Novels, society and history - class-X

Ekach Pyala is a Marathi language Drama, written by $Ram$   $Ganesh$  $Gadkari$ explains the effects of Alcohol drinking problem in society.

• Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was a prominent Bengali novelist and short story writer of the early 20th century. He was born on 15th September 1876 in Devanandapur in Hooghly. He later moved to Burma.
  
• Most of his stories deal with lifestyle, struggles of village people and contemporary social practices that prevailed.
  

The Mayor of Casterbridge, also known as "The Life and Death of a Man of Character" is a novel written by British author Thomas Hardy. It is set in the fictional town of Casterbridge. It is about Michael Henchard, a successful grain merchant, who becomes the mayor of the farming town of Casterbridge. He is an independent-minded man who follows his own style in conducting business. 

Jungle book was written by Rudyard Kipling. Stories were first published in the magazine from 1893-94.  In 1907, at the age of 42, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize and its youngest recipient to date.

Munshi Premchand, an Indian writer, was born in the year 1880 in the Lamhi village near Varanasi. He is the famous writer of the early 20th century. 

The birth name of Premchand was Dhanpat Rai Srivastav and the pen name was Nawab Rai. His first name Munshi is an honorary prefix given by lovers in the society because of his quality and effective writings. As a Hindi writer, he wrote approximately 12 novels, 250 short stories, numerous essays, and translations. Some of his novels include Asrar-e-Ma’abid, Devasthan Rahasya, Prema, Hamkhurma-o-Ham Sawab, etc.

Tarabai shinde was born in Buldhana. She wrote many books and was the first author known for feminist writing. Her work, "stri" is a comparison between men and women and is considered as one of the country's modern feminist.

 Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay’s (1827-94) Anguriya Binimoy (1857) was the first historical novel written in Bengal. Its hero Shivaji engages in many battles against a clever and treacherous Aurangzeb. Man Singh persuades Shivaji  to make peace with Aurangzeb. Realising that Aurangzeb intended to confine him as a house prisoner, Shivaji escapes and returns to battle. What gives him courage and tenacity is his belief that he is a nationalist fighting for the freedom of Hindus. 

Durgeshnandini, published in 1865, is widely recognized as the first novel written by the Bengali author Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.

The novel 'Saraswativijayam' strongly attacked caste oppression by showing how a young man from an 'untouchable' caste converts to Christianity, acquires a modern education and becomes a judge. It showed the importance of education for the upliftment of the lower castes.

• 'Anandmath' is a Bengali novel written by Bnakim Chandhra Chattergy and was published in the year 1882. It gained a great importance in the history of Indian literature because it was synonymous with Indian independence struggle.
  
• The national song of India 'Vande Mataram' was published in this book.  It was translated by Julius Lipner and was published by Oxford Press.
  
• A plot is about a couple during Bengal famine who decides to leave the village and go to the nearby city. All the events that take place during and after their travel are depicted in the novel.
  

• The 'Jungle Book' was written by Rudyard Kipling. Rudyard Kipling was born in India and raised till he was six. After about ten years in England, he came back to India and stayed for six years before writing the story.
  
• Stories were first published in the magazine from 1893-94. It is a story of man-cub raised by a wolf pack in Indian jungles. These stories were believed to be written for Kipling’s daughter who died at the age of six by pneumonia.
  

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's Ananda Math is famous for introducing the song Vande Mataram, which became a powerful symbol of Indian nationalism and patriotism during the freedom struggle.

Neel Darpan is a Bengali play written by Dinabandhu Mitra in 1858–1859. It was a drama depicting the pitiable condition of Bengal under the tyranny of Indigo planters. It was published from Dhaka in 1860.

The book 'At the Feet of Mahatma Gandhi' was written by Rajendra Prasad, who was a close associate of Gandhi and the first President of India. JB Kripalani, Jayaprakash Narayan, and Vinoba Bhave were prominent figures but did not author this specific work.

Charles John Huffman Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some best fictional characters.

• Hard Times: - He writes about the times during the industrial revolution in this novel.  It focuses on the fictional town of Coke town, England and the people who live there and their struggles.
  
• Oliver Twist was the second novel by Charles Dickens.  It portrays the life of an orphan who is sold into an apprenticeship with an undertaker. From there he escapes and joins criminal gangs. This shows the life of the criminals.
  
• Great Expectations is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens which depicts the personal growth and personal development of an orphan nicknamed Pip.
  

• 'Politics of Charkha' was written by Jivatram Bhagwandas Kriplani also known as Acharya Kriplani. He was an Indian politician famously known for holding the presidency of Indian National Congress. He worked with Vinobha Bhave.
  
• His other works include “Non Violent Revolution”, “The Gandhian Way”, “The Indian National Congress”, “The Fateful Years”, “The Father of the Congress”, and “The Gandhian Critique”.  He married Sucheta Kriplani who became first female Chief Minister.
  

 The earliest novel in Marathi was Baba Padmanji’s Yamuna Paryatan (1857), which used a simple style of storytelling to speak about the plight of widows. 

Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's character Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book to be a collection of true incidents.

It was published under the full title The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men perished but himself. He will be delivered ashore by a group of pirates unexpectedly

 Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay’s (1827-94) Anguriya Binimoy (1857) was the first historical novel written in Bengal. Its hero Shivaji engages in many battles against a clever and treacherous Aurangzeb. Man Singh persuades Shivaji  to make peace with Aurangzeb. Realising that Aurangzeb intended to confine him as a house prisoner, Shivaji escapes and returns to battle. What gives him courage and tenacity is his belief that he is a nationalist fighting for the freedom of Hindus. 

 Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. In the 1870s he wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ as a hymn to the motherland. Later it was included in his novel Anandamath and widely sung during the Swadeshi movement in Bengal. 

Bengali novels occupy a great place in Indian literature. Earliest Indian novel was written in Bengali. Though first Bengali novel was Karuna O Phulmonir Bibaran in 1852, the actual journey of Bengali novel started with Durgesh Nandini written by Bankim Chandhra Chattergy in 1865. Bengal has given birth to a large number of gems in the field of literature like Rabindhranath Tagore and many more.

Samuel Richardson was a 18^th century English writer and printer. He wrote the novel 'Pamela' which talks about a story of 15-year-old maid servant whose master takes unwanted advances towards her after the death of her mother.

Germinal is a 13th novel in a twenty volume series named Les Rougon Macquart. It was published in the year 1885. It was a French novel written by Emile Zola. Germen is a latin word which means seed. It was all about the hope springing in the hearts of miners.

Hanah Catherine Mullens was the women novelist who wrote the first novel in Bengali named Karuna O Phulmonir Bibaran. It was written in 1852. It gives a description of Phulmani and Karuna.

The first major novel in Malayalam was Indulekha and was written by O.Chandhu Menon. It was a landmark in the history of Malayalam literature. The story refers to Indhu, the main character, who is 18-year-old beautiful well educated Nair lady. This was written when Nairs in Kerala emerged as upper class and flourished with high education during British rule. Response was huge for the novel which encouraged many other novelists.

Pickwick papers are of Pick Wick club is Charles Dickens first novel. He wrote this novel at the age 24. It is the first novel that has been serialized. It consisted of sequences of loose adventures. The novel’s main character is Samuel Pickwick hence the name Pickwick papers.

The Jungle Book is a classic collection of stories written by the English author Rudyard Kipling, first published in 1894. The other authors listed are famous for different literary works.

The author of Vande Mataram is Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. He wrote it in 1870s, which was later included in his 1881 novel Anandamath. It played a vital role in the Indian independence movement, first sung in a political context by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress.