godan by premchand

Introduction

          Godan is a famous Hindi novel by Munsi Premchand. It was first published in 1936 and is considered one of the greatest novels of modern Indian literature. It was translated into English in 1957 by Jai Ratan and P. Lal in 1968 by Gordan C. Roadarmel. In English, it is named “The Gift Of a Cow”. This novel became a trademark novel for him.

It can also be seen as the key to Premchand’s worldwide success and fame. It is considered as a social commentary. The story of this novel moves around, the tragic protagonist of the novel Hori. Through the Character of Hori, Premchandra tries to revolt against social evils like the dowry system, caste system and orthodox way of life.

Character Sketch

Hori- Hori is the main character of the novel. He is a poor farmer.

Dhania – She is the wife of Hori.

Gobar – He is the only son of Hori and Dhania.

Rupa & Sona – They are two daughters of Hori and Dhania.

Bhola – He is a cow Herder.

Jhunia – She is the window daughter of Bhola.

Heera – He was Hari’s brother.

Dattadin – He is the village Brahmin priest and moneylender.

Mattadin – He was the son of Dattadin. He had an affair with a girl named Seliya.

Seliya – She was a low-caste girl and worked on the farm of Dattadin.

Rai Shaib – He was the Zamindar and had won the election once.

Malti Devi – She was a doctor who was educated in Europe.

Saroj – She was the young sister of Dr. Malti.

Mr. Mehta – He was a Scholar and lecturer in College.

Mr. Khanna – He was an industrialist and had a Sugar Factory.

Govindi – She was the wife of Mr. Khanna.

About Premchand

            Dhanpatrai Srivastavi, Known as Munsi Premchand is one of the famous writers of Hindi Literature. He was born on 31^st July 1880 in Lamhi, a village near Varanasi. His parents were Ajaib Rai a post office clerk and Anadi Devi a housewife. He was 4^th child of his parents.

            Premchand was a novelist, short story writer and Dramatist who penned stories and numerous essays. He has written a collection of short stories and numerous essays. He has written a collection of short stories called ‘Mansarovar’. This book contains more than 300 stories. By profession, he was a teacher. He had married a widow and her name was Shivari Devi. In most of his works, he presented naked realities of life. He was very much influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and at the beginning of his career, he started to write under the name Nawab Rai. Many critics compared him with Tolstoy and called him the ’Upanyas Saam at King Of Novels.

About Title “Godan”

            The title of the novel “Godan” is symbolic which refers to the religious belief of ‘Godan’. According to the Hindu tradition, a man should donate a cow to Brahmin at the last stage of life to earn great merit or salvation.

            Godan translated it into English with the title ‘The Gift of a Cow’. But, the English title does not convey the religious and sentimental association of the word ‘Godan’. For the Hindu, it is not only ‘the gif’ but it is a way to get ‘Salvation’ or we can say ‘Mukti’. Therefore, Godan is a suitable title for the novel as far as the religious tradition is concerned, especially Hori’s death is concerned.

            Godan deals with the miserable lives of the Indian peasant. According to the novel, a change in the social set-up is sufficient to transform the lives, of the individual. His characters have no courage to fight against courage to fight against adverse conditions. They accept the given social conditions. They bear all kinds of exploitation. They have unshakable faith in destiny.

Summary Of Godan

           The story of the novel starts with Hori, a poor farmer. He has Dhania as his wife, Gobar as his son and Rupa and Sona as his two daughters. Hori is in Hurry to go to Zamindar, Rai Shaib place. He was called by the Zamindar to convey a message to other formers of the village. Hori is informed by the Zomindar that all the village.

Hori is informed by the Zamindar that all the villagers have to contribute rupees 500 to him so that a program in the near future can be organised. When the Zamindar conveyed this message to him he was in great furry. Hori was extremely in a fearful state. He was not able to understand how the money on his port would be managed to be contributed to the Zamindar. At this Gobar and Dhania revolted openly. But Hori kept his calm and made them understand by saying,

“One cannot fight with the crocodile
 while living in the water.”

            There is another important character in this novel, Bhola. He was a widower and was willing to marry again. Actually, Bhola was a kind-hearted and noble person. He was a member of the lower caste. He was 50 years old. He dealt in milk and cow. His two sons are already married. He had a young widow daughter Jhunia at his house. On the other hand, Hori had a great desire to have a cow at his house. At this point in time, Hori developed a plan in his mind as developed a plan in his mind as he had no money he decided to trick Bhola by virtue of clever polity to get a cow without paying instant money.

