What do you think?
Rate this book
गोदा�
This ebook is from Rajpal and Sons, a 103 year-old publishing house headquartered in Delhi. Rajpal and Sons publishes books in English and Hindi languages, in non-fiction, fiction, classic and contemporary literature, and children categories.
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1936
2,392 people are currently reading
18k people want to read
About the author
Munshi Premchand
859books1,076followersMunshi Premchand (Hindi: मुंशी प्रेमचंद) was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. He is one of the most celebrated writers of the Indian subcontinent,and is regarded as one of the foremost Hindustani writers of the early twentieth century.
Born Dhanpat Rai, he began writing under the pen name "Nawab Rai", but subsequently switched to "Premchand", while he is also known as "Munshi Premchand", Munshi being an honorary prefix. A novel writer, story writer and dramatist, he has been referred to as the "Upanyas Samrat" ("Emperor among Novelists") by some Hindi writers. His works include more than a dozen novels, around 250 short stories, several essays and translations of a number of foreign literary works into Hindi.
Premchand is considered the first Hindi author whose writings prominently featured realism. His novels describe the problems of the poor and the urban middle-class. His works depict a rationalistic outlook, which views religious values as something that allows the powerful hypocrites to exploit the weak. He used literature for the purpose of arousing public awareness about national and social issues and often wrote about topics related to corruption, child widowhood, prostitution, feudal system, poverty, colonialism and on the India's freedom movement.
Several of his early works, such as A Little Trick and A Moral Victory, satirised the Indians who cooperated with the British colonial government.
In the 1920s, he was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement and the accompanying struggle for social reform. During this period, his works dealt with the social issues such as poverty, zamindari exploitation (Premashram, 1922), dowry system (Nirmala, 1925), educational reform and political oppression (Karmabhumi, 1931).
In his last days, he focused on village life as a stage for complex drama, as seen in his most famous work Godan as well as the short-story collection Kafan (1936).Premchand believed that social realism was the way for Hindi literature, as opposed to the "feminine quality", tenderness and emotion of the contemporary Bengali literature.
Born Dhanpat Rai, he began writing under the pen name "Nawab Rai", but subsequently switched to "Premchand", while he is also known as "Munshi Premchand", Munshi being an honorary prefix. A novel writer, story writer and dramatist, he has been referred to as the "Upanyas Samrat" ("Emperor among Novelists") by some Hindi writers. His works include more than a dozen novels, around 250 short stories, several essays and translations of a number of foreign literary works into Hindi.
Premchand is considered the first Hindi author whose writings prominently featured realism. His novels describe the problems of the poor and the urban middle-class. His works depict a rationalistic outlook, which views religious values as something that allows the powerful hypocrites to exploit the weak. He used literature for the purpose of arousing public awareness about national and social issues and often wrote about topics related to corruption, child widowhood, prostitution, feudal system, poverty, colonialism and on the India's freedom movement.
Several of his early works, such as A Little Trick and A Moral Victory, satirised the Indians who cooperated with the British colonial government.
In the 1920s, he was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement and the accompanying struggle for social reform. During this period, his works dealt with the social issues such as poverty, zamindari exploitation (Premashram, 1922), dowry system (Nirmala, 1925), educational reform and political oppression (Karmabhumi, 1931).
In his last days, he focused on village life as a stage for complex drama, as seen in his most famous work Godan as well as the short-story collection Kafan (1936).Premchand believed that social realism was the way for Hindi literature, as opposed to the "feminine quality", tenderness and emotion of the contemporary Bengali literature.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 583 reviews
April 16, 2017
गोदान मानव जीवन के संघर्षों, आत्ममंथन और आत्मज्ञा� की कहानी है� मैंन� कई बा� इस कृति के सारांश मे� यह पढ़ा है कि गोदा� होरी ना� के एक किसा� की कहानी है, मै� इस से सहमत नही हूँ। मेरे मत मे� इस कहानी मे� किसी एक को मुख्� पात्� कहना गल� है� गोदा� जितनी होरी, धनिय�, गोबर और उसके बाकी के परिवार की कहानी है उतनी ही उसके गांव के अन्य किरदारों की भी� इसी तर� शहरी पात्रो� मे� भी जितन� महत्� डॉक्टर मेहत� और मालती देवी का है, उतना ही मिस्टर खन्न� और गोविन्दी देवी का भी और उतना ही रा� साहब, ओंकारनाथ, मिर्ज़� खुर्शे�, मिस्टर तन्ख� इत्याद� का भी� कु� मिलाकर कह� जा� तो प्रेमचन्� जी ने इन सारे किरदारों से तत्काली� भारतवर्ष के सभी स्वभाव, जाती और वर्ण के लोगो� की मानसिकता का अचूक वर्ण� किया है�
एक प्रमुख बा� यह है कि उनके सभी पात्� इतने सच्च� और सटी� है� कि आप वर्तमा� का� मे� भी अपने आस पा� ऐस� लोगो� को देखत� है� और उनकी तुलन� इन पात्रो� से किये बिना नही रह सकते� परन्तु मेरे अनुसार इस कृति का सर्वोपरी गु� यह है कि प्रेमचन्� जी ने किसी भी पात्� को नायक या खलनायक के रू� मे� प्रस्तुत नही किया है, जो की वर्तमा� का� मे� अक्षरश� सत्य है� जो होरी अपने परिवार के लि� खु� को हो� कर रह� है वही कभी ऐस� निर्णय भी लेता है जि� से उसका परिवार जर� भी खु� नही होता है� जो मालती देवी सदैव अपने हि� की सोचती है� वही आत्ममंथन करने के पश्चात त्या� की मूर्ति बन जाती हैं। इसी प्रकार धनिय�, गोबर, मेहत� जी, मिस्टर खन्न�, रा� साहब और बाकी सभी के अंदर गु� और अवगु� दोनो� विद्यमान हैं। यह कहानी इस बा� की पुष्टि करती है कि हममे� से को� भी पूर्� रू� से अच्छ� या बुरा नही� होता अपित� भावावे� मे� आक� अन्यथा परिस्थितियों के अधी� होकर वह ऐस� कर्म करता है जिसे शे� समाज अच्छाई और बुरा� के तराज� पर तौलक� अपना फैसल� सुनाता है�
उस पर प्रेमचंद जी की शैली, उन्होंने इतने सर� शब्दों मे� इतनी गहरी बाते� कही� है� कि आप उन पर विचा� करने को विवश हो जाते हैं। मेरे जैेस� पाठक जो दर्श� शास्त्� मे� जर� भी रूचि नही� रखता, इस कृति मे� लिखी दर्श� शास्त्� की बातो� मे� उतना ही रस लेता है जितन� अपने पसन्दीदा विषय की चर्च� में। यह मात्� एक पुस्तक ही नही अपित� एक जीवन अनुभ� है जिसे आप पढ़त� नही जीते है� और जिसक� बा� आप खु� को थोड़� और अनुभवी और थोड़� और ज़िम्मेदार महसू� करते हैं।
एक प्रमुख बा� यह है कि उनके सभी पात्� इतने सच्च� और सटी� है� कि आप वर्तमा� का� मे� भी अपने आस पा� ऐस� लोगो� को देखत� है� और उनकी तुलन� इन पात्रो� से किये बिना नही रह सकते� परन्तु मेरे अनुसार इस कृति का सर्वोपरी गु� यह है कि प्रेमचन्� जी ने किसी भी पात्� को नायक या खलनायक के रू� मे� प्रस्तुत नही किया है, जो की वर्तमा� का� मे� अक्षरश� सत्य है� जो होरी अपने परिवार के लि� खु� को हो� कर रह� है वही कभी ऐस� निर्णय भी लेता है जि� से उसका परिवार जर� भी खु� नही होता है� जो मालती देवी सदैव अपने हि� की सोचती है� वही आत्ममंथन करने के पश्चात त्या� की मूर्ति बन जाती हैं। इसी प्रकार धनिय�, गोबर, मेहत� जी, मिस्टर खन्न�, रा� साहब और बाकी सभी के अंदर गु� और अवगु� दोनो� विद्यमान हैं। यह कहानी इस बा� की पुष्टि करती है कि हममे� से को� भी पूर्� रू� से अच्छ� या बुरा नही� होता अपित� भावावे� मे� आक� अन्यथा परिस्थितियों के अधी� होकर वह ऐस� कर्म करता है जिसे शे� समाज अच्छाई और बुरा� के तराज� पर तौलक� अपना फैसल� सुनाता है�
उस पर प्रेमचंद जी की शैली, उन्होंने इतने सर� शब्दों मे� इतनी गहरी बाते� कही� है� कि आप उन पर विचा� करने को विवश हो जाते हैं। मेरे जैेस� पाठक जो दर्श� शास्त्� मे� जर� भी रूचि नही� रखता, इस कृति मे� लिखी दर्श� शास्त्� की बातो� मे� उतना ही रस लेता है जितन� अपने पसन्दीदा विषय की चर्च� में। यह मात्� एक पुस्तक ही नही अपित� एक जीवन अनुभ� है जिसे आप पढ़त� नही जीते है� और जिसक� बा� आप खु� को थोड़� और अनुभवी और थोड़� और ज़िम्मेदार महसू� करते हैं।
April 7, 2012
No words of mine can describe the greatness of this novel.
All i can remember is...i was inconsolably crying when i finished reading this novel (without even realizing that i was actually crying)....
I am a modern girl hailing from a metro city.....never in my life have i been to a village, i have never seen farms....have never met any Peasent...realization of there existence in this world had never before occurred to me......i had often heard the news of farmers committing suicide...I had seen Rahul Gandhi speaking for the rights of farmers......i never bothered to get into depth of the issue....i was ignorant towards the matter and towards the farmers.....
So when my dad suggested me to read this novel, for a moment i thought, "how could a novel set on the backdrop of a village and based on the life of people who are in a way completely aliens to me and in whose life i have no interest appeal me?"....then i thought....i should give it a try...i had heard enough about Shree Munshi PremChand. This reason was enough for me to give it a shot......
And to my greatest amazement, i lost the touch with reality while reading the book....the village became my home, the people seemed to me my own neighbours, their problems were mine ....When they were hungery, i too could feel hunger...when they felt cold...i too could feel myself shivering in my warm quilt..i could dream like Hori (d innocent farmer)....i could feel like Dhaniya(Hori's wife strongest and kindest woman i have ever known)....it was like i was one of them...what more do i tell
All i can say is:
I have not read it .....i have lived it.....
