Revisit these classic novels this World Hindi Day

January 10 marks World Hindi Day and it is not only spoken the most spoken language in India but it is the third-most spoken language worldwide. According to the United Nations, Hindi is spoken by 615 million people, after English and Mandarin.

While there are several classic novels in English that you have read and enjoyed, on World Hindi Day, let’s revisit some famous Hindi novels written by Premchand, Dharamvir Bharti, and Nirmal Verma among others.

1. Godan by Premchand

Written by Munshi Premchand and first published in 1936, Godan is among the most famous Hindi novels of modern Indian literature. The novel revolves around the story of the lifestyle of a rural area, with a glimpse of an urban lifestyle. Premchand’s Godan is themed around the socio-economic deprivation and the exploitation of the village poor. Through Godan, Premchand has presented the conditions of farmers in the society, at that time. Although, the story even to this date remains highly relatable.

2. Gunaaho ka Devta by Dharamvir Bharti

Set up in Uttar Pradesh’s Allahabad in the 1950s, Gunaaho ka Devta written by Dharamvir Bharti is a love story, with Sudha and Chandan as the central characters of the novel. The story is about Chandan, who falls in love with Sudha, the daughter of his college professor. Even though the central characters of the novel fall in love with each other, the story of Gunaaho ka Devta is about the “non-expressive love and romance” between them. Over the years, the novel has gained historical importance and a huge following by cult readers.

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3. Antim Aranya by Nirmal Verma

Written by Nirmal Verma, Antim Aranya is set in the hills and the story is about the search for the meaning of life that has no meaning. The story of Antim Aranya revolves around the characters, who are wandering in a small hill town, which is not located on the map, and are wandering in their own personal wilderness and at the same time, in a shared wilderness. Every character of the novel has its own sorrows, regrets, and emptiness. Antim Aranya is a novel that deeply examines the existence of a person.

4. Raag Darbari by Sri Lal Shukla

A satirical novel, written by Sri Lal Shukla, Raag Darbari is narrated by a character named Ranganathan. The novel, set up in the post-Independence era, shows the corrupt nexus between criminals, politicians, police, and businessmen and the helplessness of intellectuals amid this. First published in 1968, Raag Darbari has several prominent characters, which include Vaidyaji, the mastermind behind village politics, and Langad, who represents a common man who has to bend in front of the corrupt society to get things done.

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5. Kitne Pakistan by Kamleshwar

Novelist-turned-screenwriter for Hindi cinema, Kamleshwar in the 1990s wrote Kitne Pakistan, a novel that deals with a vast expanse of human history and follows the rise of communalism, nationalism, Hindutva. Published in 2000, Kitne Pakistan won the Sahitya Akademy Award or Hindi in 2003. Kamleshwar has tried depicting the Partition of India and Pakistan through allegory and realism in the novel.