The Quilt is the main symbol in the story, but it is beyond the simple symbolism; it ismentioned at different levels and time and each time it holds a unique meaning and perspective. The first and the most obvious symbolic meaning of the quilt is that it is used by the homosexual partners, Begum Jaan and Rabbu to hide their pleasing and intimate moments at the night. It keepstheir sexual relationships covered form the world, thus the quilt is the symbol of the things that are hidden or thing not meant or be shown to all. The second and more metaphorical meaning of the quilt as a symbol is represented in Begum Jaan is a quilt in herself because Nawab Saheb has used her wife to cover up his own sexual orientation., Moreover he was considered a person of high morals and of good repute. In this way the quilt in the story is much wider that it appears at first, it represents everything the society uses to cover up some burning issues. Oils (Symbol) Magic oil used by Rabbu give Begum Jaan immense satisfaction. .These oil was not available anywhereand neither the oil had any special magical effect. Indeed, it was Rabbu’s touch which had magic on Begum Jaan. So here, the oils are the symbol of her vigour tosatisfy the physical needs of Begum Jaan and her own. Massage, touching (allegory) The story comprises of the intricate details of the process or the act of massage given by Raboo. this pattern of touching another person and giving her physical contentment simultaneously is an allegory of sexual act itself. .Every time the massage was given a sexual act was deemed to be accomplished. A magic oil (metaphor) Before the massage given by Rabbu, With the appearance of Rabbu, Begum Jaan was returned to life in full flourish. It wasBegaum Jaan was lifeless and doomed in despair. It was the massage which filled Begum Jaan with glow and life back. “a special oil message” is referred as magic oil. Very aggressive (metaphor) Begum Jaan felt like a prisoner shackled in jail in her husband’s house. She didn’t see anybody and her husband was least bothered about her. There was no one to talk with Begum Jaan. Her relatives and in laws came to her house but for their own motives and enjoyment, which“made her blood boil” as they cared only for themselves while she “was stiffened with cold despite the new cotton in her quilt”. A scar in the memory (simile) 101 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Amiraan, the narrator is always haunted by the incident of what she saw at Begum Jaan’s house that scary night.The quilt left a freaky imprint on her mind says it “is etched in my memory like the scar left by a blacksmith’s brand”. Such a clever comparison shows that that time had a great impression and influence on the narrator, and not very positive and good ones. Tucked away (Simile) Begum Jaan’s marriage was a big failure and it made her feel her unhappy, miserable and full of despair. This feeling was aggravated when her husband used to invite young and attractive men with “slender-waisted boys”. This made her feel miserable and think that she is no more wanted by her husband. The sight of those boys she felt “as though she was being raked over burning embers!” A drum (simile) The narrator describes Begum Jaan ‘s finest physical details with perfection and when highlighting her body type, she mentioned that “her skin was white and smooth and seemed as though someone had stitched it tightly over her body”. This description makes the reader enthralled by Begum Jaan. 4.3 SUMMARY The story lay emphasizes on the point of view of a young, innocent girl, and mentions some themes and eventsregarded as “obscene.\" But as the narrator is still a child, is unable to understand it clearly and these themes manifest themselves subtly and the story is merely suggestive and not considered to be vulgar. The young girl, Amiraan is the niece of, Begum Jaan,the lead character in the story. While the story is told from the perspective of the niece, it revolvesaround the life of Begum Jan, who is the victim of male dominated society and caught in domestic drudgery. She is facing patriarchal oppression, by her husband, in her house. There is a considerable age difference between the two. The husband holds a place of respect and hour in the society because he never visitsprostitutes, in spite being rich and influential. However, it is not because of his character but it is because he is a homosexual and attracted towards men more than women. This makes Begum Jaan alone and feelunwanted. Sheis considered to be “installed\" in one corner of the house and left to live a meaningless life. However, when Rabbu enters her life, things change dramatically. She is the Begum's masseuse and companion. Every night, the quilt witnesses some secrets which lie hidden from rest of the world. The quilt symbolically hides the unrevealed facts like sexual 102 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
