The Temple and the Mosque: Stories

Premchand's fiction has been translated before, but seldom did these translations reveal the many facets of his literary genius, nor did they show the wide variety of 'types' he was capable of portraying. For, Premchand wrote not only about villains and martyrs, poverty, rigid social order or caste disparities. His world, seemingly black and white though it is, is also lit by flashes of wit and humour, gentle irony and a persistent social commentary.

While Premchand's favourite characters – bhang-drinking pandits, miserable sweepers and arrogant Thakurs – do feature in this collection, this is perhaps the first time that the English reader will be introduced to his 'other' world – a world of unbelievably good men, lovesick young girls, and a penniless braggart's self-delusion.

About the Author
Premchand (1880–1936) is regarded as among the finest of writers in Hindi and Urdu. His first collection of stories, Soz-e-Watan (1908), was banned for being incendiary and seditious. Undaunted, he kept writing stories that expressed the pain and suffering of the toiling masses. Some of his best writings portray the influence of Gandhi and the Russian revolution in his choice of subjects: widow remarriage, dowry, untouchability, the rich–poor divide, the problems of landless labour, and the inequalities of the caste system.
br>Rakhshanda Jalil is a writer, translator and editor. Her debut collection of short stories Release and Other Stories was published by HarperCollins in August 2011.