All i can remember is...i was inconsolably crying when i finished reading this novel (without even realizing that i was actually crying)....
I am a modern girl hailing from a metro city.....never in my life have i been to a village, i have never seen farms....have never met any Peasent...realization of there existence in this world had never before occurred to me......i had often heard the news of farmers committing suicide...I had seen Rahul Gandhi speaking for the rights of farmers......i never bothered to get into depth of the issue....i was ignorant towards the matter and towards the farmers.....
So when my dad suggested me to read this novel, for a moment i thought, "how could a novel set on the backdrop of a village and based on the life of people who are in a way completely aliens to me and in whose life i have no interest appeal me?"....then i thought....i should give it a try...i had heard enough about Shree Munshi PremChand. This reason was enough for me to give it a shot......
And to my greatest amazement, i lost the touch with reality while reading the book....the village became my home, the people seemed to me my own neighbours, their problems were mine ....When they were hungery, i too could feel hunger...when they felt cold...i too could feel myself shivering in my warm quilt..i could dream like Hori (d innocent farmer)....i could feel like Dhaniya(Hori's wife strongest and kindest woman i have ever known)....it was like i was one of them...what more do i tell
All i can say is:
I have not read it .....i have lived it.....
August 16, 2024
4.75 �
GENRE - FICTION
PAGES - 376
Godan is a fiction classic novel by Indian author Munshi Premchand. It revolves around various characters that represent different sections of Indian society.
The Lower class the middle class the upper middle class and higher class of Indian society.Each of the section have their own set of problems and mid life crises.
According to me after reading this work I have realised that Munshi Premchand was way ahead of his times, the narration is absolutely amazing and a lot of situations in the book bare relevance with the problems people face even today.
There are moments in the book where through the medium of his story Premchand is spreading a philosophical message which may not be accepted when it was written way back in 1936 but today people will easily relate and understand the message.
I would recommend especially the women of this generation to read this book although this is a classic and everyone who loves fiction and classic works will enjoy this book to the fullest.It is considered one of the best Indian modern literature.
Please do sit with a box of tissues because Premchand will definitely play with the loose strings of your heart and get your emotions ransacked 😂
Thank You 🙏👍🙂
GENRE - FICTION
PAGES - 376
Godan is a fiction classic novel by Indian author Munshi Premchand. It revolves around various characters that represent different sections of Indian society.
The Lower class the middle class the upper middle class and higher class of Indian society.Each of the section have their own set of problems and mid life crises.
According to me after reading this work I have realised that Munshi Premchand was way ahead of his times, the narration is absolutely amazing and a lot of situations in the book bare relevance with the problems people face even today.
There are moments in the book where through the medium of his story Premchand is spreading a philosophical message which may not be accepted when it was written way back in 1936 but today people will easily relate and understand the message.
I would recommend especially the women of this generation to read this book although this is a classic and everyone who loves fiction and classic works will enjoy this book to the fullest.It is considered one of the best Indian modern literature.
Please do sit with a box of tissues because Premchand will definitely play with the loose strings of your heart and get your emotions ransacked 😂
Thank You 🙏👍🙂
April 22, 2017
I wanted to read a Premchand for a long time. The last I read was an abridged version in school in the Hindi class of 8th or 9th grade (if I remember correctly, it was "Nirmala"). Since I am not used to reading Hindi novels, I picked up the translated version of the most widely read novel "Godan" with great expectations. However, I was a bit disappointed. Maybe something was lost in translation. I guess translated versions of great pieces of literature should be avoided as it loses essence. Try this. "The loo started by 10 in the morning and it was burning hot". The loo here refers to the summer heat and not the toilet. Another line "He was parched, so he took a lotaful of water and drank it". Lotaful is actually a glass full. These words might sound good in Hindi version but not pleasant in the anglicised version. All in all a heavy read. But still if someone wants to try a Premchand, please go ahead.
June 3, 2014
Godaan - literally, the donation of a cow - seems, when this landmark novel of Premchand's first begins, an event unlikely to happen, because the story starts with a poor farmer's desire to somehow buy a cow. Hori, the 40-year old protagonist of the book, owns three meagre bighas of land, is in debt to various moneylenders in his village, and (along with his wife Dhaniya, their 17-year old son Gobardhan 'Gobar' and their two young daughters Sona and Rupa) is living pretty much a hand-to-mouth existence. Affording a cow, in these circumstances, seems a pipe dream. But when, by some give and take, coupled with some rather impulsive promises, Hori does acquire a cow, it appears as if all will be well... until Gobar, having left his beloved pregnant, runs off to Lucknow, and Hori sinks deeper into debt.
But Godaan is by no means only the story of Hori and his family. This is a far wider canvas, and many interwoven stories. There are, of course, Hori's own relatives and fellow villagers: his two estranged brothers and their families; other impoverished villagers, the members of the panchayat, and so on. There are also those who people a world far removed from poor Hori's: that of the local zamindar, Rai Sahib, and his friends: wealthy, urban, successful: Mirza Khurshid; Mr Mehta; Mr Khanna and his long-suffering wife; the frivolous doctor Miss Malti, who encourages the attentions not just of Mr Khanna but of every other man around. And many others.
It becomes obvious, fairly early on, where Premchand's sympathies lie: with the villagers, at the mercy of just about everyone, from the oppressive zamindari system to the moneylenders, the corrupt bureaucracy, the equally corrupt guardians of religion, to their own inability to break free of the shackles of superstition, tradition, and - at times - a misplaced optimism.
Godaan shows well why Premchand is so highly esteemed in Hindi literature: his skill as a storyteller is superb. The characterisations are excellent, all the way from the submissive and downtrodden Hori to the hot-tempered and impulsive (but deep down soft-hearted) Dhaniya, to the selfish Gobar. Of particular note is the characterisation of the women, most of whom are exceptionally strong-willed in their own individual ways, whether for good or bad.
The hypocrisy of the age (and of people, across time and ages), the divide between the poor and the rich, the urban and the rural, the many shades of grey in different characters: Premchand deftly sketches all of these into a story of hope and disappointment, of joy and despair, of ambition and greed and every other human emotion possible. And his language shows a deep understanding of human nature as well as literary brilliance: for example, this section talking about someone who has ignored the excellence of a loved one's character while in the throes of passion, and has only now - after the fire has died down - realised what had been overlooked earlier: "जब तक नदी बाढ़ पर थी, उसके गंदल�, तेज़, फेनि� प्रवाह मे� प्रकाश की किरणें बिखरकर रह जाती थीं। अब प्रवाह स्थि� और शांत हो गय� था और रश्मियाँ उसकी तह तक पहुँ� रही� थीं।" ("While the river was in spate, its dirty, fast-flowing, frothing water dispersed the rays of light. Now that the current had died down and gone silent, light was spreading across its surface").
Recommended. The only thing I wish was that there were fewer secondary characters floating around the book. About halfway through, the mini-stories of peripheral characters began to dominate the book, leaving behind the people I was most interested in:Hori and his immediate family. Had the author stuck to a smaller cast of characters and focused only on their stories, I might have liked Godaan even more.
But Godaan is by no means only the story of Hori and his family. This is a far wider canvas, and many interwoven stories. There are, of course, Hori's own relatives and fellow villagers: his two estranged brothers and their families; other impoverished villagers, the members of the panchayat, and so on. There are also those who people a world far removed from poor Hori's: that of the local zamindar, Rai Sahib, and his friends: wealthy, urban, successful: Mirza Khurshid; Mr Mehta; Mr Khanna and his long-suffering wife; the frivolous doctor Miss Malti, who encourages the attentions not just of Mr Khanna but of every other man around. And many others.
It becomes obvious, fairly early on, where Premchand's sympathies lie: with the villagers, at the mercy of just about everyone, from the oppressive zamindari system to the moneylenders, the corrupt bureaucracy, the equally corrupt guardians of religion, to their own inability to break free of the shackles of superstition, tradition, and - at times - a misplaced optimism.
Godaan shows well why Premchand is so highly esteemed in Hindi literature: his skill as a storyteller is superb. The characterisations are excellent, all the way from the submissive and downtrodden Hori to the hot-tempered and impulsive (but deep down soft-hearted) Dhaniya, to the selfish Gobar. Of particular note is the characterisation of the women, most of whom are exceptionally strong-willed in their own individual ways, whether for good or bad.
The hypocrisy of the age (and of people, across time and ages), the divide between the poor and the rich, the urban and the rural, the many shades of grey in different characters: Premchand deftly sketches all of these into a story of hope and disappointment, of joy and despair, of ambition and greed and every other human emotion possible. And his language shows a deep understanding of human nature as well as literary brilliance: for example, this section talking about someone who has ignored the excellence of a loved one's character while in the throes of passion, and has only now - after the fire has died down - realised what had been overlooked earlier: "जब तक नदी बाढ़ पर थी, उसके गंदल�, तेज़, फेनि� प्रवाह मे� प्रकाश की किरणें बिखरकर रह जाती थीं। अब प्रवाह स्थि� और शांत हो गय� था और रश्मियाँ उसकी तह तक पहुँ� रही� थीं।" ("While the river was in spate, its dirty, fast-flowing, frothing water dispersed the rays of light. Now that the current had died down and gone silent, light was spreading across its surface").
Recommended. The only thing I wish was that there were fewer secondary characters floating around the book. About halfway through, the mini-stories of peripheral characters began to dominate the book, leaving behind the people I was most interested in:Hori and his immediate family. Had the author stuck to a smaller cast of characters and focused only on their stories, I might have liked Godaan even more.
November 14, 2016
4+
This has to be the most enjoyable reads of this year for we read it aloud as a couple, switching between listening and narrating :) [with a poor toddler giving us both confused looks of insanity!]
Before reading Godan, had heard this is Premchand's last and best work, and perfectly portrays the village life of that time. But I was taken by surprise at the philosophical content and the depth of characters.
Not only it showcases the farmer's poor condition (which ironically is "evergreen"), albeit the troubles and mentality of the rich and elite class too.
Honestly, we had to skim through some parts, as the conversations were too heavy and philosophical to comprehend and felt a bit of a torture. (Peabrains!)
But there were many many many instances which we could relate to and discuss at length which made the journey ever more enjoyable.
This is a very well contained snapshot of India.
This has to be the most enjoyable reads of this year for we read it aloud as a couple, switching between listening and narrating :) [with a poor toddler giving us both confused looks of insanity!]
Before reading Godan, had heard this is Premchand's last and best work, and perfectly portrays the village life of that time. But I was taken by surprise at the philosophical content and the depth of characters.
Not only it showcases the farmer's poor condition (which ironically is "evergreen"), albeit the troubles and mentality of the rich and elite class too.
Honestly, we had to skim through some parts, as the conversations were too heavy and philosophical to comprehend and felt a bit of a torture. (Peabrains!)
But there were many many many instances which we could relate to and discuss at length which made the journey ever more enjoyable.
This is a very well contained snapshot of India.
November 28, 2018
There is an ever-widening hollowness that life entails at birth. The clutches of society writhes the neck of its community. In the name of reputation, callousness grips the lives of people, particularly of the poor. Godaan (The Gift of a Cow) is as realistic a portrayal as it could possibly be. The surreptitiousness of a grim and mundane life is so realistically presented that the image that has been created concerning prosperity and happiness leaps over the fence of anonymity and passes out in seclusion.
Hori was an easy prey of the stalwarts of greed. His simple-mindedness and saintliness led to his exploitation by the moneylenders and landlords. Gobar, his antithesis in terms of adherence to the societal norms, could have been his savior had he really paid heed to him, but the weight of years of compliance seemed much lucrative [using words can be such an irony] to him than the freedom he could have had [irony, again, but hope outlives soul].
The novel alternates between the lives of both the poor and the rich. Both are on their own battlefields and both are being clutched very brutally. This novel gives a sharp Sisyphean pain - the pain seems unendurable, but what could be done in the face of life? Nothing. It is an everlasting, ever recurring pain; while there is an end to life, there is no end to this.
Hori was an easy prey of the stalwarts of greed. His simple-mindedness and saintliness led to his exploitation by the moneylenders and landlords. Gobar, his antithesis in terms of adherence to the societal norms, could have been his savior had he really paid heed to him, but the weight of years of compliance seemed much lucrative [using words can be such an irony] to him than the freedom he could have had [irony, again, but hope outlives soul].
The novel alternates between the lives of both the poor and the rich. Both are on their own battlefields and both are being clutched very brutally. This novel gives a sharp Sisyphean pain - the pain seems unendurable, but what could be done in the face of life? Nothing. It is an everlasting, ever recurring pain; while there is an end to life, there is no end to this.
December 11, 2015
---गोदा� - मेरे भा�---
-------------------
"होरी को जब अपने घर मे� गा� आन� की संभावन� का पत� लग� तो उसकी आँखे� जैसे चम� उठीं। सोचा घर मे� गा� आन� का सौभाग्� मिलेगा तो जीवन खि� उठेगा। इसी आश� मे� जिंदगी जीता रहा। मरते सम� भी मानो� यही लगता था कि बेटे गोबर के सा� गा� घर � गयी है�"
प्रेमचंदजी ने मनुष्य की आशाओ� और चाहतों का जो विवर� गोदा� मे� रच� है वह बिरल� भी है और असंस्कृत भी� गा� इस उपन्या� मे� मनुष्य की आशाओ� का रूपक भी है और सूचक भी�
पुरे उपन्या� मे� एक बा� भी ऐस� नही� लग� कि प्रेमचंदजी किसी भी प्रथ�, नियम, परिस्थित�, धारण� या सिद्धांत को किसी चश्म� से दे� या बत� रह� हैं। जो जैसा है उसका विवर� वैसा की वैसा ही किया है� अब वो चाहे गल� है या सही यह पाठक पर निर्भर करता है� जो कि कई� उपन्यासकार भू� जाते है� और प्रत्यक्�-अप्रत्यक्ष रू� से अपने पूर्वाग्रहों को पाठक पर थोपन� की कोशि� करते हैं।
यह मार्मि� कथ� जैसे कालनिर्पेक्ष हो� जो आज से करी� अस्सी वर्ष पहले भारत के बारे मे� लिखा गय� था वह आज भी वैसा की वैसा है� गरी� आज भी कुचल� जा रह� है�, किसा� मजदू� बन गए है�, जातिवा� का काला जह� अब भी समाज मे� फैला हु� है, चमार और ब्राम्हण आज भी एक नही� है�, अमीरो� के लि� नियम अल� और गरी� के लि� अल� है�, औरतो� को आज भी समान दर्ज� नही� है, जमींदारों की ठकुराई अब भी कायम है, बच्च� आज भी कु� राज्यो� मे� पांच सा� की उम्र से पहले ही मर जाते है�, गरी� सारी जिंदगी उधारी मे� का� देता है, साहूकारो� का ब्या� आज भी लोगो� को बर्बाद कर देता है� और इन सब के बी� आज भी हमार� बुद्धिजीवी समाजवा� और साम्यवाद पर बड़े पांच सितारा होटलों मे� भाषण दिया करते है�, किताबे� लिखा करते हैं। जैसे कु� � बदला हो�
हर हिंदी भाषी को यह एक बा� जरूर पढ़न� चाहिए। यह किता� साहित्� का एक बहुमूल्य उपहा� है� जो कभी पुराना नही� होगा� एक उदाहरण है कि क्यो� प्रेमचंदजी हिंदी साहित्� के उत्त� रचैत� हैं। उन्हें सादर नमन।
-------------------
"होरी को जब अपने घर मे� गा� आन� की संभावन� का पत� लग� तो उसकी आँखे� जैसे चम� उठीं। सोचा घर मे� गा� आन� का सौभाग्� मिलेगा तो जीवन खि� उठेगा। इसी आश� मे� जिंदगी जीता रहा। मरते सम� भी मानो� यही लगता था कि बेटे गोबर के सा� गा� घर � गयी है�"
प्रेमचंदजी ने मनुष्य की आशाओ� और चाहतों का जो विवर� गोदा� मे� रच� है वह बिरल� भी है और असंस्कृत भी� गा� इस उपन्या� मे� मनुष्य की आशाओ� का रूपक भी है और सूचक भी�
पुरे उपन्या� मे� एक बा� भी ऐस� नही� लग� कि प्रेमचंदजी किसी भी प्रथ�, नियम, परिस्थित�, धारण� या सिद्धांत को किसी चश्म� से दे� या बत� रह� हैं। जो जैसा है उसका विवर� वैसा की वैसा ही किया है� अब वो चाहे गल� है या सही यह पाठक पर निर्भर करता है� जो कि कई� उपन्यासकार भू� जाते है� और प्रत्यक्�-अप्रत्यक्ष रू� से अपने पूर्वाग्रहों को पाठक पर थोपन� की कोशि� करते हैं।
यह मार्मि� कथ� जैसे कालनिर्पेक्ष हो� जो आज से करी� अस्सी वर्ष पहले भारत के बारे मे� लिखा गय� था वह आज भी वैसा की वैसा है� गरी� आज भी कुचल� जा रह� है�, किसा� मजदू� बन गए है�, जातिवा� का काला जह� अब भी समाज मे� फैला हु� है, चमार और ब्राम्हण आज भी एक नही� है�, अमीरो� के लि� नियम अल� और गरी� के लि� अल� है�, औरतो� को आज भी समान दर्ज� नही� है, जमींदारों की ठकुराई अब भी कायम है, बच्च� आज भी कु� राज्यो� मे� पांच सा� की उम्र से पहले ही मर जाते है�, गरी� सारी जिंदगी उधारी मे� का� देता है, साहूकारो� का ब्या� आज भी लोगो� को बर्बाद कर देता है� और इन सब के बी� आज भी हमार� बुद्धिजीवी समाजवा� और साम्यवाद पर बड़े पांच सितारा होटलों मे� भाषण दिया करते है�, किताबे� लिखा करते हैं। जैसे कु� � बदला हो�
हर हिंदी भाषी को यह एक बा� जरूर पढ़न� चाहिए। यह किता� साहित्� का एक बहुमूल्य उपहा� है� जो कभी पुराना नही� होगा� एक उदाहरण है कि क्यो� प्रेमचंदजी हिंदी साहित्� के उत्त� रचैत� हैं। उन्हें सादर नमन।
November 16, 2012
I simply couldn't do justice by writing anything about this book. The characters feel so lively that you forget that they are from a book. A true insight into the lives of Indians. You feel the pain of characters, you enjoy with them, in short you feel what they feel. A completely gripping novel with a great philosophical touch. You can only turn into a die-hard fan of Premchand Ji. A must must read for every Indian. And please don't read it in any language other than Hindi.
January 3, 2019
Premchand is the one name that comes to mind when you think of Hindi literature, and Godaan (literally, "donation of a cow") is the one book that practically everyone in India has heard about, irrespective of whether they have read it or not. As for myself, I have delayed reading this really good book for far too long. Nevertheless, with farmers marching on to Delhi currently, this is a very apt time to be reading about the life of peasants and their hardships.
The story is that of Hori and his family. It is also the stories of his neighbours, employers, priests, and other people surrounding him. Godaan paints a vivid portrait of the Hindi belt pre-independence. The book was published in 1936, but it is amazing how relevant it still is today, more than 80 years later, in relation to that part of the country. The same issues of caste discrimination, gender discrimination, economic exploitation, still exist very acutely and it is getting worse.
The story all centres around the desire for a cow, which is considered wealth. Hori is in severe debt to the moneylenders, who charge interest at a very high rate. All his earnings go in paying the interest, and he never gets around to paying back the principal, thus ensuring he never gets out of debt. The rich get richer and the poor just get poorer. Under these circumstances, getting a cow seems to be impossible. But circumstances conspire to give Hori a cow. But the cow brings more disasters than blessings.
What is interesting in this book is that Hori and his wife, Dhania, themselves are both perpetrators as well as victims. They are so constrained with vapid concepts of prestige and honour that they squander money on irrelevant things instead of paying back debts or using money in a way that would bring them out of the vicious cycle. Even when his son, Gobar, offers to pay back money at a rate similar to what the banks charge, Hori allows his fear of Brahmins to overcome his common sense and refuses the offer. Similarly, Dhania insists on paying a dowry for their daughter's wedding, even when it was not required. Social conditioning appears to be as strong as direct oppression when it comes to people trying to get out of a hole.
The characters from the village all come to life vividly. Their actions are believable. I loved that Premchand did not create a villain twirling his moustaches and raping women around him. His characters are both good and bad, but they are all conditioned by society and culture to keep in their place. The same villagers who hounded Hori wanted to come to his aid when outsiders come to bother him. This is very realistic and the author captured this grey area very nicely.
