Premchand
was born on 31 July 1880 in Lamhi, a village located
near Varanasi (Benares). His ancestors came from a
large family, which owned six bighas of land.[3] His grandfather Gur Sahai Lal was a patwari (village accountant), and his father
Ajaib Lal was a post office clerk. His mother was Anandi Devi of Karauni
village, who could have been the inspiration for the character Anandi in his Bade Ghar Ki Beti.[4] Premchand was the fourth child of
Ajaib Lal and Anandi; the first two were girls who died as infants, and the
third one was a girl named Suggi.[5] His parents named him Dhanpat Rai
("the master of wealth"), while his uncle, Mahabir, a rich landowner,
nicknamed him "Nawab"
("Prince"). "Nawab Rai" was the first pen name chosen by Premchand.[6]
When he was 7 years old, Premchand began his education at
a madarsa in Lalpur, located around 2½ km from
Lamahi.[5] Premchand learnt Urdu and Persian from a maulvi in the madarsa. When he was 8, his
mother died after a long illness. His grandmother, who took the responsibility
of raising him, died soon after.[7] Premchand felt isolated, as his elder
sister had already been married, and his father was always busy with work. His
father, who was now posted at Gorakhpur, re-married, but Premchand received
little affection from his step-mother. The step-mother later became a recurring theme in Premchand's
works.[8]
When he was 7 years old, Premchand began his education at
a madarsa in Lalpur, located around 2½ km from
Lamahi.[5] Premchand learnt Urdu and Persian from a maulvi in the madarsa. When he was 8, his
mother died after a long illness. His grandmother, who took the responsibility
of raising him, died soon after.[7] Premchand felt isolated, as his elder
sister had already been married, and his father was always busy with work. His
father, who was now posted at Gorakhpur, re-married, but Premchand received
little affection from his step-mother. The step-mother later became a recurring theme in Premchand's
works.[8]
After his mother's death, Premchand sought solace in
fiction, and developed a fascination for books. He heard the stories from the
Persian-language fantasy epic Tilism-e-Hoshruba at a tobacconist's
shop. He took the job of selling books for a book wholesaler, thus getting the
opportunity to read a lot of books.[9] He learnt English at a missionary
school, and studied several works of fiction including George W. M. Reynolds's eight-volume The Mysteries of the Court of London.[8] He composed his first literary work at
Gorakhpur, which was never published and is now lost.
AVANTHIKA.RAJESH
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