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Mansarovar Short Stories by Premchand
Premchand ki Sampooran Kahaniya.
It is single volume of 221 stories of Munishi Premchand.
It is single volume of 221 stories of Munishi Premchand.
412 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Munshi Premchand
1,067 books1,234 followersMunshi Premchand (Hindi: मुंशी प्रेमचंद) was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. He is one of the most celebrated writers of the Indian subcontinent,and is regarded as one of the foremost Hindustani writers of the early twentieth century.
Born Dhanpat Rai, he began writing under the pen name "Nawab Rai", but subsequently switched to "Premchand", while he is also known as "Munshi Premchand", Munshi being an honorary prefix. A novel writer, story writer and dramatist, he has been referred to as the "Upanyas Samrat" ("Emperor among Novelists") by some Hindi writers. His works include more than a dozen novels, around 250 short stories, several essays and translations of a number of foreign literary works into Hindi.
Premchand is considered the first Hindi author whose writings prominently featured realism. His novels describe the problems of the poor and the urban middle-class. His works depict a rationalistic outlook, which views religious values as something that allows the powerful hypocrites to exploit the weak. He used literature for the purpose of arousing public awareness about national and social issues and often wrote about topics related to corruption, child widowhood, prostitution, feudal system, poverty, colonialism and on the India's freedom movement.
Several of his early works, such as A Little Trick and A Moral Victory, satirised the Indians who cooperated with the British colonial government.
In the 1920s, he was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement and the accompanying struggle for social reform. During this period, his works dealt with the social issues such as poverty, zamindari exploitation (Premashram, 1922), dowry system (Nirmala, 1925), educational reform and political oppression (Karmabhumi, 1931).
In his last days, he focused on village life as a stage for complex drama, as seen in his most famous work Godan as well as the short-story collection Kafan (1936).Premchand believed that social realism was the way for Hindi literature, as opposed to the "feminine quality", tenderness and emotion of the contemporary Bengali literature.
Born Dhanpat Rai, he began writing under the pen name "Nawab Rai", but subsequently switched to "Premchand", while he is also known as "Munshi Premchand", Munshi being an honorary prefix. A novel writer, story writer and dramatist, he has been referred to as the "Upanyas Samrat" ("Emperor among Novelists") by some Hindi writers. His works include more than a dozen novels, around 250 short stories, several essays and translations of a number of foreign literary works into Hindi.
Premchand is considered the first Hindi author whose writings prominently featured realism. His novels describe the problems of the poor and the urban middle-class. His works depict a rationalistic outlook, which views religious values as something that allows the powerful hypocrites to exploit the weak. He used literature for the purpose of arousing public awareness about national and social issues and often wrote about topics related to corruption, child widowhood, prostitution, feudal system, poverty, colonialism and on the India's freedom movement.
Several of his early works, such as A Little Trick and A Moral Victory, satirised the Indians who cooperated with the British colonial government.
In the 1920s, he was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement and the accompanying struggle for social reform. During this period, his works dealt with the social issues such as poverty, zamindari exploitation (Premashram, 1922), dowry system (Nirmala, 1925), educational reform and political oppression (Karmabhumi, 1931).
In his last days, he focused on village life as a stage for complex drama, as seen in his most famous work Godan as well as the short-story collection Kafan (1936).Premchand believed that social realism was the way for Hindi literature, as opposed to the "feminine quality", tenderness and emotion of the contemporary Bengali literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
August 15, 2013
My father gifted me all the volumes(probably 8 volumes) of Mansarovar when I was a kid. Though I could not understand many stories at that age but few of them like eidgaah, poos ki raat, shatranj ke khiladi etc made an everlasting impact which later compelled me to revisit the whole set. If one is in doubt that whether he should read Mansarovar or not the following sentence may help "Premchand is the Gorky of India".
June 10, 2013
My salute to the great writer for the simplicity of his writing, the brilliance of his characters and the realistic and engrossing portrayal of the life, people and culture of India in pre-independence years.
June 3, 2012
There are no words to describe Premchand's works, as far as short stories are concerned. I guess even Premchand himself would fail to do so. Brilliant would be an under-statement. I strictly recommend.
