A handwritten manuscript of literary giant Munshi Premchand, believed to be over 100 years old, has been found safely preserved within the archives of the Nagari Pracharini Sabha in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. This rare manuscript, featuring stories like Panch Parmeshwar and Ishwari Nyay, has now been published in book form by noted writer Vyomesh Shukla."We have considered it essential that all such intellectual legacies should be accessible for the Hindi-speaking community through publications, in the form of different books. In this direction, we have published this book, which contains two stories 'Panch Parmeshwar' and 'Ishwari Nyay.' Both contain selected excerpts as well as manuscripts. The manuscript versions that have been edited by Dwivedi ji (Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi) are also shown here. In our view, this is the first such attempt in Hindi," Shukla told PTI Videos.The manuscripts, both visually stunning and historically significant, were handed over to the Nagari Pracharini Sabha in 1940 by Hindi literary stalwart Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi, who had refined them for wider public accessibility. This initiative is being hailed as a first-of-its-kind in Hindi literature, with efforts now underway to preserve more such literary treasures housed within the Sabha’s archives."We will restore these manuscripts and ensure arrangements are made for their preservation for future generations. They will be digitized, and a metadata archive will be created so that researchers, Hindi enthusiasts, and literature lovers from anywhere in the world can access these manuscripts by paying a nominal fee," he said. Munshi Premchand, whose real name was Dhanpat Rai Srivastava, is considered one of the best Hindi and Urdu social fiction writers. Born in a village near Varanasi in 1880, Premchand published over a dozen novels and hundreds of short stories and essays in both Hindu and Urdu. His prominent works include Godaan, Karmabhoomi, Gaban, Mansarovar, and Idgah. He passed away in Lucknow in 1936.
