NEW DELHI: Celebrated author Munshi Premchand changed the course of literature in Hindi and Urdu with his “modern perspective” and simple expressions, according to his grandson Alok Rai.

Rai, who was speaking in a session titled, “Hindustani Zindagi Ka Naqsh-Nigaar: Premchand”, said Premchand chose a language that could reach masses.

“Premchand had a modern view and understood things happening around him from a completely different perspective. Being an ardent reader, he had several influences which he used in telling stories,” Rai said while speaking at Jashn-e-Rekhta, a festival celebrating Urdu language. Author and former JNU professor, Manager Pandey said extensive use of idioms was unique to Premchand’s writings. “He adopted an extensive use of idioms in most of his stories. The best thing about Premchand was that he was a social writer and expressed himself in a language that people could easily understand. He touched different castes, cultures as well as religions and catered to everybody,” Manager said. A pioneer in Hindi literature, the writer popularly known as “Upanyas Samrat” (King of novels), wrote more than a dozen novels and penned around 300 short stories. Considered to be the first Hindi author whose writings prominently featured realism, Premchand presented a critical and modern view on the oppressed and urban-middle class of the society in his novels “Godaan”, “Nirmala”, “Rangbhoomi” and “Sevasadan”. His famous stories are “Kafan”, “Shatranj Ke Khiladi”, “Idgah”, “Poos Ki Raat”, “Namak Ka Daroga” and “Sadgati” among many others. Rai said his grandfather was ahead of his times and that can be seen in the women characters that he wrote about as they were strong characters with a will of their own.—PTI