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Premchand fellowship instituted

Madhur Tankha

NEW DELHI: A four-day international seminar on the life, times and legacy of Munshi Premchand besides an exhibition of paintings based on his works will open in the Capital this Thursday to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of the renowned Hindi novelist and poet.

Organised by Sahitya Akademi, the first three days of the seminar will be held at the India International Centre, while on the last day the proceedings will shift to Rabindra Bhavan.

To encourage creative writing, a new fellowship in the name of Munshi Premchand has been instituted.

The fellowship will be given annually to a reputed creative writer from a SAARC country. The total amount of fellowship will be Rs.5,00,000.

"Premchand's literary legacy is so huge that he has influenced writers and poets not only in India but also overseas. We want to create awareness about his lesser-known works like the dramatic adaptation of his novel `Gaban' that will be shown through a play.

About 60 writers from across the country and eight distinguished scholars from the US, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Britain and Holland will participate in various sessions. It is not necessary that the writer on whom the fellowship will be conferred has to have written about Premchand," said the president of Sahitya Akademi, Prof. Gopi Chand Narang, at a press conference here on Tuesday.

Paintings based on Premchand's illustrious works by Benaras Hindu University Reader Mridula Sinha will be exhibited at India International Centre along with rare photographs and manuscripts collected by Kamal Kishore Goyanka.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit will be inaugurating the international seminar. About 15 sessions on topics like "Premchand and Contemporary Politics", "Dalit Discourse and Premchand", "Feminist Discourse and Premchand" and ``Gandhism, Freedom Movement and Premchand" will be held over the four days.

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