Pratigya (Hindi)

His real name was Dhanpat Rai but he is better known by his pen name Munshi Premchand. He has been read and studied both in India and abroad as one of the greatest writers of the century. Premchands literary career started as a freelancer in Urdu. In his initial short stories he has depicted the patriotic upsurge that was sweeping the country in the first decade of the 19th century. In 1914 Premchand started writing in Hindi. Premchand was the first Hindi author to introduce realism in his writings. He pioneered the new art form of fiction with a social purpose. He wrote of the life around him and made his readers aware of the problems of the urban middle-class and the countrys villages. Besides being a great novelist Premchand was also a social reformer and thinker. Pratigya is a popular novel written by Munshi Premchand in which he describes the ideal hindu woman.