Playground Rangbhoomi

First published in 1925 Rangbhoomi was considered by Premchand to be his best work. Set against the backdrop of colonial India-characterized by a brutal state opportunistic feudal landlords and ruthless capitalists-this novel is a grim account of the blind beggar Soordas¹s struggle against the acquisition of his ancestral land. Weaving together themes such as industrialization atrocities committed by princely states the role of women in India¹s independence movement and caste and class hierarchies Playground’s concerns remain shockingly relevant. Capturing Premchand’s masterful handling of a variety of linguistic registers Manju Jain’s evocative translation shows us the deep humanism of one of India’s greatest writers. About the Author Munshi Premchand was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindi-Urdu literature. He is one of the most celebrated writers from India. Born Dhanpat Rai he began writing under the pen name Nawab Rai but subsequently switched to Premchand. 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.