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Who wrote the Hindi novel 'Raag Darbari'?
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Answer: Option C — Shrilal Shukla
Detailed Solution
Shrilal Shukla (1925-2011) was a Hindi writer known for his sharp satire. He was born at Atrauli, near Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, and served as an officer in the Uttar Pradesh civil service (PCS), which gave him close experience of government and rural administration.
"Raag Darbari" was published in 1968. It is set in Shivpalganj, an imaginary village in Uttar Pradesh. The story is seen through the eyes of Ranganath, a young research student who comes from the city to stay with his uncle, Vaidyaji. Vaidyaji is a powerful local figure who controls the village college, the cooperative society and the village council. The novel shows, with humour and irony, the corruption, nepotism, decline of values and failure of institutions such as education, the police, the courts and local government in post-Independence rural India. The title refers to a classical raga, used here to suggest the "court music" of flattery around the powerful.
"Raag Darbari" won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1969. It has been translated into English and many Indian languages, and was adapted into a television serial in 1986. It is considered one of the greatest Hindi novels and a classic of satire.
Shrilal Shukla's other works include "Sooni Ghati ka Suraj", "Makaan", "Pehla Padav" and "Bisrampur ka Sant". He received the Jnanpith Award for 2009 (shared with Amarkant) and the Padma Bhushan in 2008.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Premchand wrote "Godan", "Gaban" and "Nirmala".
- ✗Phanishwar Nath Renu wrote "Maila Anchal", a regional novel set in Bihar.
- ✗Yashpal wrote "Jhootha Sach", a novel about Partition.
Quick tip
Remember: Shrilal Shukla = "Raag Darbari" (1968), set in the village of Shivpalganj, Sahitya Akademi Award (1969) and Jnanpith (2009). Renu = "Maila Anchal".
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.