Premchand: Selected Stories 1, is a collection of eight Hindi short stories on contemporary India. Premchand is widely believed to have founded the modern Hindi short story. He also wrote novels and Godan is considered as one of the best novels of contemporary Indian Literature. Premchand was familiar with the works of British novelists such as Charles Dickens and George Eliot who focused on realism in their novels. Premchand’s works also focus on realism and he portrays ordinary people
Premchand was born in the village of Lamhi near Varanasi in North India on 31st July, 1880. Premchand’s short stories are set in villages in North India, and the characters are similar to the people in his own life, which reveals the autobiographical element in his stories. Premchand’s stories explore themes from village life which he knew well, and reveals his sympathy for the marginalized and oppressed.
The short stories provide a realistic insight into rural Indian society and the caste system during the beginning of the 20th century. Premchand’s stories criticize the social conventions which oppressed and subjugated people.
