The Rajbhasha Cell of the AIIMS, Raipur celebrated the 145th birth anniversary of the legendary writer Munshi Premchand. On this occasion, Prof. (Dr.) Eli Mahapatra, Dean (Academics), graced the event as the Chief Guest, along with other distinguished guests Dr.Mrityunjay Rathore, Professor, Department of Anatomy, and Dr. Rakesh Kumar Gupta, Additional Professor, Department of Pathology and Lab Medicine.

 

The program commenced with floral tributes and garlanding of Munshi Premchand’s portrait, followed by the traditional lighting of the lamp. The event featured insightful talks on Premchand’s life, his major stories and novels, presented by students, faculty members, staff, and officials of the institute. Summaries of his novel ‘Pratigya’ and short story ‘Poos Ki Raat’ were shared to encourage participants to read Premchand’s works and to cultivate interest in the Hindi language among the youth. The program also included a discussion on notable quotations compiled from Premchand’s key writings, aiming to refine one’s personality and contribute towards building a progressive society. A special highlight of the event was a street play adaptation of Premchand’s timeless novel ‘Gaban’, performed by MBBS students of the institute.

 

On this occasion, Prof. (Dr.) Eli Mahapatra, , appealed to the audience to preserve the invaluable legacy and profound ideas of Hindi literature, and urged all faculty, staff, and officers to foster an ethical environment in the hospital. She emphasized the importance of empathy in practice. Prof. (Dr.) Alok Chandra Agrawal, Head of the Department of Orthopaedics, highlighted how the characters in Premchand’s stories, standing at the margins of their time, call for social transformation. Referring to the story ‘Panch Parmeshwar’, he illustrated the lesson of morality through the characters of Algu Chaudhary and Jumman Sheikh. A quiz competition based on the life and works of Premchand was also held and winners were felicitated. The program was compered by Ms. Nidhi Jaiswal, Junior Hindi Translator, with Shivani Kumari assisting in organizing the event.