Page 113 - DENG105_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_II

Elective English–II

Notes He managed to secure a job as a teacher in a primary school and rapidly got promoted to the
post of Deputy Inspector of Schools. When Mahatma Gandhi announced the non-cooperation
movement, Premchand quit his job and devoted his time to writing fully. His first short story
was published in a magazine called Zamana that was circulated in Kanpur.
When it comes to write Urdu novels and short stories, Premchand definitely has his own
special place. His style of writing novels began as fantasy tales of kings and queens. But as
he became more and more conscious of what was happening around him, he started to write
on social problems and his novels had the element of evoking the feeling of social consciousness
and responsibility. He wrote about the realities of life and the various problems faced by the
common man in a turbulent society.

His main focus remained rural India and exploitation faced by a common villager at the hands
of priests, landlords, loan sharks, etc. He also emphasized the unity of Hindus and Muslims.
Some of his well-known works are Godaan, Gaban, Karmabhoomi, Pratigya, etc. His famous
short stories include popular names like Atmaram, Udhar Ki Ghadi, Bade Ghar Ki Beti, etc.
Some of his works were also made into films by the noted filmmaker, Satyajit Ray. This great
literary personality of India breathed his last on October 8, 1936.

9.1 The Shroud

Outside the hut, father and son sat before the dying embers in silence. Inside, the son’s young
wife, Budhiya, was thrashing about in labour. Every now and then, a blood-curdling shriek
emerged from her mouth and they felt their hearts stop. It was a winter night, the earth was
sunk in silence and the whole village had dissolved into the darkness.
Ghisu said, “Looks like she’s not going to make it. She’s been like this all day. Go take a look.”
Madhav replied irritably, “If she’s going to die, why doesn’t she do it quickly? What’s the
point of taking a look?”
“You’re pretty harsh. You’ve had a good time with her all year, and now? Such callousness?”
“Well, I can’t stand to see her suffer and throw herself about like this.”
This clan of cobblers was notorious in the village. If Ghisu worked a day, he would rest for
three. Madhav was such a shirker that if he worked for half an hour, he’d smoke dope for one.
Which was why they were never hired. If there was even a fistful of grain in the house, they
took it to mean they didn’t have to work. When they’d been starving for a few days, Ghisu
would climb a tree and break off some branches and Madhav would sell them in the bazaar.
As long as the money lasted, they’d loaf around here and there. And when the calamity of
starvation came upon them again, they would break off more branches or look for work. There
was no shortage of work in the village, it was a village of farmers and there were at least fifty
jobs for a hard-working man. But these two were called in only when you had to be satisfied
with two men doing the work of one.

Had they been renunciants, they would have had no need to exercise control or practice
discipline in order to experience contentment and fortitude. Theirs was an unusual existence
– apart from a few mud pots, there were no material possessions in their house. They went
on with their lives, covering their nakedness with rags, free of worldly cares, burdened with
debt. They’d suffer abuse, they’d suffer blows, but they had not a care in the world. They were
so wretched that even though there was no hope of being repaid, people always loaned them
something. During the potato harvest, they’d pull up peas or potatoes from other people’s
fields, cook them in some fashion and eat them. Or, they’d uproot a few stalks of sugarcane
and suck on them at night. Ghisu had lived out sixty years with such supreme detachment and
now Madhav, his worthy son, walked in his father’s footsteps, determined to become even
more illustrious.

108 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY