Phanishwar Nath Mandal 'Renu' (4 March 1921 – 11 April 1977) was one of the most successful and influential writers of modern

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

literature in the post-

Premchand Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known by his pen name Premchand (), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer of Hindi and Urdu social fiction. He was one of ...

era. He is the author of ''

Maila Anchal ''Maila Aanchal'' ( hi, मैला आँचल; en, The Soiled Border) is a 1954 Hindi novel written by Phanishwar Nath Renu. After Premchand's Godan, 'Maila Anchal' is regarded as the most significant Hindi novel in the Hindi literature tr ...

'', which after

's ''

Godaan ''Godaan'' ( hi, गोदान, , lit=Cow donation) is a famous Hindi novel by Munshi Premchand. It was first published in 1936 and is considered one of the greatest Hindi novels of modern Indian literature. Themed around the socio-economic ...

'', is regarded as the most significant Hindi novel. Phanishwar Nath (Mandal) Renu was born on 4 March 1921 in a small village Aurahi Hingna near Simraha railway station in Bihar. The mandal community of Bihar to which Renu belonged constitutes an under-privileged social group in India. Renu's family, however, enjoyed the benefits of land, education, and social prestige. Renu's father, Shilanath Mandal, had been active in the Indian National Movement and was an extremely enlightened individual, taking a keen interest in modern ideas, culture and art. Phanishwar Nath Renu is best known for promoting the voice of the contemporary rural India through the genre of ''Aanchalik Upanyas'' ('regional story'), and is placed amongst the pioneering Hindi writers who brought regional voices into the mainstream Hindi literature. Renu was very close associate of Bengali novelist

Satinath Bhaduri Satinath Bhaduri (27 September 1906 – 30 March 1965) was a Bengali Indian novelist and politician. He was known by his literary pseudonym, Chitra Gupta. Early life and career He was born on 27 September 1906 in Purnia, Bengal Presidency, w ...

. He wrote a memoirs named ''Bhaduriji'' (Mr. Bhaduri) in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

. His short story "Maare Gaye Gulfam" was adapted into a film ''

Teesri Kasam ''Teesri Kasam'' () is a 1966 Hindi language drama film directed by Basu Bhattacharya and produced by lyricist Shailendra. It is based on the short story ''Mare Gaye Gulfam'', by the Hindi novelist Phanishwarnath Renu. The film stars Raj Kapoo ...

'' (The Third Vow), by

Basu Bhattacharya Basu Bhattacharya (1934–19 June 1997) was an Indian film director of Hindi films. He is perhaps best known for his 1966 film ''Teesri Kasam'', starring Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman (based on the short story "Maare Gaye Gulfam" by Phanishw ...

(produced by the poet-lyricist Shailendra) in 1966 for which he also wrote the dialogues. Later his short story "Panchlight" (Petromax) was made into a TV short film. The 2017

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

Film ''

Panchlait Panchlait () is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language social comedy film based on Phanishwar Nath 'Renu''s short story 'Panchlight'. This movie directed by Prem Prakash Modi features Amitosh Nagpal, Anuradha Mukherjee, Yashpal Sharma, Rajesh Sharma, Ra ...

'' is also based on this short story.

Biography

Phanishwar Nath Renu was born on 4 March 1921 at village Aurahi Hingna near

Forbesganj Forbesganj is a (proposed district)city with municipality in the Araria District (formerly Purnia District before 1992) in the state of Bihar, India, situated at the border of Nepal. Etymology During the British Raj the area was under the admi ...