orientation of the Nawab and relation between Rabbu and Begaum Jaan. As the story move further, we are introduced to the various sorts of problems prevailing in the society regarding the perception of homosexuality and patriarchal rule of men that has been condemning freedom of many women in domestic setup even today, regardless of their socio- economic status. The narrator has a fragilemind and observant person which is very obvious from the fights which she is involved in with her brothers and other. She is too young to understand which she saw between Begum Jaan and Raboo. Thus she describes the Begum Jaan's loneliness and struggle amidst the four walls of Nawab's home as something very casual, along with addressing the 'magic' of Rabbu's 'massaging oils' which bring back the glowing self of Begum Jaan. While Rabbu and Begum Jaan's relationship grew under the quilts, the narrator grew quite dubious about it and interprets the shadows on the wall resembling to that of an elephant which she would see very often at night in Begum Jaan's room. Though, she tried to forget thinking that she is imagining unrealistic things. One day, Rabbu went awayand tomeet her son for a few days. Begam Jaan again becomes dull and full of restlessness . In Rabbu’s absence, Begum Jaan interacted with the narrator even more, thus making their relationship flourish. Narrator being innocent offer Begum Jaan her help by her soothing touch with massage. Begum Jaan tries to take undue advantage of it. This scared the narrator and she made all attempts not to encounter with Begum Jaan anymore. After some days, Rabbu came back and along with her the elephants likeshadow on the wall returned too. But this time, the narrator got inquisitive and wanted to see what happens inside the quilt in night. She dared to switch on the lights and witnessed the love-making of Begum Jaan and Rabbu. The story ends with narrator's gasp pointing towards the fact that she thought of it as a formidable act and decides to ignore and forget this incident by sleeping it off. 4.4 KEYWORDS A person of ripe years - a grow-up, an adult person Virtuous - chaste Frail - sickly, weak Flimsy - insubstantial, fragile Embers - pieces of coal glowing in an already burned-out fire 103 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Yearn for - to want, to desire something very strongly Stiffen - harden Grandeur - brilliance, glory, magnificence Veritable - true, genuine Demure - modest Sheen - shine, brightness Afflict - distress, hurt Blemish - flaw, defect Agile - keen-witted, bright, quick-minded Dexterously - skilfully, expertly Incoherent - incomprehensible Irascible - irritable, touchy Tiff - quarrel , misunderstanding Enact - act out, impersonate Guffaw - coarse laugh Jittery - nervous, upset 4.5 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. Study Ismat Chugtai’s Chu Mui (1952) and analysis the writing techniques. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 2. Read the short stories of Ismat Chugtai and evaluate the way she gave voice to women through her stories. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 3. Make a list of well-known work of Ismat Chugtai and the way it contributed in Urdu literature. 104 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
__________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 4.6UNIT END QUESTIONS A Descriptive Questions Short Questions 1. Make a special note of Begum Jaan’s transformation which is credited to Rabbu. 2. List all the characters of the story and their relevance. 3. Discuss the use of different Metaphors and Similes in the story. 4. Write a short note on different themes of the story “The Quilt”. 5. Justify the title “The Quilt”. Long Question 1. How does Chughtai explore the place of women in The Quilt? 2. Is Begum Jan presented as an admirable character? 3. How is purdah, the female seclusion from males, significant in The Quilt? 4. Chugtai mastered the art of giving women a voice. Elaborate. 5. Discuss the art of using symbols like the Quilt, Oils, and Massage in the story and the effect they create in the story. B. Multiple Choice Questions 1. What is the major theme of the story? a. Poverty b. Homosexuality c. Depression d. None of these 2. Who is the narrator of the story? a. Begum Jaan 105 b. Rabbu c. Amiran,the young girl CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
d. Unknown 106 3. In which language “The quilt “was originally written? a. Urdu b. Hindi c. Punjabi d. English 4. With what the narrator compared the image of the Quilt formed on the wall? a. Elephant b. Lion c. Giraffe d. None of these 5. In the story, who is described to be a beautiful lady? a. Rabbu b. Begum Jaan c. Amiran d. None of these 6. Who was not homosexual in the story? a. Narrator b. Begum Jaan c.Rabbu d. Nawab Answers 1-a, 2-c, 3-a, 4-a, 5-b, 6-a 4.7 REFERENCES Reference’s book ● Gainda (Marigold), By Ismat Chugtai. ● Vocation, By Ismat Chugtai. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
● Gharwali (Home maker), By Ismat Chugtai. ● https://medium.com/@literatureguide/review-summary-and-analysis-of-quilt- by-ismat-chughtai-16ec2293521 ● https://www.shethepeople.tv/home-top-video/indian-author-ismat-chughtai- urdu-literature/ ● https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/NTt7hWtC5yAWZx0cQCrYAM/Ismat- Chughtais-fearless-pen.html 107 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
UNIT – 5GURDIAL SINGH: A SEASON OF NO RETURN Structure 5.0Learning Objective 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Literary criticism 5.2.1 Gurdial- Writer of Realism 5.3 Critical approaches to the literature 5.4 Summary 5.5 Keywords 5.6 Learning Activity 5.7 Unit End Questions 5.8 References 5.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this unit, you will be able to: Acquaint the learning of Gurudial Singh The lesson analysis Gurudial Singh’s work “A Season of No Return” Answer the examination related questions 108 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
