It's been a month that I finished reading Munshi Premchand's classic 'Godaan' but couldn't get it out of my mind. The plot, set in pre-independence India, is riveting, makes for a compelling read and in my opinion still stands relevant. To the uninitiated, it is a story of a righteous peasant (poverty goes along with being a peasant), who places high value on matters concerning pride, caste and village values. But it is also as much the story of his devoted yet combative wife, the rebellious son and the duped daughter-in-law. It is also the story of the then urban society, the liberal values it preaches and the rural-urban divide. If you haven't read it yet, go grab a copy.
The legendary author paints a vivid picture of the prevailing village life where the hierarchy established by the caste prevails largely unquestioned but significant concessions are granted to the relative rich. I wonder what has changed in last 70 years? Not much. Like in the novel, inter-caste marriages are still exceptions and not the norm and are almost always followed by social castigation. If anything the rural society in the novel is more benevolent than the one we live in. Surely, we have come a long way but I guess the socio-political framework in rural India has not really made any progress.
Caste system is not the only aspect that has not changed from Premchand's India. The central character is a peasant burdened by loans and struggles to pay the interest. Our farmers continue to be debt ridden. There still is tax to be paid before anything is consumed. If anything the debt system has been institutionalized. There are no 'Mahajans/Sahukars' but there is debt, interest, crop failure and death. I wonder which is a bigger evil - the rigidity of an unrelenting caste system or poverty of an average farmer?
The multi-dimensional novel also sketches in great detail the idiosyncrasies of the urban society. The masks that people wear and how pretentiousness is not really an attribute of 21st century alone. It is surprising how little has our urban society transformed. The novel lays out mental and material map of the rich industrialist, the influential minister, the London schooled doctor and the intellectual philosopher. Premchand details the values and ethos of the urban individual, the worries that beset him(her) and the battles (s)he fight. The dual life, personal struggles and public posturing belying the internal turmoil provides enough food for thought. These characters could easily be based out of any of the modern metropolitan cities and still not be incongruous.
Godaan makes me ponder over what we consider as important and what as trivial. It shows how one can spend an entire lifetime in pursuit of a material goal and still not achieve it due to extraneous factors.
It talks of the heart break but also of hope. Whenever the characters have attempted a personal goal of finding material or emotional gratification, they have succeeded. Like the peasant son who runs away from the village to earn and tastes success or the leader who fights the legal battles against all odds or the doctor who sets about discovering her true passion. But when the characters desire to impose their beliefs on others, there is strife and grief. Its a reminder to have ambitious goals and to be ever cognizant of our limited sphere of influence.
It also talks about how tides turn as almost all the characters in the novel experience success and failure. It illustrates that success should never be taken for granted and failure is not an end state. I recommend this as a must read. I read this in Hindi but am sure it will be equally gripping in its English translation.
Till next time.
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