Mamta Kalia

Interview
84 :: April-June 2010
A CORRESPONDENCE WITH
PREMCHAND
Indranath Madaan
Translated by
Sanjay Dev
After completion of student life, Indranath Madaan had, in
1934, twice sent Premchand a few questions which were
replied to by him on 7 th September, 1934 and 26 th December
1934. Premchand’s first reply is available in Hindi, and the
second in English. Here’s the Hindi interview by correspondence.
Madaan : How would you like to recall your childhood memories?
Premchand : My household childhood memories are quite normal.
Neither very happy, nor gloomy. I lost my mother when I was
eight. My memories prior to that are very blurred. How would
I sit and watch my ailing mother who unlike all good mothers,
was equally fond as she was tough whenever required.
Madaan : Tell us about your early writing period? When did
you start writing and how you shifted to Hindi from Urdu?
Premchand : I began writing for Urdu weeklies and then for
monthlies. Writing was a pure hobby for me. I never dreamt that
one day I would finally be a writer. I was a government employee
and wrote during my holidays. I had an insatiable hunger for
novels. I would devour whatever I could lay my hand on. I had
no grace to distinguish between a good and bad one. My first