5.1 INTRODUCTION Figure 5.1GurdialSingh (10 Jan 1933-16 aug2016) Early life Gurdial Singh was born on 10 January 1933 in the village of Bhaini Fateh near Jaitu in British Punjab. His father, Jagat Singh, was a carpenter, and his mother, Nihal Kaur, took care of the household. The young Singh began working as a carpenter at the age of 12 to support his family's poor financial conditions. By his own admission, Singh worked 16 hours a day when he took on various jobs such as making wheels for bullock cart and metal sheet forming for water tanks. Together, he and his father earned ₹20 (28¢ US) a day from hard labour. In childhood, Singh was interested in painting but gradually he applied himself to a formal education. After successfully persuading Singh's father that his son was worthy of more schooling, Madan Mohan Sharma,[2] the headmaster of a middle school that Singh attended in Jaito, encouraged the young boy to stick with his studies, even though his father thought it was futile. Singh completed his Matric examination while he worked in various day time jobs. At the age of 14, he married Balwant Kaur. In 1962, he took the job of school teacher in Nandpur Kotra which paid him ₹60 (84¢ US) in monthly salary. Meanwhile, Singh continued his own education, went on to receive his B.A. in English and History, and followed that up with a M.A. in 1967. Literary career Singh started his literary career in 1957 with a short story, \"Bhaganwale\", which was published in Panj Darya, a magazine edited by Mohan Singh His later stories were 109 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
published in Preetlari, edited by Gurubaksh Singh his major work, Marhi Da Deeva, established his reputation as a novelist. Singh wrote four different versions of the novel over the course of four years. years, before he decided to publish the fourth and final one in 1964. The various characters Singh portrayed in the novel were recreations of real-life people woven into a fictitious storyline. It was translated into English by Sahitya Akademi as The Last Flicker.[8] Singh's other notable works included the novels Anhoe (1966), Addh Chanani Raat (1972), Anhe Ghore Da Daan (1976) and Parsa (1991); collections of short stories, including Saggi Phull (1962), Kutta Te Aadmi (1971), Begana Pind (1985) and Kareer Di Dhingri (1991); and autobiographies Neean Mattiyan (1999) and Dojee Dehi (2000) published in two parts. The novels Addh Chanani Raat and Parsa have been translated into English as Night of the Half Moon (published by Macmillan) and Parsa by the National Book Trust, respectively.Singh's favourite works included Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Irving Stone's Lust for Life, John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, Phanishwar Nath Renu's Maila Anchal, Prem Chand's Godaan and Yashpal's Divya Awards and honours Singh received various awards over the course of his life, including the Sahitya Academy Awards in Punjabi in 1975 for the novel Adh Chanani Raat, the Soviet Land Nehru Award in 1986,the Bhai Veer Singh Fiction Award in 1992, the Shiromani Sahitkar Award in 1992, the Jnanpith Award in 1999 and the Padma Shree in 1998.] He shared the Jnanpith Award with Hindi language authorNirmal Verma. Death Singh suffered from a heart attack earlier in 2016 after which he was partially paralysed. On 13 August 2016 he fell unconscious at his home in Jaitu and was admitted into a private hospital at Bathinda where he was kept on ventilatorsupport. He died on 16 August 2016, when he was taken off life support systems, after it was determined that Singh had shown no signs of recovery.[4] He is survived by his wife, Balwant Kaur, a son and two daughters. Works Singh has published various novels, short story collections, plays, children's literature and also an autobiography in two parts. Literary works of Gurdial Singh Year Title Genre 1960 -Bakalam Khud (Children's literature) 110 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
1962 Saggi Phull (Short stories ) 1963 Tuk Kho Laye Kawan(Children's literature) 1964 Chan Da Boota (Short stories) 1964 Marhi Da Deeva Novel English translation: The Last Flicker Adapted as film Marhi Da Deeva (1989) 1966 Upra Ghar (Short stories ) 1966 Anhoe Novel Adapted as the television show Anhoyee by DD Punjabi. 1967 Rete Di Ikk Mutthi (Novel) 1968 Kuwela (Novel ) 1971 Kutta Te Aadmi (Short stories ) 1971 Likhtam Baba Khema (Children's literature ) 1972 Adh Chanini Raat Novel English translation: Night of the Half-Moon (1996) 1974 Aathan Uggan Novel 1976 Anhe Ghore Da Daan Novel Adapted as film Anhe Ghore Da Daan (2011) 1982 Pauh Phutale Ton Pehlan Novel 1982 Masti Bota Short stories 1982 Farida, Ratin Wadian Play 1982 Vidayagi De Pichhon Play 1982 Nikki Moti Gal Play 1984 Rukhe Misse Bande Short stories 1985 Begana Pindh Short stories 1988 Chonvian Kahanian Short stories 1988 Baba Khema Children's literature 111 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
