The regional novel Maila Anchal was written by which Hindi author?

The correct answer is B, Tulsidas. He composed the Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi in the sixteenth century, retelling the story of Rama in seven books, and it remains the most widely read work of Hindi devotional poetry. His other works are the Vinay Patrika, the Kavitavali, the Gitavali and the Dohavali, and he belongs to the Rambhakti branch of the Sagun stream. Option A, Surdas, is of the Krishnabhakti branch and wrote the Sursagar, the Sur Saravali and the Sahitya Lahari; papers put him here because both poets belong to the same age. Option C, Kabir, is of the Nirgun stream, and his sayings survive in the Bijak. Option D, Malik Muhammad Jayasi, wrote the Padmavat and leads the Sufi or Premmargi branch. All four are Bhaktikal poets, which is exactly why the work, not the age, must be remembered.

The correct answer is C, Malik Muhammad Jayasi. The Padmavat, written in Awadhi, tells of Ratnasen of Chittor and Padmavati of Singhal and carries a Sufi meaning under the love story; Jayasi also wrote the Akhrawat. Option A, Keshavdas, belongs to a later age altogether, the Ritikal, and wrote the Ramchandrika, the Rasikpriya and the Kavipriya. Option B, Bihari, is also of the Ritikal and is known for the Bihari Satsai of about seven hundred couplets. Option D, Raskhan, was a Krishna devotee whose Sujan Raskhan and Prem Vatika belong to the Sagun stream of the Bhaktikal, so although he is of the right age he is of the wrong branch. Fix the branch with the name: Kabir for Gyanmargi, Jayasi for Premmargi, Tulsidas for Rambhakti and Surdas for Krishnabhakti.

The correct answer is A, Dhanpat Rai Srivastava. He first published under the name Nawab Rai and then took the pen name Premchand, under which he wrote Godan, Gaban, Nirmala, Sevasadan, Rangbhoomi and Karmabhoomi, and stories such as Kafan, Panch Parmeshwar and Bade Ghar ki Beti. Option B, Suryakant Tripathi, is the real name behind another pen name, Nirala, one of the four poets of Chhayavad. Option C, Sachchidanand Hiranand Vatsyayan, is the real name of Agyeya, who edited Tar Saptak and began the Prayogvad movement. Option D, Ayodhya Singh Upadhyay, wrote under the name Hariaudh and is remembered for Priya Pravas. All four options are genuine name-and-pen-name pairs, and papers ask any one of them, so learn the set together rather than Premchand alone.

The correct answer is D, Jaishankar Prasad. Kamayani is his long poem built on the figures of Manu, Shraddha and Ida, and it is held to be the highest achievement of Chhayavad; Prasad also wrote the plays Skandagupta and Chandragupta and the collection Ansu. The other three options are the remaining poets of the same movement, which is what makes the question worth asking. Option A, Nirala, wrote Ram ki Shakti Puja, Saroj Smriti, Anamika and Parimal. Option B, Sumitranandan Pant, wrote Pallav and Chidambara, for which he became the first Hindi writer to win the Jnanpith Award in 1968. Option C, Mahadevi Verma, called the modern Meera, wrote Yama, Neerja and Deepshikha. Remember the four names as a set, each with one work attached.

The correct answer is B, Bhartendu Harishchandra. He gave Hindi prose its modern shape through plays such as Andher Nagari and Bharat Durdasha and through journals such as Kavi Vachan Sudha, and the first age of modern Hindi literature is named the Bhartendu Yug after him. Option A, Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi, edited Saraswati and disciplined the language of the age that followed, which is called the Dwivedi Yug, but he came after Bhartendu. Option C, Acharya Ramchandra Shukla, is the historian and critic who wrote Hindi Sahitya ka Itihas and divided the literature into four periods. Option D, Munshi Premchand, is the master of the Hindi novel and short story, and his age is named after him as well, but the title in the question belongs to Bhartendu alone.