The Voice of the Regional, Phanishwar Nath Renu

A leading writer of the 50s, Phanishwar Nath Renu revolutionized the field of Hindi Literature. His writings embodied the voice of the deprived and the unprivileged in his regional novels, like 'Maila Anchal.'

Phanishwar Nath Renu; Source: Public Domain

Born on 4th March 1921, in the little-known village of Aurahi Hingna in Araria, Bihar, Phanishwar Nath Renu went on to become one of the leading writers of modern Hindi literature. Living for only 56 years, Renu crafted a name for himself with his mastery of the Hindi language and socialist ideology as seen in his novels and memoirs.

Born as Fanindranath Mukhopadhaya, Renu was notably known for his venture into the 'regional novels of his time that brought contemporary regional voices into the forefront. The Anchalik Katha of Renu's novels, similar to the social novels of the West depicted the living conditions of contemporary time, with the actions taking place in Bihar. His first novel, 'Maila Anchal', published in 1954 gained tremendous popularity among his readers and launched the 33-year-old Renu into the literary scenario.

Apart from writing novels like 'Paltu Babu Road', 'Is Jal Pralay Mein', 'Parti Parikatha', Renu was also known for writing a few memoirs. Similar to his famed literary career, Renu's personal life also saw some upheavals. He was marred by a few controversies as he went on to marry three times.

His second wife, Padma was his inspiration behind the short story 'Maare Gaye Gulfam', and the two novels "Maila Anchal" and "Part Parikatha".

Phainshwar Nath Renu was known to have taken an active part in India's freedom struggle and also contributed to the Nepali Revolutionary movement. He was known for his friendship with Satinath Bhaduri, a leading Bengali writer of his time and, wrote a biography called 'Bhaduriji'.

A creatively modern writer who was known for his experimentations with language, Renu was awarded the Padma Sri in 1970. However, it was only a few years later that Renu decided to return the Padma Sri in protest of the Internal Emergency.

It was today, on 11th April 1977 that Renu passed away. Today his legacy remains alive with readers of Hindi literature returning to his works especially, 'Maila Anchal'. His short story 'Mare Gaye Gulfam' was also adapted into Basu Bhattacharya's 'Teesri Kasam'(1966), while the 2017 Bollywood film 'Panchlait' was based on his short story 'Panchlight'. Perhaps it was Narendra Modi taking Renu's line, "desh toh azaad ho gaya, lekin kya achche din aa gaye" and popularizing it into the 'achche din' slogan that led to Modi's historical victory in the 2014 election!