1989 Gappian Da Pio Children's literature 1990 Pakka Tikana Short stories 1990 Mahabharat Children's literature 1991 Kareer Di Dhingri Short stories 1992 Meri Pratinidhi Rachna Short stories 1993 Tin Kadam Dharti Children's literature 1993 Khate Mithe Lok Children's literature 1999 Parsa Novel English translation: Parsa (1999) 1999 Neean Mattiyan Autobiography Part 1 2000 Dojee Dehi Autobiography Part 2 Sapno Ke - Se Din was one of his works, talking about his childhood days and is included in CBSE class 10 Hindi course B 5.2LITERARY CRITICISM Characters Kauri- A middle aged lady from village in Punjab Kauri’s Husband Santokh- Kauri’s Son, He is an engineer and lives in an urban space with his wife. He married according to his choice. Daughter in Law- Santokh’s wife, she is an lecturer in a college Gyana- Kauri’s son .He lives in the village. He has two children Kaka- New born son of Santokh Lady from Jalandhar- She is the only one with whom Kauri used to share her sorrows and grief in the city Lady from Gujarat- Neighbour of Kauri who use to wish Kauri frequently. 112 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
The story starts with the Kauri, the central character, who is a middle-aged lady. She is geographically uprooted from village to city in order to take care of her daughter in law during her pregnancy and to simultaneously know her daughter in law, who Santokh married of his own will. She is reluctant to go with his son. Kauri has a vague idea about the “foreign land” as a space thousand miles away.Initially the urban space seemed to a paradise to her where all her needs and comfort is taken care of by her son and daughter in law. However, with the passage of time Kauri becomes un easy and restless in the city setting. She also becomes indifferent to the sweet word of her daughter in law. She has no interest in the materials and comfort present in her son’s house. Kauri undertakes a real as well as a mythic journey from the village to the city. In her psycho-geographical journey, Kauri negotiates the rejection of the “village” which is outliving its utility - a part of Kauri’s self. She struggles to embrace the city space, which symbolizes for her the “no village”. Kauri indulges in a “controlled regression” to the village.by her desire to view everything. The story also highlights the disassociation of Santokh from his family of villagers. He things that his father and Kauri’s husband is the egoistic man. He went against his family’s wish and married the woman outside his community and thus disrespecting his parent wish. His disassociation can also be seen in his wish to psycogeographically uproot his mother from village to city for his own selfish motive. His wife was a working lady and when she was pregnant, she took along his mother to take care of her and rearing his son. When his father told him “Bhai, you do whatever you wish to, as if you have ever sought my advice on whatever you’ve done so far? Don’t you worry about me! I could always go to the gurudwara and eat at the langar. Kauri’s confinement in the enclosed government quarter. And commercial attitude of santokh and his wife and the imposed clockwork life forced Kauri to miss her village community which was nowhere to be found in the city. Relation of Kauri with her Daughter in law The depiction of the village life in Kauri’s dream then can be seen in the stark contrast – both spatially and morally to the urban city lifestyle. Earlier Kauri and her daughter in laws relation were pretty fine. But later on, it is replaced with the new equation. The conversation between Kauri and her daughter in law are only at the level of material need and of the chores related to rearing Kaka. For instance, the story opens with Daughter in law entering Kauri’s room with the cup of tea and repeating the very same word in her sweet voice which Kauri was hearing for the past one year, “Maji Pranam! Its six-oclock, please have your tea. She never waits for an answer from Kauri, in the same way when someone demands instant gratification of the desires. Kauri response has no importance to the imposed routine of her 113 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
daughter in law. She has the same automated statement repeated to Kauri every time“Pleasemaaji, give kaka his feed” for the past three months. Kauri was facing “profoundly painful dejection. The symptoms can be seen in Kauri from very starting of her journey to city. The first medical condition noticed in Kauri was the loss of sleep, Insomnia. As the story proceed it is told that Kauri has been assigned to devote her full time and attention to kaka and inhibition of all heractivity. Exactly at six thirty his son Santokh hand over Kaka to her. During the engagement of kaki with his grandmother, we also realize the inner situation of Kauri’s mind and actions. She constantly “mourns” the idea of community that the village symbolized for her. Kauri’s painful dejection can be seen as a result of the fear of being left alone in the government quarter. She mourns over the loss of village life and continue to develop the discomfort in comfortable city life. She had also developed cessation of interest in the outside world. When her daughter in law handed over the bottle for kaka’s feed, it was first time in three months that she did not replied to thesweet words. When gujarati woman wished her from the veranda she decides not to reply her. Another instance which tells about Kauri’s vexation and disinterest in the outer world is when Santokh’s friend came to visit him, She could hear their peeling laughter and tip tapping of her daughter in law’s chappal coming from the living room. It felt as through their neighbour’s son was firing shots with his gun. She had great difficulty sleeping and faces difficulty in eating and has lost her appetite. Suddenly she felt a wave of nausea sweeping over her and she lay down