Page 228 - DENG203_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_IV

Unit 12: The Big Brother by Munshi Premchand

12.3.1 Analysis Notes

Munshi Premchand, the iconic figure of Urdu and Hindi literature was way ahead of his time.
Premchand always said his message by his authentic delineation of characters and his powerful
accounts of situations. He could understand the flaws of the education system which are ruining
generations over decades. His short story “Bade Bhai Sahab” not only critically analyses the
education system which lays more emphasis on marks but also brings forward the emotions of
human minds. In the story that follows, Premchand gives an instance of our examination-oriented
and book-oriented educational system by showing the interaction of two brothers. The story is
communicated with an abundance of wit and contains a thoughtful denunciation of the manner
in which children in our schools are stifled and how they are deprived of the actual joy of
learning and of combining work and play. Bade Bhai Sahab is the story that focuses on the
delicate ties between two brothers. The younger one, is younger to his elder brother by five
years and hence bade bhai sahab takes it on him to paramash the younger one on everything.
The elder brother is a victim of the examination system. Considering the fact that the elder
brother completes one year’s work in the space of two to three years, we may think him to be a
dunce. The story which is in first person account interestingly switches the actors from being the
players and narrators while the narration forming the part of dialogue between the two brothers.

The younger brother is portrayed as being intelligent and he can thus afford to play gulli-
danda [a simple stick game] without spoiling his examination results. His elder brother’s
conservative and orthodox attitude towards sports and games is so forcefully expressed that he
feels guilty when he engages in educative activities, even though he admits that he is “not at all
interested in studies “. It is a simple, candid criticism of the manner in which lessons are made
so dull that they are not even of interest to the intelligent students. The ending of the story is the
kicker though, as it is the brother who recovers the kite end and goes running off. The story also
emphasises on traditional values and reverence for age, but here possibly is also a treatment of
balance in the kinds of traits that one needs.
In addition to the amusing personal idiosyncrasies of the two brothers, we have in this short
story Bade Bhai Sahab (The Big Brother) an instructive indictment of an educational system that
stops pupils from becoming good pupils. The tragi-comedy of the younger brother and the
comi-tragedy of the elder brother are typical instances of what students experience in their
everyday life in school and at home, bound in a triple prison of syllabus system, lecture system
and examination system. The two brothers both have the potential of becoming good pupils,
but are still prevented from growing freely along the lines appropriate to their inclinations. The
conclusion Munshi Premchand draws is that as long as the system smothers and grinds down the
students, one cannot expect the flowering of good pupils. Only in a garden of joy and freedom,
only under the conditions of right guidance and help can good pupils blossom and prosper.

Example: The story at times takes a dig on the education system. For instance, exam
papers say ‘write an essay in more than 200 words on…’ and the pages given are four. “Iske bade
mein 400 lafz, aur woh bhi, 4 sasure full scape paper mein?” laughs bhai Sahab.

Self Assessment

State True or False:
1. In the story The Big Brother, the younger brother is considered intelligent and can afford
to play without spoiling his examination results.
2. Munshi Premchand could comprehend the flaws of the education system.

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