Writing Style
The intimacy in writing brought to the reader with use of local flavor of Hindi in contrast to Khari Boli Hindi was entirely new literary experience.
His very first novel which is also considered his masterpiece, Maila Anchal (The Soiled Linen, 1954), was a social novel that depicted the life of rural Bihar and its people, especially the backward and the deprived. He was subsequently awarded one of India's highest civilian honours, the Padma Sri in 1970.
Later during Jayaprakash Narayan Andolan, he gave up his award in solidarity. His short story Panchlight (Petromax) is beautiful in its depiction of human behavior. One can find many parallels between his and Premchand's writings.
Curiously, Katihar railway station figures in many of his writings.
He wrote descriptive prose with rapid character building. He would then go about reflecting on his characters and backgrounds from every angle. Ek Aadim Ratri Ki Mehak which is straight forward story with touchy ending, is one example his unending need for exploring pristine emotions of his characters.
Read more about this topic: Phanishwar Nath 'Renu'
Famous quotes containing the words writing and/or style:
“Writing criticism is to writing fiction and poetry as hugging the shore is to sailing in the open sea.”
—John Updike (b. 1932)
“Switzerland is a small, steep country, much more up and down than sideways, and is all stuck over with large brown hotels built on the cuckoo clock style of architecture.”
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)