towards kaka’s feet.This was enough to make her restless all over again. Kauri’s desire to return to the village. A space where “people would make either new acquaintances or renew the old ones. There was constantly a feeling of restless that lurked in her. She continued to recreate the village life in the city. In the park outside the gurudwara enabled Kauri to reconstruct the sense of community She had long conversations with the woman from Jalandhar in the park. With whom she talks about her sorrow and grieves. She made a special bond with her. But she had a temporary relief. Her unconscious attempts at recreating the village in the city space were not effective. This constructed space of the park in the civic society serves as the “mahaula” of the village. Several times she voiced her desire to return back to the village: “Several time she tells Kaka to take her back to her village but her son always shunned her desire with the same rhetorical question: “are you being inconvenienced here in anyways?” As if a person’s needs are only limited to the material comfort and luxury. 114 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
The moments when her nostalgia for home would grow into a nagging obsession” she would resort to the act of dreaming about her village in the night: “The open courtyard of the house and the children frolicking about there…their hands dripping with fresh cow dung…bursting into loud guffaws as they chased each other. She also thought she would become a burden to the family if she doesn’t serve her role of babysitter in the household. She follows the instrumental logic which gives force to the nuclear family in the city space, as opposed to the joint family in the village. 5.3GURDIAL SINGH- WRITER OF REALISM Gurdial Singh was a writer of realism. Far away from romance, myth and mere wordplay. Simple. Sensitive. Conversational. Laying emphasis on thought. No beating around the bush. The topics he spoke about in his writing about were critically important, but there was an innate simplicity to Gurdial’s language, logic, and flow, to the way he portrayed his subjects. Gurdial is no longer with us and when we think about his work, we are reminded of three things. First, Gurdial’s literature is powerful enough to reflect the past of Punjab and gives a perspective of changing equations of its future. Second, his works have created a rupture in contemporary literature in the way he used language and form. Third, his literature is deeply rooted in Punjab’s cultural consciousness. Flashback: it’s the 1960s, and Punjab is changing very rapidly. This is the period when feudalism is mutating into capitalism in Punjab. Social structures are changing, the economy is changing, the Punjabi mindset is changing; change is evident everywhere. In Punjabi literature, this change was first presented in Gurdial’s literature. His novel Marhi Da Deeva is published. If you read the first chapter, chances are that you will be surprised and feel that Gurdial Singh has a feudal mentality. You might feel that Gurdial is watching this changing society, but his outlook is that of a feudalist. It’s as though he is feeling bad that his tie with feudalism is breaking, though we’re told that when feudal relations break down, a man is freed from slavery. So why is a writer like Gurdial hurt when these chains are broken? Because we know that in a feudal, agrarian system, the labour who works in field is ‘Siri’ (or a contract labourer), a slave for 24 hours, for generations. In the capitalist society, his fortune changed, his working hours were fixed. He was no more a slave. Yet Gurdial has his doubts about this new world order and so he feels sad when this tie with feudalism breaks. 115 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
You can oppose him, accuse him, but read on and you realise why Gurdial despairs as he does. There isn’t any scope in this Punjab, no road ahead, no hope. That is what troubled him and that was why he spoke so emphatically. In his debut novel itself, Gurdial could see Punjab moving towards capitalism and how this would change everything. He was also changing. The relations between different parts of society were changing. Even language was changing. Getting neither excited nor depressed, as a writer and a bard of Punjab, he pondered upon the impact of this change on the future and felt an uneasiness that was almost visionary. How can we not talk about Gurdial Singh’s language as we remember his literature? He used to say that his characters wear khadi, so how could their language be sophisticated? And because of this unsophistication, we can feel as we read his language, soak in the influence of Punjab’s Malwa region. His language, using the Malwa dialect, was simple and lyrical, carrying in words the culture and rituals of that part of Punjab. Despite the farmer’s primacy in an agrarian economy, Gurdial Singh chose a farm hand to explain the change taking place in Punjab. He chose the voice of the marginalized, because there was a critical change taking place in the relationship between the farmhand and the famer. Punjabi literature witnessed this kind of sensitivity for the first time in Gurdial’s work. Dalits, for the first time as farmhands and as the marginalised, as those from the village, surfaced thanks to Gurdial Singh’s words. Punjab appears in a state of panic as a new economic order establishes itself. What happens to the Dalit in Punjab’s new