Page 216 - DENG203_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_IV

Unit 12: The Big Brother by Munshi Premchand

Premchand got realism to Hindi literature. He wrote on realistic issues such as corruption, Notes
communalism, zamindari, poverty, debt, colonialism, etc. He avoided the use of highly
sanskritised Hindi and instead used the dialect of the common people.
Munshi Premchand’s ”Bade Bhai Sahab” (The Big Brother) is a gripping and moving tale of a
hapless elder brother slowly getting frightened by the rapid yet casual academic strides of his
happy-go-lucky younger sibling. Each time he builds a wall of defences in a desperate attempt
to prove his might, he finds it mistakenly crushed by the little one. Lurking in this simple story
are numerous shades of human emotions.
In this unit we will study more about Munshi Premchand and “Bade Bhai Sahab” (The Big
Brother).

12.1 About Munshi Premchand

Figure 12.1: Munshi Premchand

Source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sjfncVG5OEo/UBdqSRLZgHI/AAAAAAAAAsY/7k-yqVZJMmU/
s400/31+july+2012,+munshi+premchand,+Munshi+Premchand+132th+Birth+anniversary+today,+
munshi+premchand+aniversary,+the+legends+of+art+and+leterature4.jpg
Munshi Premchand (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936) 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 notable Hindustani writers of the early twentieth
century. Born Dhanpat Rai Srivastav, he began writing under the pen name “Nawab Rai”, but
afterwards switched to “Premchand”, while he is also known as “Munshi Premchand”, Munshi
being an honorary prefix. A novel writer, dramatist and story writer, he has been referred to as
the “Upanyas Samrat” (“Emperor among Novelists”) by several Hindi writers. His works include
more than a dozen novels, several essays, around 250 short stories and translations of numerous
foreign literary works in Hindi.

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 211