Godan  (Hindi, Paperback, Chand Prem)

Godan (Hindi) revolves around the desire of a poor farmer to own a cow and the trials this leads to.

Summary Of The Book

Hori is a simple farmer in a remote village in North India. He is a man who is bound by his sense of honor, his duty to his family and his traditional beliefs. His sense of family responsibility is not confined to just his own wife and children, he also takes care of his younger brothers and their families.

Hori has one ardent longing, to own a cow. It is a symbol of wealth and prosperity, and he wishes he could buy one for his family. Ultimately, he does get a cow from Bhola, a cowherd. But, even before he could pay Bhola for the cow, it is killed by his jealous brother, Heera.
Hori not only has to pay for the dead cow, he also has to save the honor of his younger brother, who has run away after killing the cow. He does not betray his brother, and instead, he takes a loan to bribe the police not to harass Heera’s family for the death of the cow.

Meanwhile, Hori’s son has an affair with the widowed daughter of Bhola. He then runs away to the city to avoid the repercussions. Hori and his wife, Dhania, take in the young woman, Jhunia, who is pregnant with Gobar’s child. They have to face the wrath of the village panchayat for sheltering a low-caste, unmarried girl in the house.

Dhania is a strong character who urges her husband to free himself from the shackles of the money-lenders and the hypocritical village priests. She takes responsibility for her husband’s extended family, even taking care of Heera’s children after he runs away.
Hori still dreams of owning a cow. Now he has additional motivation, as he has a grandson, and he wants the child to have milk to drink from his cow.

Godan (Hindi) is a starkly realistic portrayal of life in the village. The small farmer, whose life is tangled up in debts and open to exploitation by money-lenders and self-serving landlords, are highlighted.

About Premchand

Premchand is one of the most highly respected figures in Hindustani literature.

Prema, Seva Sadan, Rangbhoomi, Premashram, Pratigya, Bade Bhai Sahab, Panch Parameshvar, and Durga ka Mandir are a few of his other works.

Premchand is the pen name of Dhanpat Rai Srivastav, born in 1880. He studied at a madrasa, and learnt Urdu and Persian. After the death of his mother and his father’s remarriage, he felt isolated from his family and he sought refuge in books. He read Persian literature, and after learning English at a missionary school, he was exposed to world literature and the works of great writers like Tolstoy and Dickens. He even translated some of their works into Hindi. He first wrote under the pseudonym of Nawab Rai and later, he switched his pen name to Premchand. He was referred to as Munshi Premchand by his peers and fans, Munshi being a respectful and honorary title.