economy is reflected in Gurdial’s two other works — Anhoe and Anhe Ghorey Da Daan. Slipping into the lives in these novels, we realise Gurdial’s anxieties are not glorifying feudalism. Instead, they are expressions of fear – fear that has proved itself valid with passing time. In these two novels, you can deeply feel what capitalism has done to Dalits, to the marginalised. You can feel that reality in these works. Punjabi thinker Dr Surjit said about him— Marhi Da Deeva and Anhe Ghorey Da Daan challenge the established myths that say the capitalist process of development frees a Dalit from the feudalist system of villages, frees them from the evils of caste discrimination and gives the Dalit a fair and free chance of development. Especially in Punjab, capitalism changed the status of Dalits from contract labour to daily wage labour Siri to a daily wage labour who don’t have a sustainable source of income. In contrast, the days of feudalism and being a farm hand actually meant small earnings – which in turn meant they got freedom; a pathetic, humiliating version of freedom. Gurdial’s novels show how closely he watched Punjab, how closely he heard the rhythms that oppressed Dalits and others. And for that, for his ability to understand their pain and tell their story in a way that remains relevant to us, we pay my obeisance to him. 116 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
5.5 CRITICAL APPROACHES TO LITERATURE Before making an assessment of Gurdial Singh’s fiction, his work needs to be placed within the wider linguistic, historical, and cultural frame to which he essentially belongs. The beginnings of the Punjabi language, it may be pointed out here, lie in the hoary past, going as far back as the tenth century. Its emergence in the Indo-Gangetic plain, strangely enough, coincided with the growth and development of the English language in a far-off island inhabited by the Anglo-Saxons. It is another matter that the English language, being the favoured child of history, has confidently marched on ahead, spreading across several continents, while Punjabi has had to stay confined rather diffidently to the plains of Punjab, the place of its birth. (It’s only in the past fifty years or so that the Punjabi people and their language have started making their presence felt across the globe). Despite their vast geographical and historical differences in terms of reach and spread, the common lineage of both English and Punjabi can obviously be traced back to the Indo-European family. Much in the manner of other world languages, Punjabi literature, too, had its early beginnings in poetry. However, once the Guru’s writings had begun to resonate through the fields of Punjab, soaking up and fertilizing its large tracts, there was no looking back. Being both philosophical and mystical in its thematic content, this banhi found its place in the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth, a repository of the collective wisdom of the Sikh Gurus and other proponents of the Bhakti movement. In the context of Punjabi literature, the Guru Granth occupies the same pre-eminent, canonical position that is often conceded to the Bible in English literature. Until the times of Gurdial Singh, two opposed ideologies, a brand of romanticism and an indigenous form of realism, influenced the content and form of the Punjabi novel. Apart from these ideological tensions, Punjabi fiction had continued to shift back and forth between the rural and the urban, the past and the present, the poetic and the realistic. The historical importance of Gurdial Singh’s fiction lies in the fact that it sought to encapsulate the dialectics of tradition and modernity, tried to attain a synthesis of the two, something that had eluded Punjabi fiction until then. By pulling it out of the bourgeois morality into which the Punjabi novel had largely sunk in its post-Independence phase, he opened up possibilities that would have otherwise remained unrealized. Gurdial Singh could very well be seen as an exponent of the regional novel in the sense in which Thomas Hardy and R.K. Narayan essentially were. In novel after novel, he has created a fictional replica of the insulated, self-enclosed, and provincial world of the Malwa region where he has lived all hislife, and whose dreams and desires, folklore and culture, he best understands and empathizes with. Most of his novels seek to capture the distinctive flavour of the regional dialect and its linguistic angularities. Malwa comes alive in his novels both as a place in history and as a cultural 117 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
metaphor. Its unyielding land, prickly air, low roofed mud houses, and vast open fields mingle and overlap with stifling caste prejudices and intriguing questions of land ownership to create a befitting backdrop to this incomparable saga of human courage, resilience, and sacrifice. However, the self-limiting nature of the Malwa region doesn’t prevent Gurdial Singh from giving an artistic expression to the complexities of life he has set out to explore. Gurdial Singh radicalised the Punjabi novel by infusing it with a new consciousness about the underprivileged and the oppressed. Commenting upon his first ever novel Marhi da Diva, Namwar Singh, an eminent Hindi critic, said: ‘When the novel was a dying art-form in Europe in the middle of the nineteenth century, it was Tolstoy’s War and Peace that resurrected faith in the novel as a form. In a similar fashion, when in Indian languages novel was going through itsworst ever crisis, Gurdial Singh’s Marhi da Diva revitalized this form as only he could.’ Gurdial Singh has never lost sight of the imaginative and creative demands of his own vocation as a novelist. Often seen as a proponent of social realism, he is equally at ease with the poetic, symbolic mode of expression. His sternest critics also concede that he broke new ground by turning the novel into acritique of social discourse, without compromising its poetics. Steeped in history without being explicitly historical, his fiction mediates its way through crosscurrents of mainstream and folk traditions of storytelling. Though he did radicalize the novel by infusing greater ideological strength into its content, at the formal level, he is not an experimentalist. Convinced that form must ultimately follow the dictates of content, Gurdial Singh’s favourite self-description, after Georg Lukacs’ well-known phrase, is that of a ‘critical realist.’ Though there is an organic quality to all of his fiction, he doesn’t return to the treatment of the same subject or style more than once. There’s both a touch of authenticity and self-absorption about Gurdial Singh’s ability to fashion a wide range of human characters. But he doesn’t ever allow his interest in or sympathy for his character(s) to either overwhelm or undermine his primary commitment to the social concerns. For him, man is essentially a social and historical being. As a natural corollary, his characters remain intermediate agents, individualised yet typical concretizations of the context in which they live and operate. Almost all his novels are set amidst the shifting contours of the Malwa region whose economic backwardness sometimes obscures its cultural richness. What is significant is that despite Gurdial Singh’s emphasis upon local colours, sounds, and smells, Malwa manages to become in his fiction a microcosm of theworld within which a larger drama of human 118 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
existence plays itself out. Working within this framework, he has managed to create richly evocative vignettes of rural life, complete with its distinctive codes, customs, and conventions. Always alive to its throbbing pulse and rhythm, he sees a village not as static but an ever-changing, dynamic unit. It’s the dialectics of tradition and modernity that tends to give an overarching expression to his insistent social concern. Gurdial Singh could very well be seen as an exponent of the regional novel in the sense in which Thomas Hardy and R.K. Narayan essentially were. In novel after novel, he has created a fictional replica of the insulated, self-enclosed, and provincial world of the Malwa region where he has lived all his life, and whose dreams and desires, folklore and culture, he best understands and empathizes with. Most of his novels seek to capture the distinctive flavour of the regional dialect and its linguistic angularities. Malwa comes alive in his novels both as a place in history and as a cultural metaphor. Its unyielding land, prickly air, low-roofed mud houses, and vast open fields mingle and overlap with stifling caste prejudices and intriguing questions of land ownership to create a befitting backdrop to this incomparable saga of human courage, resilience, and sacrifice. However, the self-limiting nature of the Malwa region doesn’t prevent Gurdial Singh from giving an artistic expression to the complexities of life he has set out to explore. Gurdial Singh radicalised the Punjabi novel by infusing it with a new consciousness about the underprivileged and the oppressed. Commenting upon his first ever novel Marhi da Diva, Namwar Singh, an eminent Hindi critic, said: ‘When the novel was a dying art-form in Europe in the middle of the nineteenth century, it was Tolstoy’s War and Peace that resurrected faith in the novel as a form. In a similar fashion, when in Indian languages novel was going through its worst ever crisis, Gurdial Singh’s Marhi da Diva revitalized this form as only he could.’ His sternest critics also concede that he broke new ground by turning the novel into acritique of social discourse, without compromising its poetics. Steeped in history without being explicitly historical, his fiction mediates its way through crosscurrents of mainstream and folk traditions of storytelling. Though he did radicalize the novel by infusing greater ideological strength into its content, at the formal level, he is not an experimentalist. Convinced that form must ultimately follow the dictates of content, Gurdial Singh’s favourite self-description, after Georg Lukacs’ well-known phrase, is that of a ‘critical realist.’ Though there is an organic quality to all of his fiction, he doesn’t return to the treatment of the same subject or style more than once. In novel after novel, Gurdial Singh succeeds in renewing our faith in the irrepressible spirit of human nature and the power of human endurance. On being asked how he felt on receiving Jnanpith, the most coveted literary award, he is believed to have said, ‘It’s recognition of those who live in my pages. 