            Hori and Gobar go to Bhola’s house to bring the cow. Gobar meets Jhunia at Bhola’s house. When the cow was brought to Hari’s house it became a matter of envy for the neighbours. A fight took place between Dhania and Hira, Hori’s brother. Due to enmity, the cow was poisoned. Thus Hori’s desire to have a cow remains unfulfilled. 

            Gobar is having a love affair with Jhunia. Dhania came to know about this affair. The couple, Hori and Dhania discuss about it and they do not approve of this. Gobar does not follow the instructions of his parents and brings Jhunia to his house. Gobar went to Lucknow with a resolve that he would return after making some money. Thus for humanity, they accepted Jhunia as their daughter-in-law. This act of humanity brought great trouble for Hori. The community of the village imposed a fine rupees 100 on Hori.

            Hori was facing all sorts of problems. He had no money on the other hand Gobar had fled to the town. He was residing in Lucknow while his wife was living with Hori and Dhania. Bhola was also pressing Hori to give the price of Cow. One day Bhola came to Hori’s house to make away Hori’s two bullocks in exchange for a cow. At this point in time, Hori was surrounded by all sorts of problems. Actually, Bhola was the victim of Dattadin’s conspiracy and was playing in the hands of Dattadin.

            After some days Hori meets his sad demise. After his death, Dhania, Hari’s wife was asked by the priest to do “Godan”, the charity of cow for the peace of his soul. But because of money issues, she could not afford a cow so instead of a cow she gave 1 Rupee 25 Paise to the priest as everything for the death ceremony of her husband.

Hori’s Only Ambition is to own a Cow

            “Godan” opens with Hori busy in his household and agriculture duties. His wife, Dhania assists him in his work at home and also in his work at home and also in the field. Despite their hard labour, they cannot clear their debts. They have a son Gobar and two daughters, Sona and Rupa. Poverty and exploitation have made them rough.

Amid such hardships, Hori’s only ambition is to own a cow that gives a lot of milk. It was very hot outside and he had to do a lot of work. Suddenly he sees Bhola with his herd of cows. He expresses his wish and Bhola agrees to give him a cow on loan. Hori is overjoyed and starts thinking of a life of luxury with the help of his cow.

“A Household can never appear
 prosperous without a cow.
 How suspicious it is to wake
 up in the morning to the
 the mooing of your cow !”

            Hori works hard in the hot sun gets sunstroke and falls unconscious. He is brought home and Dhania weeps on seeing the dying man’s face. In their last moments, Hori hears the voice around him but can not see. Some suggest that it is the proper time to offer Godan for a dying man. It is ironic that throughout his life Hori struggled to earn enough money to buy a cow but even new at the time of his death. He is not able to fulfil his ambition.

            At this point, the novel ends with a pathetic and tragic note. The title of the novel “Godan” is highly suggestive and meaningful.

Character Sketch of Hori

            Hori is the tragic protagonist of the Munsi Premchandra novel ‘Godan’. He is the unheroic hero of the novel. He is a poor and helpless Indian peasant. He becomes an easy victim in the hands of greedy moneylenders. It is ironic and tragic that the peasant whole tills the dry and hard lands and sows seeds but cannot harvest the crop because the hungry money lenders assert their claim on the ripe harvest.

Here Hori is a victim of this cruel and heartless system. He knows well that he has been wronged and exploited, yet he is so much afraid of tradition and customs.

Hori as a Family Lover

            Hori is a family-loving father. He is an affectionate father, a sensible and feeling husband, a true brother and a generous father-in-law. When Gob was a small child, he often worried about his nourishment as a Gobar didn’t get milk to drink. By this time his Sona and Rupa, have grown into youth, and he worries about their marriages and finding a proper suitor like an affection act. He doesn’t say anything about his cow’s death and his brother Hiro’s cruel act of giving poison to a cow. Hori is a man who drinks sorrow silently without uttering a word to his family members.

Hori as  a Religious – God – Fearing Man

            Hori is a conservative farmer and religious god-fearing man. He does not exhibit much change in his life. He is a god-fearing person with a blind faith in religious authority. The novelist presents his character as simple and innocent. Hori submits all kinds of exploitation by the rich. He has unshaken faith in density. He makes his life miserable through his blind obedience to orthodox religious beliefs.

His philosophy is,

“It is God who creates the high and
 the lower. One comes into wealth
 after a lot of penance. It’s the
 fruit of the deed of our past life.
 We sowed nothing and we have
 nothing to reap.”

On the matter of Godan and Jhunia, he expresses his faith in panchayat. Hori says

“It is the voice of God that speaks
 through the Panches, but what is
 written must happen. Nobody quarrels
 with Fate.”

