Phanishwar Nath Mandal 'Renu'[1] (4 March 1921 – 11 April 1977) was one of the most successful and influential writers of modern Hindi literature in the post-Premchand era.

[2] Phanishwar Nath (Mandal) Renu was born on 4 March 1921 in a small village Aurahi Hingna near Simraha railway station in Bihar.

Renu's father, Shilanath Mandal, had been active in the Indian National Movement and was an extremely enlightened individual, taking a keen interest in modern ideas, culture and art.

[3] His short story "Maare Gaye Gulfam" was adapted into a film Teesri Kasam (The Third Vow),[4] by Basu Bhattacharya (produced by the poet-lyricist Shailendra) in 1966 for which he also wrote the dialogues.

[8] A biography on the writer has also been produced with the name: Phanishwar Nath Renu in Unki Nazar Unka Shahar.

[9] His 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.