchand’s obvious appeals lies in his art of telling the story concisely, as in the short story idgaah, yet dickens is the master of the long-winded victorian novel, which though suited to the readers of that time, do not appeal much to us.
and i agree with you archana….definitely, pain does make a writer more emotive. how else do you explain that most prominent writers have not had very cushy lives. apart from lord byron i cannot think of any writer who has had a fairly comfortable life.