There are also many secondary characters, whose stories are covered, adding to the portrait of village life. Hori's brothers and their problems are depicted well. Gobardhan's story takes up a good chunk of the book, and depicts the difference between city and village life. The story of Bhola and his family are also interesting. Sona and Rupa live with the consequences of poverty and their stories depict what price women sometimes have to pay for just surviving. There is a fatalism to the story, which makes it really intriguing.
The one thing I did not enjoy were the stories of Malti, Mehta, Mirza, Khanna, and Rai Saheb. I am not sure what the point was, and these chapters appeared to drag on forever. Also, unlike the poor village characters, I felt that these characters were not as realistic. They sat about philosophising and boring everyone. The love story of Malti and Mehta was also annoying. I disliked the reiteration of sacrifice and devotion for women and I was unable to make out whether Premchand supported it or was satirising it. Whatever it was, this part was boring.
The English translation was well done, though I suspect the original Hindi would be much, much better. I must read it once in its original form. The book provides a strong feel of the time and the place, something which many modern Indian authors don't seem to be able to do. I wholly recommend reading Godaan.
The story is that of Hori and his family. It is also the stories of his neighbours, employers, priests, and other people surrounding him. Godaan paints a vivid portrait of the Hindi belt pre-independence. The book was published in 1936, but it is amazing how relevant it still is today, more than 80 years later, in relation to that part of the country. The same issues of caste discrimination, gender discrimination, economic exploitation, still exist very acutely and it is getting worse.
The story all centres around the desire for a cow, which is considered wealth. Hori is in severe debt to the moneylenders, who charge interest at a very high rate. All his earnings go in paying the interest, and he never gets around to paying back the principal, thus ensuring he never gets out of debt. The rich get richer and the poor just get poorer. Under these circumstances, getting a cow seems to be impossible. But circumstances conspire to give Hori a cow. But the cow brings more disasters than blessings.
What is interesting in this book is that Hori and his wife, Dhania, themselves are both perpetrators as well as victims. They are so constrained with vapid concepts of prestige and honour that they squander money on irrelevant things instead of paying back debts or using money in a way that would bring them out of the vicious cycle. Even when his son, Gobar, offers to pay back money at a rate similar to what the banks charge, Hori allows his fear of Brahmins to overcome his common sense and refuses the offer. Similarly, Dhania insists on paying a dowry for their daughter's wedding, even when it was not required. Social conditioning appears to be as strong as direct oppression when it comes to people trying to get out of a hole.
The characters from the village all come to life vividly. Their actions are believable. I loved that Premchand did not create a villain twirling his moustaches and raping women around him. His characters are both good and bad, but they are all conditioned by society and culture to keep in their place. The same villagers who hounded Hori wanted to come to his aid when outsiders come to bother him. This is very realistic and the author captured this grey area very nicely.
There are also many secondary characters, whose stories are covered, adding to the portrait of village life. Hori's brothers and their problems are depicted well. Gobardhan's story takes up a good chunk of the book, and depicts the difference between city and village life. The story of Bhola and his family are also interesting. Sona and Rupa live with the consequences of poverty and their stories depict what price women sometimes have to pay for just surviving. There is a fatalism to the story, which makes it really intriguing.
The one thing I did not enjoy were the stories of Malti, Mehta, Mirza, Khanna, and Rai Saheb. I am not sure what the point was, and these chapters appeared to drag on forever. Also, unlike the poor village characters, I felt that these characters were not as realistic. They sat about philosophising and boring everyone. The love story of Malti and Mehta was also annoying. I disliked the reiteration of sacrifice and devotion for women and I was unable to make out whether Premchand supported it or was satirising it. Whatever it was, this part was boring.
The English translation was well done, though I suspect the original Hindi would be much, much better. I must read it once in its original form. The book provides a strong feel of the time and the place, something which many modern Indian authors don't seem to be able to do. I wholly recommend reading Godaan.
January 26, 2022
I did not know about Premchand's literary prowess but having read this, I realized what a literary magician he was. I was compelled to write about it. The only thing missing were my words to describe my emotions. The mix of characterization and relation can never be jolted down so well as was done here. Premchand made me realize that how blessed I am sitting and reading this, the story of a real INDIAN.
Godaan is considered one of the greatest Hindustani novels of modern Indian literature. It was the last complete novel of Premchand. It is themed around the socio-economic deprivation as well as the exploitation of the poor in the colonial India. The story revolves around many characters representing the various sections of Indian community. It showcases the farmer's poor condition and the troubles and mentality of the rich class.
It's the story of a farmer, Hori, who does not give up his values and his friendly conduct in spite of adversity, whose respect remains in the society till the last time. Through Hori's struggles, I came to realize that a person is truly immortal by his deeds.
It's Munshi Premchand Ji's genius that I was able to feel so closely to the life of tortured and outraged poor people. There are so many meanings of life in one story. The beauty of these stories is eternal.
Godaan is considered one of the greatest Hindustani novels of modern Indian literature. It was the last complete novel of Premchand. It is themed around the socio-economic deprivation as well as the exploitation of the poor in the colonial India. The story revolves around many characters representing the various sections of Indian community. It showcases the farmer's poor condition and the troubles and mentality of the rich class.
It's the story of a farmer, Hori, who does not give up his values and his friendly conduct in spite of adversity, whose respect remains in the society till the last time. Through Hori's struggles, I came to realize that a person is truly immortal by his deeds.
It's Munshi Premchand Ji's genius that I was able to feel so closely to the life of tortured and outraged poor people. There are so many meanings of life in one story. The beauty of these stories is eternal.
March 28, 2012
Lots of typos n grammatical mistakes in the English translation..will try to get my hands onto the original hindi version..but nonetheless painful n true portrayal of rural life in India.
February 9, 2016
I am totally blown away by Premchand's dexterity in handling characters! So many characters, but not one is stereotyped or made to look like a caricature. All the major ones change over the course of the novel with the circumstances and reveal new sides to them. He does not try to garner insincere pity for the peasants, nor does he completely demonize the zamindars and other rich people. It is the unencumbered life energy, the medley of emotions and experiences, that runs from page to page. And Premchand is sure a wise philosopher. He does not create a clash of viewpoints and then leave the scene (as has been the fashion of late), he shows the direction, and reveals his convictions regarding the values that are worth living for, slogging for, and dying for.
This novel makes the arguments given by proponents of magic realism look lame. As Namvar Singh put it, the genre does not help with the aim of revealing the insides of the nations Other-ed by their colonizers. It only redoubles the mystification. No reality is ordinary or extraordinary to deserve either realism or magic realism to do justice to its uniqueness. Realism is not dull, if the writer has an eye for cutting right to the soul of things.
I must put in a word of praise for the translation by Gordon C. Roadarmel. Some Hindi novels do feel weak when read in English. The dichotomy between the world of the novel and the cultural import of the language creates an awkwardness when the reader creates mental impressions of the story in the reading experience. Maybe they are simply a matter of bad translation, or maybe it is more. But in this translation, I did not feel English caused much damage, definitely not so much to look irksome.
This novel makes the arguments given by proponents of magic realism look lame. As Namvar Singh put it, the genre does not help with the aim of revealing the insides of the nations Other-ed by their colonizers. It only redoubles the mystification. No reality is ordinary or extraordinary to deserve either realism or magic realism to do justice to its uniqueness. Realism is not dull, if the writer has an eye for cutting right to the soul of things.
I must put in a word of praise for the translation by Gordon C. Roadarmel. Some Hindi novels do feel weak when read in English. The dichotomy between the world of the novel and the cultural import of the language creates an awkwardness when the reader creates mental impressions of the story in the reading experience. Maybe they are simply a matter of bad translation, or maybe it is more. But in this translation, I did not feel English caused much damage, definitely not so much to look irksome.
August 19, 2010
This was my first exposure to the projected banal Hindi Literature but to my amazement it swept me off floor when i finished reading it. My friend gave it to me and hence i started reading.
Munshi premchand is really a maestro in writing. It is hard to find someone even in English who can be compared to his writing skills.
The story is about a peasant who fights with Zamindars for his survival.
Most impressive aspect of this story is the stronghold over characters. Premchand never loses that. Miss Malti and Mr. Khanna are the two most strong characters of this novel.
Though the book is full of great lines and remarks but if only i had to choose one such incident I would rate the Speech of Mr. Khanna on the occasion of election while addressing Women. He talks about role of women in shaping the society. It is an apt work of a adroit mind how he expresses his concern that why women are trying to fight with men when they are at higher position than men in all aspects. Women shape society, they control the flow. They should stick to their role of playing backstage supporter. I know some of us will disagree to this fact but it is true that it is only because of support of women be it mother, sister, wife that men find themselves strong.
It was a great work of literature and it is unfortunate that not many have read this.
Munshi premchand is really a maestro in writing. It is hard to find someone even in English who can be compared to his writing skills.
The story is about a peasant who fights with Zamindars for his survival.
Most impressive aspect of this story is the stronghold over characters. Premchand never loses that. Miss Malti and Mr. Khanna are the two most strong characters of this novel.
Though the book is full of great lines and remarks but if only i had to choose one such incident I would rate the Speech of Mr. Khanna on the occasion of election while addressing Women. He talks about role of women in shaping the society. It is an apt work of a adroit mind how he expresses his concern that why women are trying to fight with men when they are at higher position than men in all aspects. Women shape society, they control the flow. They should stick to their role of playing backstage supporter. I know some of us will disagree to this fact but it is true that it is only because of support of women be it mother, sister, wife that men find themselves strong.
It was a great work of literature and it is unfortunate that not many have read this.
May 14, 2019
Godaan is doubly special, being the swan song as well as the magnum opus of one of India’s greatest writers, Munshi Premchand. A simple tale, told with the unadorned style of the rustic setting where it takes place, Godaan manages to shine light on the inequity of wealth, caste, and opportunities that plagued the India of a century ago (and still does to a large extent). It also manages to put in perspective the privilege most people take for granted, the disparity in the ambitions of the rich and the poor, and implores you to question everything about life.
January 29, 2018
Truly a classic.
My first introduction to Munshi Premchand was his short story 'Hajj e Akbar' included in our First Year's syllabus. That was quite basic and preachy story. I didn't admire that writing at all. Then I watched Satyajit Ray's movie 'Shatraj ke Khiladi' which was a lovely adaptation of a short story by Premchand. His short story 'Kafan' gives you goosebumps.
This novel is a sensitive portrayal of rural life in 1930s India and exploitation of humans in different shapes. The novel has quite a big scope as it touches various social issues including heavy interest on loans affecting generations, untouchables, religious and communal blackmailing, yellow journalism, etc. There are many strong characters in the novel but one can count 'Hori' and 'Dhania' as one of the most memorable and impactful characters written in Urdu / Hindi literature. Definitely a re-readable novel.
My first introduction to Munshi Premchand was his short story 'Hajj e Akbar' included in our First Year's syllabus. That was quite basic and preachy story. I didn't admire that writing at all. Then I watched Satyajit Ray's movie 'Shatraj ke Khiladi' which was a lovely adaptation of a short story by Premchand. His short story 'Kafan' gives you goosebumps.
This novel is a sensitive portrayal of rural life in 1930s India and exploitation of humans in different shapes. The novel has quite a big scope as it touches various social issues including heavy interest on loans affecting generations, untouchables, religious and communal blackmailing, yellow journalism, etc. There are many strong characters in the novel but one can count 'Hori' and 'Dhania' as one of the most memorable and impactful characters written in Urdu / Hindi literature. Definitely a re-readable novel.
May 16, 2020
Godaan is a social commentary of life in villages in the early 20th century and I don't have words to express how amazing I found this book! I began reading the Kindle edition but then switched to the audiobook because I was loving the narration by Shaswata Sharma. She was simply brilliant! I was in tears in so many places and now that the book has ended, I cannot feel my heart.
This is a must read for everyone who at least understands Hindi. Listen to the audiobook at least. You'll understand why I'm so emotional!
This is a must read for everyone who at least understands Hindi. Listen to the audiobook at least. You'll understand why I'm so emotional!
June 5, 2020
Indian village is a conflicting entity. The opinions are broadly divided into the Gandhian and Ambedkerite view. While Gandhi saw village as a self sufficient little harmonious republic, it was a den of localism and cess pool of ignorance for Ambedkar. After reading Godan, I felt the reality of Indian village is somewhere in the middle.
Munshi Premchand's book takes around 15 pages before one gets used to the language being used. But post this, it's a smooth ride. You begin to identify with the characters and their emotions resonate with you. Do read!
Munshi Premchand's book takes around 15 pages before one gets used to the language being used. But post this, it's a smooth ride. You begin to identify with the characters and their emotions resonate with you. Do read!
August 20, 2013
Godaan is not a novel of peasant India. It is a novel of contrast. It depicts how, the peasant India dies day-by-day under the burden of debt which compounds exponentially within years, while those in the higher class are busy with their own little schemes. They play out their own games and suffer their own defeats. But the rigidity of the society does not leave any room for morality to prevail.
It is a picture of India as I had never seen before. Written before 1935, it hardly mentions the British, which at the time were ruling India. I wonder if it was due to apprehension on part of the author that the novel will face governmental apathy if it spoke against it, or, because the British plainly did NOT figure anywhere in the scheme of oppression that the poorest classes of the masses in India underwent.
I believe in the latter, that for the most part, it was the Indians themselves who were oppressing the Indians. We got freedom from ourselves. And I don't think India would be an exception with this realization. Wherever there is oppression, there are bound to be sentinels of the lower class positioning themselves as the gaolers and the upper class, as the go-between for all forms of slavery. Everywhere, the hand cracking the whip on your back has the same tone of skin as the bloody one on your torn back.
The characters are mostly independent in their thinking. They are what you might expect to see in a Hindi film belonging to the decades of 70s and 80s. An overtly free feminist; a professor who has rudimentary ideas about women while talking about progress of the country; a land-lord who is not heartless as to see his 'asaamis' (farmers) suffer, but cannot avoid to partake in the bribe that they have paid; a banker who hounds the feminist woman like a pup; his wife, who is the most ideal woman that can ever adorn a household, the very definition of sacrifice; an editor of newspaper which self-confessedly dedicates itself to the rights of the rurals and a lawyer who would sell his soul for commission - these characters make up the high society of the novel.
It becomes necessary then, that the novel should not be called a portrait of peasant India, but a depiction of India as a progressive and free society, wherein, as it happens everywhere, those who can, oppress those who can not but suffer it all. To top it all, there is the social pressure of belonging to class, caste and creed, which makes the lower classes descend deeper into the abyss of indebted servitude, for this feeling of belonging is much more important to them than the naked sword of indefatigable debt dangling right above their tenderly exposed necks.
The isolation of the upper class from the suffering of the lower ones does not mean that they have it easy either. They have their own crosses to bear, their own imagined "prestige". But it does look a little self-indulging to worry about the nose, when right under your nose, there are peasants of your land dying of starvation. The subplot of the pragmatic feminist and the incorruptible professor gradually falling in love alternately with each other and deciding finally that the mutual respect they have for each other will be the most they will ever have - this is contrived very well.
Prem Chand also criticizes the newspapers which intend to make the masses aware of the real condition of the world. He shows the dichotomy of intention and desperation which leads to someone speaking one thing and doing another.
In all, it shows how everyone in the country is bound, without room to flex even their limbs, in the rigid weaving called society and how they are bound to die in it without moving, without making the slightest change. It is a keen, rather acidic portrayal of the progressive India with characters who do not progress at all.
For some reason, even now when I think about it, I feel on the verge of tears. There is something heart-rending in his defeat which touches you in the most tender places and tears out you that little emotion which you never think a novelist can reach at. It is the defeat of your self-belief.
It is also the defeat of the tiny hope that things get better at the end. In real life, they don't. And this novel is nothing if not the bare, unashamed, truth in its most extreme honest rendition, of the India of that time.
No wonder then that Prem Chand is called the one true "Emperor Novelist" among Hindi novelists.
It is a picture of India as I had never seen before. Written before 1935, it hardly mentions the British, which at the time were ruling India. I wonder if it was due to apprehension on part of the author that the novel will face governmental apathy if it spoke against it, or, because the British plainly did NOT figure anywhere in the scheme of oppression that the poorest classes of the masses in India underwent.
I believe in the latter, that for the most part, it was the Indians themselves who were oppressing the Indians. We got freedom from ourselves. And I don't think India would be an exception with this realization. Wherever there is oppression, there are bound to be sentinels of the lower class positioning themselves as the gaolers and the upper class, as the go-between for all forms of slavery. Everywhere, the hand cracking the whip on your back has the same tone of skin as the bloody one on your torn back.
The characters are mostly independent in their thinking. They are what you might expect to see in a Hindi film belonging to the decades of 70s and 80s. An overtly free feminist; a professor who has rudimentary ideas about women while talking about progress of the country; a land-lord who is not heartless as to see his 'asaamis' (farmers) suffer, but cannot avoid to partake in the bribe that they have paid; a banker who hounds the feminist woman like a pup; his wife, who is the most ideal woman that can ever adorn a household, the very definition of sacrifice; an editor of newspaper which self-confessedly dedicates itself to the rights of the rurals and a lawyer who would sell his soul for commission - these characters make up the high society of the novel.
It becomes necessary then, that the novel should not be called a portrait of peasant India, but a depiction of India as a progressive and free society, wherein, as it happens everywhere, those who can, oppress those who can not but suffer it all. To top it all, there is the social pressure of belonging to class, caste and creed, which makes the lower classes descend deeper into the abyss of indebted servitude, for this feeling of belonging is much more important to them than the naked sword of indefatigable debt dangling right above their tenderly exposed necks.
The isolation of the upper class from the suffering of the lower ones does not mean that they have it easy either. They have their own crosses to bear, their own imagined "prestige". But it does look a little self-indulging to worry about the nose, when right under your nose, there are peasants of your land dying of starvation. The subplot of the pragmatic feminist and the incorruptible professor gradually falling in love alternately with each other and deciding finally that the mutual respect they have for each other will be the most they will ever have - this is contrived very well.
Prem Chand also criticizes the newspapers which intend to make the masses aware of the real condition of the world. He shows the dichotomy of intention and desperation which leads to someone speaking one thing and doing another.
In all, it shows how everyone in the country is bound, without room to flex even their limbs, in the rigid weaving called society and how they are bound to die in it without moving, without making the slightest change. It is a keen, rather acidic portrayal of the progressive India with characters who do not progress at all.
For some reason, even now when I think about it, I feel on the verge of tears. There is something heart-rending in his defeat which touches you in the most tender places and tears out you that little emotion which you never think a novelist can reach at. It is the defeat of your self-belief.
It is also the defeat of the tiny hope that things get better at the end. In real life, they don't. And this novel is nothing if not the bare, unashamed, truth in its most extreme honest rendition, of the India of that time.
No wonder then that Prem Chand is called the one true "Emperor Novelist" among Hindi novelists.
September 20, 2014
In this book I like most is the commendable exposition of human nature by the author. The way he expressed the life of a man: the criteria behind the growth & limitations of human beings, is extremely touching. He beautifully revealed that even after giving one's full.... there is something that limits the growth of man.
And when I was brooding over....these limitations: 'what controls us', 'what confines us'; it reminded me the Newton's first law that objects behave predictably; moving objects don't change their direction unless an external force causes them to move from their path; and even if the object is at rest, it will remain at rest unless an external force acts upon it.
Life of Hori the protagonist of this novel somewhere proves that even if we work with our absolute will and disposition i.e. with full potential of our body & mind, we could not win life. Blows of life reminds us that earthly life is ephemeral. Fleeting moments of life do not allow us to achieve that everlasting contentment. Because we mostly forget the most essential thing of life i.e. role of our soul; the real hero behind the scene. As the growth of our body & mind depends upon the food we feed; our soul also seek for divine love to evolve.
Like Newton's first law.... until one gets the help of a living divine source who could invariably feed his soul, who could transmit His divine essence (the food of the soul) to his soul; who could awake his sleeping soul by the touch of His divine love---the force less force...... one cannot achieve the highest.
For the highest growth we all have to create a complete balance between material world & spiritual world by equally treating our body, mind & soul. Thus for the growth of the subtle soul..... subtle food is the only way i.e. Transmission----The Love of God; an external force for its maximum growth.
And when I was brooding over....these limitations: 'what controls us', 'what confines us'; it reminded me the Newton's first law that objects behave predictably; moving objects don't change their direction unless an external force causes them to move from their path; and even if the object is at rest, it will remain at rest unless an external force acts upon it.
Life of Hori the protagonist of this novel somewhere proves that even if we work with our absolute will and disposition i.e. with full potential of our body & mind, we could not win life. Blows of life reminds us that earthly life is ephemeral. Fleeting moments of life do not allow us to achieve that everlasting contentment. Because we mostly forget the most essential thing of life i.e. role of our soul; the real hero behind the scene. As the growth of our body & mind depends upon the food we feed; our soul also seek for divine love to evolve.
Like Newton's first law.... until one gets the help of a living divine source who could invariably feed his soul, who could transmit His divine essence (the food of the soul) to his soul; who could awake his sleeping soul by the touch of His divine love---the force less force...... one cannot achieve the highest.
For the highest growth we all have to create a complete balance between material world & spiritual world by equally treating our body, mind & soul. Thus for the growth of the subtle soul..... subtle food is the only way i.e. Transmission----The Love of God; an external force for its maximum growth.
January 5, 2017
Go-dan. A wish that was not fulfilled. Not when one was alive, not on one's death. After all what are the desires of a man, those that were never fulfilled. What is a man attracted to? Of course not to those wishes which were attained in his lifetime but to those that never found their destiny.
A story of lessons, of connections, of society, struggles, faith, cheating, theft, of every problem, of every positivity that existed in society then, exists in society now! Patriarchy, feminism, atheism - all have found their way in this one story. How women exercise their power in a society where they are supposed to be completely dependent on their men? What are the thoughts of a rural woman when she sees her urban counterpart with all her independence? How does a man reacts to the movement of feminism gaining it's ground in India? What reactions go on through the mind of a recently converted atheist? How problems throw you on roads you never want to take? How situations change the relationships that exist around you? And many many more things.
The most beautifully highlighted was the rural life which circulated around Hori. His being good at heart despite all the trouble he was going through and the unwanted paths he was taking. The yet so demanded peace which Hori did not attain even at his death bed was another phase of the story which leaves the reader at yet another awe. The sudden reaction of Dhaniya on making the 'Go-dan' and the story ends with many questions unanswered creating a craving for more.
Moreover, at no point you can make out what actually were the viewpoints of Premchand. ;)
(Read the book in Hindi - First Edition)
A story of lessons, of connections, of society, struggles, faith, cheating, theft, of every problem, of every positivity that existed in society then, exists in society now! Patriarchy, feminism, atheism - all have found their way in this one story. How women exercise their power in a society where they are supposed to be completely dependent on their men? What are the thoughts of a rural woman when she sees her urban counterpart with all her independence? How does a man reacts to the movement of feminism gaining it's ground in India? What reactions go on through the mind of a recently converted atheist? How problems throw you on roads you never want to take? How situations change the relationships that exist around you? And many many more things.
The most beautifully highlighted was the rural life which circulated around Hori. His being good at heart despite all the trouble he was going through and the unwanted paths he was taking. The yet so demanded peace which Hori did not attain even at his death bed was another phase of the story which leaves the reader at yet another awe. The sudden reaction of Dhaniya on making the 'Go-dan' and the story ends with many questions unanswered creating a craving for more.
Moreover, at no point you can make out what actually were the viewpoints of Premchand. ;)
(Read the book in Hindi - First Edition)
January 1, 2022
Godan is arguably considered to be one of the finest works in Hindi literature and the last by Munshi Premchand ji. The quality of a great book, moreso fiction, is that it transports one to the very setting and situation of the narrative. A great story draws the reader off her or his comfort zone and puts right in the middle of the events and in a way pushes to endure what protagonists are going through. Godan is one such. The reader becomes part of the misery of Hori & Dhaniya and laments with them at occasions that demanded so. It makes one feel angry with the injustice prevailing in the contemporary society and jubilates when the trodden-soul gives it back to the mighty. The story also touches upon the plight of people who move from villages to the glitter of big cities and lose perspective and identity. All of these emotions are nurtured through a careful act of character sketching and every character stays till the end, and in my case even beyond the realms of the print.
Strongly recommended to be read only in Hindi and may Munshi ji live forever, through his writings.
Strongly recommended to be read only in Hindi and may Munshi ji live forever, through his writings.
September 7, 2023
Few years back, I tried reading the English translation, gave up after 5 pages, realizing that, probably, translation didn't do justice to the defining Hindi Novel of last century.
Last year, I tried reading it in original Hindi, but couldn't go beyond 30 pages. I blamed it on my inept reading.
Now, as I kept on listening to the Hindi audio book, narrated by Sameer Goswami (pretty decent I would say), I realize that there are snippets of brilliance, there are portions which should be read to gain deeper understanding of the life of peasants of pre-independence India, there are interactions that are thought provoking, but�.but�. sadly�. again…it failed to capture my attention for long.
Since the book is hailed by so many, I would attribute this disinterest solely to my shortcomings.
Last year, I tried reading it in original Hindi, but couldn't go beyond 30 pages. I blamed it on my inept reading.
Now, as I kept on listening to the Hindi audio book, narrated by Sameer Goswami (pretty decent I would say), I realize that there are snippets of brilliance, there are portions which should be read to gain deeper understanding of the life of peasants of pre-independence India, there are interactions that are thought provoking, but�.but�. sadly�. again…it failed to capture my attention for long.
Since the book is hailed by so many, I would attribute this disinterest solely to my shortcomings.
April 25, 2020
कवारंटाइ� डायरी और किता�:
पिछल� दिनो� मुर्शिदाबा� जिले के बहरमपु� के डोमक� हाइव� के समी� इस लॉ� डाउन मे� करी� 400 परिवारों ने हाइव� को जा� कर दिया. कारण भूखमरी की स्थिति. राशन का � पहुँचन�. लोकल राशन डीलर के घालमेल से राशन रहते हु� भी परिवारों को उपलब्ध � होना. राशन डीलर सरकारी खाद्� वस्तुओ� को उपलब्ध करान� के ना� पर हर परिवार को सिर्� 1 किलो चावल मुहैया करवा रह� है. और वह भी गिने-चुने परिवारों को ही. बा� मे� लोकल लीडर और इलाक� के चैयरमे� के आश्वास� पर प्रत्येक परिवार को दस किलो चावल और पाँच किलो आल� देने की संभावन� पर जा� को खुलवान� पर काबू पा लिया.
अब कल्पना कीजि� की एक परिवार मे� अग� चा� से पाँच जन� है, और चावल मिला 1 केजी. इससे कितन� दि� चलना है. और कितन� जू� का खाना. और राशन भी रो� उपलब्ध नही� है. सप्ताह के बी� किसी गिने-चुने दि� मे� ही. और ऐसी खब� अभी लगभग बंगा� के हर कोने से � रही है.
जबकि राज्� के खाद्� और आपूर्त� मंत्री ज्योतिप्रि� मल्लिक और मुख्यमंत्री ने पहले ही दावा किया है कि राज्� का हर व्यक्त� अपने घर की सीमा मे� रह�, और उनकी राशन की सारी जिम्मेदारी राज्� सरका� के कंधो� पर है. और राज्� मे� खाद्� पदार्थों की को� कमी नही� होने वाली. सरकारी गोदा� भर� पड़े है. इतना स्टॉ� है कि अगस्� तक राज्� के लो� बै� कर खा सकते है. और इस फस� के कटाई के बा� सरका� हरसंभव सीधे किसानो� से अनाज की खरी� कर रही है�. जिससें आन� वाले महीनो मे� राज्� स्तर पर को� दिक्कत नही� होगी.
अब आपको लि� चलते है दक्षिण बंगा� के पुरुलिया जिले मे�. आदिवासी बहुल इलाक�. वहाँ भी बहरमपु� के तर� ही भूखमरी की स्थिति. यहां कारण वहाँ से थोड़� भिन्� है. यहां सरका� की ओर से जो राशन मिलनी है वह इनकी उपलब्धता से कोशो� दू� है. कारण इनके हा� मे� राशन कार्� का � होना. या इनके पा� राशन कार्� होते हु� भी, राशन कार्� नही� है मानि�.
कारण आदिवासी ग्रामी� परिवार निजी जरूरतो� के कारण जिनमें घर के अनुष्ठान, शादी-व्या�, बीमारी, खेती की अन्य जरूरतो� के मद्देनज़� ग्रा� के साहुकारो� से जरूर� मुताबि� पैसा उधार लेते है. बदले� मे� साहुका� इनसे पैसे सू� के सा� देते हु�, इनके अपने राशन कार्� भी अपने यहाँ गिरवी रखवा लेता है. इस बी� साहुका� को पैसा � चुकाने से बहुतों को राशन कार्� दुबारा नही� मिला था. अब किसी ग्रामी� व्यक्त� के लि� अभी राशन कार्� से बड़ी संपत्त� क्या होगी. यानी राशन कार्� आपके पा� नही� तो आप इस संकट के घड़ी मे� जो थोड़ी-बहुत सरकारी सुविधाएँ उपलब्ध है उससे कोशो� दू�.
अब साहूका� भी खे� कर रह� है. सा� भर की प्रताड़न� और इनसे अपना हि� तो साधत� ही है. अब इस संकट मे� इन्ही� ग्रामिणो� के राशन कार्� पर राशन डिलर से अनाज सीधे उठवा कर बाजा� मे� मंहग� दामो� पर बे� दे रह� है. यानी आदिवासी ग्रामी� अपने ही हिस्से का अनाज इनडायरेक्टली दुगुने से तीगुने दा� पर खरीदन� को मजबू� है. और अब भूखमरी की स्थिति मे� जब राशन मि� नही� रह�. फि� से पैसा लेने के लि� इन साहुका� के पा� ही जा रह� है. यही है खेला. और इंतफाक कहूँ या क्या. इस बी� मैंन� ‘गोदान� को फि� से पलटन� शुरू किया था. अब सोचि� 1936 और 2020 मे� को� खासा अंतर नही� दि� रह� है. मै� अभी बा� सिर्� बंगा� के संदर्भ मे� कर रह� हू�. पूरा दे� छोड़ देता हू�...
किता� के संदर्भ मे� ऊप� इतनी अधिक भूमिका लिखन� की क्यो� जरूर� पड� गई. कारण आज 1936 के बा� या यू� कहें आजादी के इतने वर्षों के उपरांत किसानो� और मजदूरो� कि स्थिति मे� को� परिवर्तन नही� आय�. चाहे उस वक्त का औपनिवेशि� भारत हो या आज का भारत. गोदा� के 84 सा� बा� भी पुरुलिया का उदाहरण ही दे� लीजि�. कोरोना का� के संकट के घड़ी मे� आज सबसे ज्यादा इन्ही� मजदू� किसानो� पर ही बी� रही है. साहूकारो� का शोषण हो या इस बी� बाजा� की जो स्थिति और मौसम की मा� अल� से, हर तर� से इन्हें मा� पड� रह� है.