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June 19, 2009I am just reading it when finished i am gonna tell u guys
February 23, 2016
प्रेमचंद की मार्मिक कहानियों का उपयोगी संग्रह। एक अवश्य पठनीय पुस्तक।
June 25, 2017
I felt nostalgia while reading these short stories because some of these I read in school. At that time these stories gave amazing feeling. But now when my mind got exposed to nuances and complexities these stories seem simplistic and one can see through the woven pattern. Still there are many stories which engaged me. It took me 33 months to read it at leisurely pace. After reading 30-40 stories, plots become predictable. I think -this may seem controversial- Premchand has larger image in our mind than he deserves or may be he is more famous and accessible. There are some other Hindi authors who can portray realism in far better way. The one most intrigued me is Yashpal.
August 14, 2025
Premchand is undoubtedly a master of all things common life has to offer .
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September 14, 2012splendid!
April 25, 2013
Granny, m glad u introduced me to it!
December 1, 2021
beautiful stories
November 7, 2016
Premchand is at its best. I have read both mansarovar 1 and 2. These book are collections of short stories. All stories are work of fiction but gives great insight in the village life of contemporary india in which premchand lived. Some stories shows good side of the village setup whiles others shows dark side of the village life. Stories takes into account various problems faced by the people on those days. Most stories gives moral message at the end. Premchand has very well thought style of writing where he raises many important social issues of his time in humorous and some time in sad way. Every story has different way of writing. In these two books reader may find 8-9 different style of writing as it may seem as stories are from different writer. Premchand gives minute details of main character and other minor characters are left to the imagination of reader. Many stories are ended in a such way that it gives reader much food for thought. Mansarovar can be best enjoyed if reader pauses for sometime after each story and tries to think about character and the message story gives. I started with casual reading but after few stories I realise stories have much deeper meaning in them.
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June 1, 2011its realy good one
June 28, 2012
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June 16, 2013
hrry
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2018
one of my all time fav story in this book is "Dil ki Rani"..it captivates my heart still after reading it zillion number times..
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November 14, 2013Omminimimmi
May 30, 2014
love the author and his writings ... all the short stories teaches a lesson .. tells us about the past time ... its a splendid book and a must must must read by everyone ..
December 16, 2014
Beautiful peace of writing, such elegance,such simplicity really wonderful experience reading it.
July 3, 2015
It is amazing and my all time favorite book
December 22, 2017
Relevant as ever... the stories are socio-depictions which are still very fresh and wonderful. Premchand was one of the foremost writers who began exploring India in the truest sense.
March 29, 2019
Premchand is certainly the best Hindi author I have read till now. He is as good with short stories (in this book) as novels.
I feel Premchand wanted to highlight the plight of women, showcase some progressive thoughts regarding women, children and downtrodden people in the society through the stories in this book. This is because, most of the stories have a woman as the central character.
It is quite a long collection of short stories, I read just the part 1 till now. There are apparently 3 or 4 more parts (maybe it is the version of the book that I might be reading)
I feel Premchand wanted to highlight the plight of women, showcase some progressive thoughts regarding women, children and downtrodden people in the society through the stories in this book. This is because, most of the stories have a woman as the central character.
It is quite a long collection of short stories, I read just the part 1 till now. There are apparently 3 or 4 more parts (maybe it is the version of the book that I might be reading)
March 14, 2021
These are all great stories which cover different aspects of INDIA at the time of British rule. Many of the stories show the problems of caste, religion, traditions, family etc. Premchand was a master story teller who observed the life of the people from a very minute lense and put it on paper. You gonna love it.
January 6, 2018
A haven for the lovers of Hindi literature! Enjoyed reading each one of them!
June 1, 2018
Awesome collection...
October 21, 2018
No words to describe the work of this great writer. These stories shaped my childhood. It seems that he lived his stories. Love all parts of Mansarovar.
July 4, 2019
A fabulous collection of short stories.
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April 1, 2020I will keep adding as I finished stories
Gila --social reforms start with a single outlier.
Gila --social reforms start with a single outlier.
April 18, 2020
Premchand is like Gorky who spent too much time in Uttar Pradesh. An acquired taste, but worth a read if you want to acquaint yourself with the culture and problems of that time.
April 26, 2020
Bahut hi achhi kathaon ka sangrah hai yah jo padhne me ati ananddayak aur bhavnatmak hai.
November 23, 2020
Excellent . Must read for all be it children or adults. A classic and evergreen.
Happy reading !!!
Happy reading !!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews