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

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

literature in the post-

Premchand Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known as Munshi Premchand based on his pen name Premchand (), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani language, Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer ...

era. He is the author of '' Maila Anchal'', which after

's ''

Godaan ''Godaan'' (, ) is a Hindi novel by Munshi Premchand. It was first published in 1936 and is considered one of the greatest novels of modern Indian literature. Themed around the socio-economic deprivation as well as the exploitation of the vil ...

'', 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. 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, Hindi language drama film directed by Basu Bhattacharya and produced by lyricist Shailendra (lyricist), Shailendra. It is based on the short story ''Mare Gaye Gulfam'', by the Hindi novelist Phanishwarnath Re ...

'' (The Third Vow), by

Basu Bhattacharya Basu Bhattacharya (1934 – 19 June 1997) was an Indian film director of Bollywood, 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 ...

(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, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

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, R ...

'' 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 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 administration of a Bri ...

, in Araria district (then

Purnia district Purnia District is one of the thirty-eight Districts of Bihar, 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 nationa ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

. 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 List of cities in Nepal, metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Koshi Province. With a Metropolitan Urban Agglomeration population of 244,750 as per the 2021 Nepal census, 2021 census, it is the largest c ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

while staying with the

Koirala Family Koirala family ( Nepali: कोइराला परिवार) is one of the most prominent political families of Nepal. The Koirala family are Khas Bahuns (Hill Brahmins) and were original inhabitants of Dumja village in the Sindhuli di ...

. 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 in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

. 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 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, '' Maila Anchal'' (The Soiled Linen, 1954), was a

social novel Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

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 The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), 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 ...

in 1970.Padma Awards Official listings

Govt. of India The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territo ...

portal. He returned the

in protest of the proclamation of Internal Emergency.

Literary works

Novels

* '' Maila Anchal'' * '' Parti Parikatha'' * '' Juloos'' * ''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 the tenth largest city in the state of Bihar in India in terms of population, Along with being one of the largest economic, educational and administrative centre in the eastern part of Bihar. The city situated in the eastern ...

, 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 People from Araria district 20th-century Indian novelists Novelists from Bihar 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century memoirists