आज भारत मे� किसानो� के आत्महत्य� की संख्या पहले से बड़ा है. होरी जैसे किसा� की दश� और क्या होनी है इस समाज मे�. होरी जब-जब आर्थिक संकट मे� जा घिरत� है तब महाज� उस� कर्ज देने पहुँ� जाते है. कर्ज मे� डू� जाने के बा� भी होरी कभी आत्महत्य� की अंतत� नही� सोचत� है. क्योंक� कही� � कही� आत्महत्य� भारती� लोकजीवन और किसानो� की प्रवृत्त� पहले नही� रही थी. लेकि� इतने सालो� बा� आज? उस सम� सामंतवाद मे� व्यक्त� जातिगत भेदभाव, बेरोजगारी, लगान, बेदखली वगैर� के रू� मे� सामाजि� और आर्थिक शोषण मे� जरूर फंसा रहता था. लेकि� उनके जीवन मे� उल्लास तत्व भी समाहित था. जो जीवन के प्रत� उसके सरोकार और विश्वा� को खत्म नही� होने देता था. लेकि� आज के तथाकथि� विकसित समाज और ग्रा� योजन� मे� यह स्पे� भी धीरे-धीरे खत्म ही हु� है इतने वर्षों मे�.
प्रेमचंद का यह मास्टरपी� इसलि� भी बहुमूल्य रचना क्यो� की आज की समाज और सम� मे� भी उतना ज्वलंत है. उनका लेखन भारती� समाज की हर नब्ज� तो टटोलता है. और उस� प्रतिप� नंगा भी करता है. रायसाह�, मिस्टर खन्न�, तंखा, मिर्जा खुर्शे�, मालती, मेहत� जैसे पात्� आज भी समान रू� से एक्जीस्� करते है. उच्च या मध्य� वर्ग की जिन्दगी और उनकी आज के सम� दी जाने वाली प्रतिक्रिय� से बखूबी समझा जा सकता है. आज जब किसा� विभिन्� महानगरों से बिना किसी सुविधा के अपने गांव-देहा� पहुँचन� चा रह� है तो. भारती� मध्य� वर्ग का इनके प्रत� नजरिया और नफरत भी बखूबी देखी जा सकती है.
मेहत�-मालती के संबं� मे� स्त्री-पुरु� के संबंधो� का नजरिया आज भी हर मायन� मे� प्रगतिशी� रू� है. उनके बी� बातची� के अंशो� को पढ़न� के बा� स्त्री-पुरु� संबं� के अंतर्ग� दर्श� भी दि� जाएग�. को� भी रचनाका� की रचना जब हर आयाम को अस� करती हु� हर वक्त मे� उतनी ही ज्वलंत होती जाती है�, तो वह क्लासि� या मास्टरपी� के श्रेणी मे� आत� है. इसलि� सुधीजन हमेश� कहते आए है कि अग� आपको भारत या भारत के संदर्भ मे� ग्रामी� जीवन और किसा� को समझन� है तो 'गोदा�' पढ़ि�. निरा� नही� होंग�. और यह रचना हर सम� उतना ही जागृ� है. जिसे जितनी बा� पढ़ो� हर बा� एक नय� नजरिया मिलत� है, सा� ही वक्त के सा� कद� मिलाता और समस्या की ओर इशार� करते हु� उसके समाधान का नजरिया भी पे� करता है. अग� आप सम� पा रह� हो. भारती� संदर्भ मे�. इस� पढ़े बिना बहुत कु� अधूर� रह जाएग�. आपके पढ़े मे�. पढ़िएग�.
पिछल� दिनो� मुर्शिदाबा� जिले के बहरमपु� के डोमक� हाइव� के समी� इस लॉ� डाउन मे� करी� 400 परिवारों ने हाइव� को जा� कर दिया. कारण भूखमरी की स्थिति. राशन का � पहुँचन�. लोकल राशन डीलर के घालमेल से राशन रहते हु� भी परिवारों को उपलब्ध � होना. राशन डीलर सरकारी खाद्� वस्तुओ� को उपलब्ध करान� के ना� पर हर परिवार को सिर्� 1 किलो चावल मुहैया करवा रह� है. और वह भी गिने-चुने परिवारों को ही. बा� मे� लोकल लीडर और इलाक� के चैयरमे� के आश्वास� पर प्रत्येक परिवार को दस किलो चावल और पाँच किलो आल� देने की संभावन� पर जा� को खुलवान� पर काबू पा लिया.
अब कल्पना कीजि� की एक परिवार मे� अग� चा� से पाँच जन� है, और चावल मिला 1 केजी. इससे कितन� दि� चलना है. और कितन� जू� का खाना. और राशन भी रो� उपलब्ध नही� है. सप्ताह के बी� किसी गिने-चुने दि� मे� ही. और ऐसी खब� अभी लगभग बंगा� के हर कोने से � रही है.
जबकि राज्� के खाद्� और आपूर्त� मंत्री ज्योतिप्रि� मल्लिक और मुख्यमंत्री ने पहले ही दावा किया है कि राज्� का हर व्यक्त� अपने घर की सीमा मे� रह�, और उनकी राशन की सारी जिम्मेदारी राज्� सरका� के कंधो� पर है. और राज्� मे� खाद्� पदार्थों की को� कमी नही� होने वाली. सरकारी गोदा� भर� पड़े है. इतना स्टॉ� है कि अगस्� तक राज्� के लो� बै� कर खा सकते है. और इस फस� के कटाई के बा� सरका� हरसंभव सीधे किसानो� से अनाज की खरी� कर रही है�. जिससें आन� वाले महीनो मे� राज्� स्तर पर को� दिक्कत नही� होगी.
अब आपको लि� चलते है दक्षिण बंगा� के पुरुलिया जिले मे�. आदिवासी बहुल इलाक�. वहाँ भी बहरमपु� के तर� ही भूखमरी की स्थिति. यहां कारण वहाँ से थोड़� भिन्� है. यहां सरका� की ओर से जो राशन मिलनी है वह इनकी उपलब्धता से कोशो� दू� है. कारण इनके हा� मे� राशन कार्� का � होना. या इनके पा� राशन कार्� होते हु� भी, राशन कार्� नही� है मानि�.
कारण आदिवासी ग्रामी� परिवार निजी जरूरतो� के कारण जिनमें घर के अनुष्ठान, शादी-व्या�, बीमारी, खेती की अन्य जरूरतो� के मद्देनज़� ग्रा� के साहुकारो� से जरूर� मुताबि� पैसा उधार लेते है. बदले� मे� साहुका� इनसे पैसे सू� के सा� देते हु�, इनके अपने राशन कार्� भी अपने यहाँ गिरवी रखवा लेता है. इस बी� साहुका� को पैसा � चुकाने से बहुतों को राशन कार्� दुबारा नही� मिला था. अब किसी ग्रामी� व्यक्त� के लि� अभी राशन कार्� से बड़ी संपत्त� क्या होगी. यानी राशन कार्� आपके पा� नही� तो आप इस संकट के घड़ी मे� जो थोड़ी-बहुत सरकारी सुविधाएँ उपलब्ध है उससे कोशो� दू�.
अब साहूका� भी खे� कर रह� है. सा� भर की प्रताड़न� और इनसे अपना हि� तो साधत� ही है. अब इस संकट मे� इन्ही� ग्रामिणो� के राशन कार्� पर राशन डिलर से अनाज सीधे उठवा कर बाजा� मे� मंहग� दामो� पर बे� दे रह� है. यानी आदिवासी ग्रामी� अपने ही हिस्से का अनाज इनडायरेक्टली दुगुने से तीगुने दा� पर खरीदन� को मजबू� है. और अब भूखमरी की स्थिति मे� जब राशन मि� नही� रह�. फि� से पैसा लेने के लि� इन साहुका� के पा� ही जा रह� है. यही है खेला. और इंतफाक कहूँ या क्या. इस बी� मैंन� ‘गोदान� को फि� से पलटन� शुरू किया था. अब सोचि� 1936 और 2020 मे� को� खासा अंतर नही� दि� रह� है. मै� अभी बा� सिर्� बंगा� के संदर्भ मे� कर रह� हू�. पूरा दे� छोड़ देता हू�...
किता� के संदर्भ मे� ऊप� इतनी अधिक भूमिका लिखन� की क्यो� जरूर� पड� गई. कारण आज 1936 के बा� या यू� कहें आजादी के इतने वर्षों के उपरांत किसानो� और मजदूरो� कि स्थिति मे� को� परिवर्तन नही� आय�. चाहे उस वक्त का औपनिवेशि� भारत हो या आज का भारत. गोदा� के 84 सा� बा� भी पुरुलिया का उदाहरण ही दे� लीजि�. कोरोना का� के संकट के घड़ी मे� आज सबसे ज्यादा इन्ही� मजदू� किसानो� पर ही बी� रही है. साहूकारो� का शोषण हो या इस बी� बाजा� की जो स्थिति और मौसम की मा� अल� से, हर तर� से इन्हें मा� पड� रह� है.
आज भारत मे� किसानो� के आत्महत्य� की संख्या पहले से बड़ा है. होरी जैसे किसा� की दश� और क्या होनी है इस समाज मे�. होरी जब-जब आर्थिक संकट मे� जा घिरत� है तब महाज� उस� कर्ज देने पहुँ� जाते है. कर्ज मे� डू� जाने के बा� भी होरी कभी आत्महत्य� की अंतत� नही� सोचत� है. क्योंक� कही� � कही� आत्महत्य� भारती� लोकजीवन और किसानो� की प्रवृत्त� पहले नही� रही थी. लेकि� इतने सालो� बा� आज? उस सम� सामंतवाद मे� व्यक्त� जातिगत भेदभाव, बेरोजगारी, लगान, बेदखली वगैर� के रू� मे� सामाजि� और आर्थिक शोषण मे� जरूर फंसा रहता था. लेकि� उनके जीवन मे� उल्लास तत्व भी समाहित था. जो जीवन के प्रत� उसके सरोकार और विश्वा� को खत्म नही� होने देता था. लेकि� आज के तथाकथि� विकसित समाज और ग्रा� योजन� मे� यह स्पे� भी धीरे-धीरे खत्म ही हु� है इतने वर्षों मे�.
