| The Gift of a Cow | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Munshi Premchand |
| Original title | Godaan (गोदान) |
| Translator | Gordon C. Roadarmel |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Lokamaya Press (Eng. trans.) |
| Publication date | 1936 |
| Published in English |
15 July 1987 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0948924071 (Eng. trans. paperback) |
| OCLC Number | 17509087 |
| LC Classification | PK2098.S7 G613x 1987 |
Godaan (गोदान) The Gift of a Cow is a Hindi novel by Munshi Premchand.
It was first published in 1936 and is considered one of the greatest Hindi-Urdu novels of modern Indian literature. Themed around the socio economic deprivation as well as the exploitation of the village poor, the novel was the last complete novel of Premchand.[1] It was translated into English in 1957 by Jai Ratan and P. Lal translation;[2] a 1968 translation by Gordon C. Roadarmel is now considered "a classic in itself".[3]
Godaan was made into a Hindi film in 1963, starring Rajkumar, Mehmood and Shashikala.[4] In 2004, Godaan was part of the 26-episode TV series, ‘'Tehreer.... Munshi Premchand Ki, based on the writing of Premchand, starring Pankaj Kapur and Surekha Sikri, directed by Gulzar and produced by Doordarshan.[5]
Contents |
The story revolves around many characters representing the various sections of Indian community. The peasant and rural society is represented by the family of Hori mahato and his family members which includes Dhania, Rupa and Sona(Daughters), Gobar(son), Jhunia( daughter in law). The Story starts from a point where Hori has a deep desire of having a cow as other millions of poor peasant. He purchased one cow by taking debt. Hori tried to cheat his brothers for 10 rupees. This in turn led to a fight between his wife and his younger brother Heera’s wife. Jealous on this, his younger brother Heera poisoned the cow and run away because of the fear of police action. Hori took the loan and paid the bribe to the police and was able to clear off his younger brother’s name. Jhunia was widow and eloped with Gobar after she got pregnant by him. Because of the fear of the action from villagers Gobar also run away. Panchayat issued a penalty on Hori. Hori again took the loan and paid the penalty. Hori is in huge debt from local money lenders and eventually married his daughter Rupa for mere 200 rupees to save his land to save his ancestors land from being auctioned because of his inability to pay land tax. But his determination to pay those 200 rupees and to have a cow to provide milk to his grand son, led to Hori’s his death because of excessive work. When he is about to die, his wife Dhania took out all the money she have (1.25 Rupees) and made Hori pay to the priest on behalf of (Godaan) (cow donation). This eventually fulfils the traditional dream of Hori but still his desire to pay back the rupees 200 to his son in law and to have a cow to feed the milk to his grandson remain unfulfilled. Hori is shown as a typical poor peasant who is the victim of circumstances and possess all the deficiencies of common man but despite all this, he stand by his honesty, duties and judgement when time requires. He is shown died partially satisfied and partially unsatisfied. Other rural characters includes but not limited to Datadin(priest), Matadin, Bhola, Bateswari etc. The urban society is represented by Malati devi( Doctor), Mr. Mehta( Lecturer and philosopher), Mr. Khanna (Banker), Rai Sahib(Zamindar), Mr Tankha( Broker) and Mr. Mirza(social worker). Rai sahib is two times local election winner. He wanted to marry his daughter, want to win in election and claim the property of his in-laws. He married his daughter to another rich, widow and rake zamindar. He claimed and won the zamindari of his in-laws. He won the election and became the municipal minister. But when he planned to get his son married to the daughter of Raja Suryankant for his family’s prestige, his son refused that. He is in love with Saroj, the younger sister of Malati devi. They both married and went to London. His son claimed and won the entire property Rai sahib won from in-laws leaving Rai sahib in huge debt. His daughter got divorced. This eventually left Rai sahib too unsatisfied despite all his efforts. Malati devi is a beautiful lady. She is mostly involved in levish lifestyle with many men around her. She keeps interacted most of them but do not love any of these me. Mr. Khanna is married but is in love with Malati. Malati in turn fall in loves with Mr. Mehta because of his ideology. On a trip to the village of Hori, she explored herself. She started serving poor and got involved in many social activities. After seeing the change in Malati, Mr. Mehta falls in love with Malati. But though Malati loves Mr. Mehta, she refused his marriage proposal. She now wants to serve the poor and do not want to marry. Mr. Mehta and Malati keep serving the poor and needy people together. Malati devi is the only character shown as satisfied at the end because of her commitment to the charity. Mr. Khanna eventually started loving his wife and stop taking interest in Malati devi. The narrative represents the average Indian farmer's existence under colonial rule, with the protagonist facing cultural and feudal exploitation. It shows how the life of these character takes the shapes.
The act of donating a cow in charity, or Godaan, is considered to be an important Hindu ritual, as it helps in absolving one of sin, and incurring divine blessings. It is nevertheless, not essential.