136 short stories by Premchand to be staged on his birth anniversary

A scene from Poos Ki Raat

Did you know about Miss Padma, the story of a woman in a live-in relationship that Munshi Premchand had written way back in 1914? Or another called Jwalamukhi, about zombies, which the writer penned almost a century ago? If not, then head to Prem Utsav, a drama festival held on the occasion of the legendary author's 136th birth anniversary (July 31). Organised by Ideal Drama and Entertainment Academy (IDEA), which has been celebrating the annual affair since 2006, the event will stage 136 stories (100 as plays and 36 as readings), over 10 days, starting this Sunday at Vile Parle's Sathaye College Auditorium. "We will not repeat any story during the course of the festival. A team of 55 actors from the academy will feature in the plays," informs Mujeeb Khan, founder-director of the academy, who has spearheaded the series.

A scene from Poos Ki Raat

What's on offer
Born in 1880 in Lamhi, a village located near Varanasi, Premchand is arguably one of the finest writers India has produced, having contributed 315 short stories, 14 novels and numerous essays to Indian literature, largely in Hindi and Urdu. From Idgaah to Namak Ka Daroga, Bade Ghar Ki Beti, Kafan, Sava Ser Genhu, Panch Parmeshwar, Sadgati, Poos Ki Raat and Shatranj Ke Khiladi, the festival will stage many of Premchand's popular stories.

Director Mujeeb Khan

"At a time when authors were writing fairytales, Premchand wrote thought-provoking stories about relationships and emotions. They were all ahead of their time, and remain relevant even today. Many people believe that Premchand was a serious writer but that is not true. He wrote Rasik Sampadak, which was a comedy about a journalist who would feature news only about women," says Khan, whose troupe was listed in the Limca Book of Records in 2011 for staging the most number of plays of a single writer.

Khan, who has also directed play series on Manto and Rabindranath Tagore, believes that adapting Premchand for stage isn't much of a challenge, since drama is an integral part of the story itself. "Somewhere, he had said that he would tear the story if he was unable to make it dramatic. Each story has so much content, that you don't need to add anything from your side," he sums up.