प्रेमचंद का यह मास्टरपी� इसलि� भी बहुमूल्य रचना क्यो� की आज की समाज और सम� मे� भी उतना ज्वलंत है. उनका लेखन भारती� समाज की हर नब्ज� तो टटोलता है. और उस� प्रतिप� नंगा भी करता है. रायसाह�, मिस्टर खन्न�, तंखा, मिर्जा खुर्शे�, मालती, मेहत� जैसे पात्� आज भी समान रू� से एक्जीस्� करते है. उच्च या मध्य� वर्ग की जिन्दगी और उनकी आज के सम� दी जाने वाली प्रतिक्रिय� से बखूबी समझा जा सकता है. आज जब किसा� विभिन्� महानगरों से बिना किसी सुविधा के अपने गांव-देहा� पहुँचन� चा रह� है तो. भारती� मध्य� वर्ग का इनके प्रत� नजरिया और नफरत भी बखूबी देखी जा सकती है.
मेहत�-मालती के संबं� मे� स्त्री-पुरु� के संबंधो� का नजरिया आज भी हर मायन� मे� प्रगतिशी� रू� है. उनके बी� बातची� के अंशो� को पढ़न� के बा� स्त्री-पुरु� संबं� के अंतर्ग� दर्श� भी दि� जाएग�. को� भी रचनाका� की रचना जब हर आयाम को अस� करती हु� हर वक्त मे� उतनी ही ज्वलंत होती जाती है�, तो वह क्लासि� या मास्टरपी� के श्रेणी मे� आत� है. इसलि� सुधीजन हमेश� कहते आए है कि अग� आपको भारत या भारत के संदर्भ मे� ग्रामी� जीवन और किसा� को समझन� है तो 'गोदा�' पढ़ि�. निरा� नही� होंग�. और यह रचना हर सम� उतना ही जागृ� है. जिसे जितनी बा� पढ़ो� हर बा� एक नय� नजरिया मिलत� है, सा� ही वक्त के सा� कद� मिलाता और समस्या की ओर इशार� करते हु� उसके समाधान का नजरिया भी पे� करता है. अग� आप सम� पा रह� हो. भारती� संदर्भ मे�. इस� पढ़े बिना बहुत कु� अधूर� रह जाएग�. आपके पढ़े मे�. पढ़िएग�.
November 18, 2014
Describes the Life of a poor farmer Hori and his struggle to keep alive in the milieu of British Raj.
Hori is a poor farmer, who has 3 acres of farmland, which he and his 2 daughters, a son and wife till. However, he is perenially in debt and is therefore never really the master of his own destiny. He is, however, largely at peace with his life and the only thing he wants is to own a cow. One day, he sees a milkman coming toward him with exactly the kind of cow he wants, but he has to hold his horses as he cannot afford it. However, the urge to own it only intensifies. As it happens, he is able to get the same cow. However....
The book is a wonderfully written account of the trials and travails of farmers during the time of British raj and Zamindars. It also describes diverse characters that lived in the then Lucknow city. The story really starts off as at least two distinct life-threads, but through introduction of various characters, meshes into a single, interconnected story which still manages to portray the life of various characters quite well.
The biggest draw for me was the character development. Each character is introduced, and developed beautifully. Godan is a story of various people from different backgrounds and of different personalities. The beauty of the story is in the interaction of these characters, and their subsequent development and the unmasking of the various layers of their nature.
Premchand uses this vehicle to parody and satirize the then prevalent social evils, poke fun at various vagaries of human nature, and describe as well as comment / share his views on social, economic and political aspects of life in that era in a way that is extremely relate-able.
The story makes you laugh, cry, think, and certainly paints a picture of life that not many books can do. It does all that with a simplicity that is delightful. If like me, you want to read serious Hindi literature, you won't go wrong with this book.
Highly recommended.
Hori is a poor farmer, who has 3 acres of farmland, which he and his 2 daughters, a son and wife till. However, he is perenially in debt and is therefore never really the master of his own destiny. He is, however, largely at peace with his life and the only thing he wants is to own a cow. One day, he sees a milkman coming toward him with exactly the kind of cow he wants, but he has to hold his horses as he cannot afford it. However, the urge to own it only intensifies. As it happens, he is able to get the same cow. However....
The book is a wonderfully written account of the trials and travails of farmers during the time of British raj and Zamindars. It also describes diverse characters that lived in the then Lucknow city. The story really starts off as at least two distinct life-threads, but through introduction of various characters, meshes into a single, interconnected story which still manages to portray the life of various characters quite well.
The biggest draw for me was the character development. Each character is introduced, and developed beautifully. Godan is a story of various people from different backgrounds and of different personalities. The beauty of the story is in the interaction of these characters, and their subsequent development and the unmasking of the various layers of their nature.
Premchand uses this vehicle to parody and satirize the then prevalent social evils, poke fun at various vagaries of human nature, and describe as well as comment / share his views on social, economic and political aspects of life in that era in a way that is extremely relate-able.
The story makes you laugh, cry, think, and certainly paints a picture of life that not many books can do. It does all that with a simplicity that is delightful. If like me, you want to read serious Hindi literature, you won't go wrong with this book.
Highly recommended.
February 25, 2017
Wow! Godan is an engrossing and vivid tour de force of the socio- eco- politico-cultural status of pre-Independence India.
It depicts the vampiric fangs of feudalism, the obnoxious and hypocritical caste divide and its appalling fallout on individuals and the pitiable lot of the farmer � who was literally at the bottom of the ‘food chain�. There is the all-pervading and preposterous usurious exploitation by shylocks; their exploitative methods result in extracting the last paisa from the farmer, and, if that was not enough, grabbing his house, cattle and land. The exploitation carries on in the form of pan-generational bonded labour.
The book also offers a glimpse of the so called ‘upper strata� of Indian society before it was caught up in the turbulence of Independence. There is a frisson of adultery and an unrequited love story. This was a period before universal suffrage and talk of women’s empowerment. There is a convergence of the various protagonists but that remains inconclusive.
A must read, albeit in Hindi to get the real feel of the dust, grime, stink and the pitiable condition of the Indian village.
It depicts the vampiric fangs of feudalism, the obnoxious and hypocritical caste divide and its appalling fallout on individuals and the pitiable lot of the farmer � who was literally at the bottom of the ‘food chain�. There is the all-pervading and preposterous usurious exploitation by shylocks; their exploitative methods result in extracting the last paisa from the farmer, and, if that was not enough, grabbing his house, cattle and land. The exploitation carries on in the form of pan-generational bonded labour.
The book also offers a glimpse of the so called ‘upper strata� of Indian society before it was caught up in the turbulence of Independence. There is a frisson of adultery and an unrequited love story. This was a period before universal suffrage and talk of women’s empowerment. There is a convergence of the various protagonists but that remains inconclusive.
A must read, albeit in Hindi to get the real feel of the dust, grime, stink and the pitiable condition of the Indian village.
June 23, 2018
प्रेमचंद के कई उपन्या� पढ़न� के बा� उनकी कालजयी रचना गोदा� पढ़न� की बड़ी इच्छ� थी, आज पढ़क� खत्म किया� इससे पहले कर्मभूमि, गब�, प्रतिज्ञ�, वरदा�, निर्मल� पढ� चुका था, पर गोदा� पढ़न� का सौभाग्� नही मिला था� आज पढ़न� के बा� मै� निश्चि� रू� से यह कह सकता हू� कि यह हिंदी साहित्� की अप्रति� रचना है� इसका अं� बड़ा ही हृदय विदारक है� अं� तक पहुँचत� पहुँचत� थोड़� आभास तो हो गय� था कि होरी को प्रेमचंद मा� के ही छोड़ेंगे, लेकि� मन कह रह� था होरी नही मरना चाहिए। जि� मरजा� और सामाजि� धार्मि� पाखण्ड और आडम्बर के कुचक्र मे� पिसत� हु�, संघर्ष करते हु� वह अं� तक पहुँचा था, मुझे आश्चर्� होता कि कहाँ से को� इतना मानसिक बल प्राप्� करता है� वास्तव मे� होरी तत्काली� भारती� किसा� का प्रतिनिधित्व करता है� आज भी गांव-देहा� मे� आपको तमाम होरी मि� जाएंगे, यही नही मातादी�, पाटेश्वरी लाला, नोखेरा� जैसे लो� भी� गोदा� लगभग हर भारती� किसा� की आत्मकथ� है� एक अन्य ध्या� देने योग्� बा� यह है कि जहाँ अन्य रचनाओं मे� प्रेमचंद आदर्शवाद की बा� करते है, उसके ठी� उल� यह रचना यथार्थता का नग्न चित्रण है� धन्य है प्रेमचंद और उनकी कृति� नम�!
July 15, 2011
its the best novel written by the so called greatest indian writer, Premchand.
this book is about a poor peasant, named hori who had his lifetime dream of keeping a cow, but couldn't manage even this because of various social and personal hinderences. it confronts the reader with the actual reality of indian village, and its people, of how a poor villager prefers his man mariyada, or social status much above his own life.
this book also shows the difference between life in cities and villages, and an unusual linkage between them.
this book is about a poor peasant, named hori who had his lifetime dream of keeping a cow, but couldn't manage even this because of various social and personal hinderences. it confronts the reader with the actual reality of indian village, and its people, of how a poor villager prefers his man mariyada, or social status much above his own life.
this book also shows the difference between life in cities and villages, and an unusual linkage between them.
November 16, 2016
A very poignant story. The ending especially left me extremely sad.
Depictions of rural India hardly seem to have changed. The story has increased relevance when we realize that even after 60 years of Independence, there are farmer suicides happening in India.
The debates about the role of woman and the ultimate aim of human life are very interesting. Premchand's nationalism and high morals are depicted in all his descriptions.
All the issues he raises like women's treatment, caste division, hypocrisy and exploitation of politicians and upper castes are still significant today.
Depictions of rural India hardly seem to have changed. The story has increased relevance when we realize that even after 60 years of Independence, there are farmer suicides happening in India.
The debates about the role of woman and the ultimate aim of human life are very interesting. Premchand's nationalism and high morals are depicted in all his descriptions.
All the issues he raises like women's treatment, caste division, hypocrisy and exploitation of politicians and upper castes are still significant today.
July 16, 2016
The read felt that tonga-ride along the jerky, untarred, potholed village road. The poverty and compulsion-writ faces peeping out of the shabby windows at every wheel-turn left creases along the heart. Every peep was reminiscent of that hinge that had been throbbing in pain; had lost all, and was yet clinging to the door in the hope that its pain would subside some day, one day...
What a read! Speechless...
What a read! Speechless...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 583 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.