, in

Araria Araria is a city and a municipality that is the headquarters of Araria district in the Indian state of Bihar. Araria is situated in the northern part of Bihar. Etymology During the British Raj the area was under the administration of a British ...

district (then

Purnia district Purnia District is one of the thirty-eight districts of the Indian state of Bihar. The city of Purnia is the administrative headquarters of this district. The city of Purnia has continued its tradition of hoisting the national flag at 12:07 am o ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

. He was educated in India and Nepal. His primary education was held in Araria and

. He did his Matriculation from Biratnagar Adarsh Vidyalaya(school),

Biratnagar Biratnagar () is a metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Province No. 1. With a population of 242,548 as per the 2011 census, it is the largest city in the province and also the headquarters of Morang district. As per the p ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

while staying with the

Koirala Family Koirala family ( Nepali: कोईराला परिवार) is one of the prominent political families of Nepal in the Republican Era. The family was founded by Krishna Prasad Koirala, a Rana Era socio-political activist who was exiled ...

. After passing out IA from Kashi Hindu Vishvavidyalay (university) in 1942 he took part in the

Indian Freedom Struggle The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...

. Later he participated in the Nepali revolutionary movement in 1950 which resulted in the establishment of democracy in Nepal. He ushered in the ''Anchalik-katha'' of

writing. He had a very close friendship with

Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayana Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan (7 March 1911 – 4 April 1987), popularly known by his pen name Agyeya (also transliterated Ajneya, meaning 'the unknowable'), was an Indian writer, poet, novelist, literary critic, journalist, translator a ...

Agyey - his contemporary poet. A biography on the writer has also been produced with the name: Phanishwar Nath Renu in Unki Nazar Unka Shahar.

Writing style

His first novel which is also considered his masterpiece, ''

'' (The Soiled Linen, 1954), was a

social novel The social novel, also known as the social problem (or social protest) novel, is a "work of fiction in which a prevailing social problem, such as gender, race, or class prejudice, is dramatized through its effect on the characters of a novel". More ...

that depicted the life of rural Bihar and its people, especially the backward and the deprived. He was subsequently awarded one of India's highest civilian honours, the

Padma Sri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferr ...

in 1970.Padma Awards Official listings

Govt. of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

portal. He returned the

in protest of the proclamation of

Internal Emergency The Emergency in India was a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country. Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution beca ...

Literary works

Novels

* ''

'' * '' Parti Parikatha'' * ''

Juloos ''Juloos''Juloos at Google books
is a novel by acclaim ...

'' * ''Krishay ki Kahani'' * ''Kitne Chaurahe'' * ''Paltu Babu Road'' * ''Is Jal Pralay Main''

Memoirs

* ''Rinjal Dhanjal'' * ''Van Tulsi ki Gandh'' * ''Nepali Kranti Katha'' * ''Shrut Ashrut Purva'' * ''Totapur''

Story

*''Panchlight''

Personal life

He married three times, first wife was Rekha Renu (unknown person), second was Padma, and the third Latika (d. 2011). He met his third wife Latika, a nurse, while he was admitted at Patna Medical College and Hospital. They married in 1951. She has been the inspiration behind ''Maila Anchal'', ''Parti Parikatha'' and ''Mare Gaye Gulfam''. His elder daughter Kavita Roy (Rekha Renu's daughter) was reported to be living in poor condition in

Katihar Katihar is a city situated in the eastern part of the state of Bihar in India. It is the regional headquarter of Katihar district. It is one of the important cities of Bihar. Also it's a main route of Delhi - Guwahati railway line. History Ka ...

, Bihar. Padma Renu's son Padma Parag Renu remained an MLA from Forbesganj, while younger son, Dakhineshwar Renu, ran an organization, Renu Samaj Seva Sansthan.

References

External links

Phanishwar Nath Renu at Gadya Kosh
(Online Encyclopedia of Hindi Literature)
Extract from ''Atma-Sakhsi'', and Phanisvarnath Renu: Dialogue with Lothar Lutze
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renu, Phanishwar Nath 1921 births 1977 deaths Hindi-language writers Indian memoirists Indian male novelists Writers of Mithila Indian independence activists from Bihar Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education People from Araria district 20th-century Indian novelists Novelists from Bihar 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century memoirists