Who wrote the Hindi novel 'Maila Anchal'?

"Maila Anchal" ("The Soiled Border") is a Hindi novel by Phanishwar Nath 'Renu', published in 1954. It is regarded as the first and most important "aanchalik upanyas" (regional novel) in Hindi.

About the novel:

• It is set in Maryganj, a village in the Purnia district of north-eastern Bihar, in the years just after independence.
• It has no single hero; instead, the whole village, with its castes, politics, poverty, superstitions, folk songs and dialect, is the main character.
• A young doctor, Prashant, comes to the village to set up a malaria centre and gradually becomes part of village life.
• The novel uses the local dialect and folk culture of the region, which made it a landmark in Hindi literature.

About Phanishwar Nath 'Renu' (1921-1977):

• He was born in Araria district (then part of Purnia), Bihar.
• He took part in the Quit India Movement (1942) and the Nepali democratic movement.
• His other works include the novel "Parti Parikatha" and short stories such as "Mare Gaye Gulfam" (the basis of the 1966 Raj Kapoor-Waheeda Rehman film "Teesri Kasam"), "Lal Paan Ki Begum" and "Panchlight".
• He received the Padma Shri in 1970, which he returned in 1975 in protest against the Emergency.

Other major Hindi novels:

• "Godaan": Premchand (1936).
• "Baba Batesarnath": Nagarjuna.
• "Chitralekha": Bhagwati Charan Verma.
• "Tamas": Bhisham Sahni.
• "Raag Darbari": Shrilal Shukla.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Premchand wrote "Godaan", "Gaban" and "Nirmala".
• ✗Nagarjuna wrote "Baba Batesarnath" and "Balchanma".
• ✗Bhagwati Charan Verma wrote "Chitralekha".