Hori’s ambition to get a cow

            Hori is ambitious, and his ambition is very simple, he wants to have a cow of his own. He is too poor to buy a cow. He has an intense desire to purchase a cow. In his conversation with Bhola, we can trace Hori’s dream of buying a cow and its reason. To buy a cow he goes to Bhola and sympathies with his loneliness living in isolation as a widower and getting a cow from him. With the coming of a cow to his house, his Zeat-test of living rises. But his brother kills the cow with poison.

From this event problems and struggles begin to come into his house. At the time of his death, he is asked to donate ‘A Cow’ to a Brahmin. Thus his ambition is never fulfilled.

Hori’s Love For Hira

            Hori was a large-hearted man. His brother, Hira poisoned the cow and ran away. He knew it for certain that Hira had done the offence. Yet Hori tried to save Hira. He requested to Police inspector not to search Hira’s house. He beat his wife Dhaniya who wanted to announce to the whole village that Hira and Killed the cow. This shows his love for Hira.

Hori as a representative of Indian Farmers

Godan is a tragedy of the Indian peasantry. Hori, the hero is the representative of the Indian peasantry. He has blind faith in age-old traditions and religious beliefs. He can never stand against the exploitation by the rich. Throughout his life, he has been exploited and wronged by the money-landers, but he bears all the injustice and exploitation silently.

            Like a common Indian Pleasant, Hori is brought up in an atmosphere of a rigid social setup where orthodox religious beliefs dominate their lifestyle. Thus, Hori presents the recurrent lifestyle of Indian peasants. His life is the tale of helplessness and suffering. He never gets relief from pain and suffering.

Hori Tragic Death

            Throughout the novel, Hori doesn’t show any resistance or words of struggle and opposition. Hari works hard beyond his capacity. This is the greatest irony in his life that struggled through his life to buy a cow but now in his death, a cow has to given in Charity to a Brahmin like Dattadeen.

Thus Hori represents the aspirations, struggles and resilience of the Indian peasantry.

Themes of “Godan”

            The novel ‘Godan’ by Premchandra was published in 1936. It has been revered as one of the greatest novels of Indian Literature. The main theme of the novel was based on Indian Peasantry.

The themes include

Poverty
Social Hierarchy
Exploitation
Deception
Social Inequality
Corruption
Selflessness

Poverty

            One of the major themes of Godan is ‘Poverty’. The novel portrays the struggles of the poor and how they are always in need of money to survive. Hori’s life is a clear reflection of the struggles of Poor farmers in India during that time. The Author portrays and how it affects not just individuals but also their families. Hori’s inability to provide for his family and his constant worry about their survival is a stark reminder of the harsh reality that many people face.

Social Hierarchy

            The story of Godan also exposes the social hierarchy prevalent in Indian society during that time. Hori’s interactions with his landlords and the moneylender illustrate how the poor are often at the mercy of those in power. The characters in the novel are representative of the different social classes. The Author portrays how their interactions can have a lasting impact on each other’s lives.

Exploitation

            One of the main themes of Godan is the exploitation of the farmers by the landlords. The novel highlights how the landlords take advantage of the poor and illiterate farmers by keeping them to work for low wages. This theme is still relevant today, as we have seen many instances of the wealthy exploiting the poor.

Deception

            Godan also explores the theme of deception. The novel shows how people can deceive others to get what they want. We see this in modern society, where people use deception to gain power or wealth.

Social Inequality

            The theme of social inequality is also prominent in Godan. The novel portrays the divide between the rich and the poor and how the poor are always at a disadvantage. This theme is still relevant today, as we see many instances of social inequality in our society.

Corruption

            Godan also explores the theme of corruption. The novel shows how corruption can affect the lives of ordinary people. We see this in our society, as corruption is still a major problem in many countries.

Selflessness

            Finally, the theme of selflessness is also explored in Godan. The novel shows how selfless actions can have a positive impact on society.

            In Conclusion, We can say, that Godan is a novel that explores various themes that are still relevant today. Through the story of Hari, the novel portrays the struggles of Indian Farmers and highlights the issues of exploitation, poverty, deception, social inequality, corruption and selflessness.

Conclusion

            Thus, ‘Godan’ depicts the problems of the farmer, faced in different times and different places. Through the character of Hari, Premchand highlights social economic, religious and political issues as well as class contrast of Indian society during British rule. So “Godan” is the story of naked poverty, incessant, hunger and ruthless exploitation of the poor in Indian Society.

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