‘A Dog’s Tale’ and ‘Jungle Stories’
PREMCHAND, TRANSLATED FROM THE HINDI BY PRANAV KUMAR SINGH, ILLUSTRATED BY VANDANA SINGH
PUBLISHED BY NIYOGI, 2025
$ 35.00 NZD
‘A Dog’s Tale’ and ‘Jungle Stories’ are some of Premchand’s creations for children. Full of humour, emotion, instances of loyalty and surprise, these stories showcase the skill of a master craftsman of words.
Presented here in a new translation, these tales remind us of earlier, simpler, times and of an innocence that childhood retains. Through these narratives of bonding with animals and closeness to nature the writer evokes memories of a world that was, and to which we can travel through the magic of reading.
Discover the literary genius of Premchand through his writing for children, in this handy collection of his engaging stories.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PREMCHAND is among the greatest short-story writers and Novel-writers of both Urdu and Hindi languages. The adherents of Hindi-literature call him “Upanyas Samrat,” that is the king of novel writing. What he wrote in his nearly 35-year literary career bears the stamp of a communal togetherness. There is no precedent in Urdu fiction for the intense patriotism that is evident in his writings. He was so obsessed with the freedom movement that he resigned from his good job of 20 years, which he had obtained after a long period of poverty and hardship, in response to M. K. Gandhi’s “non-cooperation” movement. His writings provide vivid images of the social and political life of the early 30–35 years of the twentieth century. He took his characters from everyday life and made these ordinary characters extremely special with his brilliant storytelling and captivating expression. Premchand’s sense of woman’s greatness, femininity and respect for her rights is also not found anywhere else. Premchand was both an idealist and a realist. His writings seem to be a constant search for a balance between idealism and realism.
INFORMATION
ISBN 978-81-964053-2-8
172 pages, paperback
178mm x 127mm