Premchand’s GODAN

Book excerpt: This international Hindi classic by Munshi Premchand is the last book from the stable of this prolific and brilliant writer who continues to live in the hearts of Hindi lovers even nearly a century after his death. This book is widely acknowledged as Premchand’s best, and ranks among the top, in fact, is at the top, of novels that have enriched the world of Hindi literature. Completed in 1936, the year of his death, Godan depicts in telling detail the vicissitudes of rural life, the political upheavals of the early twentieth century, and how events and circumstances shaped the lives of people, city and rural. However, the emphasis is more on life in the villages and the problems villagers face and the misery that makes their lives a constant struggle for existence from birth to death. Much of the vagaries and vicissitudes of rural life outlined in, reflect much of what Premchand drew from his childhood and subsequent background. He was born and brought up in an insignificant village near Banaras, now Varanasi, and lived much of his life there. The characters he has depicted are mostly based on rural dwellers or those with rural backgrounds who later migrated to cities in search of livelihood. However, their hearts always remained in their villages because of the strong emotional bond that not many could forget.