119 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Needless to say, only Gurdial Singh could have justifiably made such a claim. In his case, Jnanpith is not just a personal triumph of an individual, but of all those who are still fighting for the retrieval of honour and dignity that history has denied them through the ages. Though Gurdial Singh may have started off as a local or regional novelist of a small state of India called the Punjab, but today his stature has definitely grown far beyond the regional, even national boundaries. His fiction has been so extensively translated into the English language that now it has actually become possible for us to assess his work within the larger framework of world literature, something we couldn’t have possibly done earlier when he was anchored only within the limited domain of his own indigenous literary traditions. Gurdial Singh can easily be placed among the best we have had in any of the world languages in the twentieth century. Not only has he exposed himself to the best that was available to him, he very studiously imbibed and internalised the best that he could from whatever he read in world fiction. If he learnt his craft of fiction-making (as he has often conceded in his personal interviews) from such great masters as Gorky, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Steinbeck, Maugham, Hemingway and Irving Stone, he has emerged as a story-teller extraordinaire by virtue of the rich literary and cultural legacy he is likely to leave behind. If the history of world literature is ever attempted, Gurdial Singh’s name would appear alongside that of Mahfouz, Marquez, Kundera and Simin Daneshvar. In comparing Gurdial Singh’s fictional oeuvre to that of the Nobel Prize Winners, Gurdial Singh’s fiction is disseminated, circulated, and evaluated within the international academia, it wouldn’t be possible for us to deny him either the international critical acclaim or the much-wider readership and recognition, something he pre-eminently deserves. 5.5 SUMMARY The story is all about a middle-aged village lady, Kauri who lives with her family in Punjab. She has two sons. One of the sons Santokh is anengineer and lives in a city with her wife. His wife is a teacher in college. Other son Gyana lives with her in the village setting. Gyana has two sons Melu and Karmi. When Santokh’s wife gets pregnant, herequests his mother to come with him at live with them. So, Kauri reachforeign land to help his daughter in law. She is a bit sceptical on reaching. She has difficulty is adjustment with the city life Although all the material comfort and luxury are present in Santokh’s house but still she develops the symptoms of painful dejection and melancholia. All the talks of her daughter in law and son are confined to the material things and the need of kaka. She tries to recreate. Kauri goes to a nearby Gurudwara daily. She meher village community in the park of her society where she met a lady from Jalandhar. She shared her grief and sorrow with her but 120 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
this also gave her the temporary relief. The fear of confinement in the government quarter creates a sense of cessation towards the outer world in Kauri. Kauri start developing the sign of painful dejection, she suffers from insomnia and is not able to sleep. She is also not able to eat properly and one day she fell down.After getting proper care and treatment she gets well. She tells her son that she wants to go back to India. Santokh and his wife discuss about the replacement when Kauri would go back. He says that they will arrange a maid for Kaka. After that Santokh send her mother back to her village. When her mother’sgo back and Santokh returns home, he started feeling really cold and chilly. Then he realized that the warmth in his home was due to his mother’s Prescence and love. 5.6 KEYWORDS Prejudice- a liking or dislike for one rather than another especially without good reason Intriguing- interesting or strange Exponent-a person who supports an idea, a theory, etc. and persuades others that it is good Dejection- feeling of sadness Vexation- the feeling of being annoyed or worried Tip toeing- walk quietly and carefully with one's heels raised and one's weight on the balls of the feet. Melancholia- a subtype of depression 5.7 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. Read Gurdial Singh ‘s famous novel “Marhi Da Deeva “and study the writing techniques and character description. __________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 2. Study the short story of GurdialSingh, ‘Bhaganwale’ and his novel Anhe Ghore da Daan’ to see how he revolutionized Punjabi literature. __________________________________________________________________________ 121 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
_____________________________________________________________________ 5.8UNIT END QUESTIONS A. Descriptive Questions Short Questions 1. Write a short on the character of Santokh’s wife. 2. Compare the situation of Kauri in foreign land and her native place. 3. Gurdial Singh is a critical realist. Comment in short 4. What was Santohk’s reaction when Kauri told that she wants to go back to India? 5. Explain in brief Kauri’s journey from ‘village ‘ to ‘ NON-VILLAGE’ Long Questions 1. Comment on the Gurdial Singh’s art as a novelist. 2. Discuss the commonalities in different writing works of Gurdial’s Singh 3. Discuss the mental situation of Kauri when she was in foreign land. 4. Gurdial Singh radicalized the Punjabi novel writing. Elaborate. 5. Draw the character sketch of Kauri. B. Multiple Choice Questions 1. Gurdial’s writing work has major influence of which language? a. Punjabi b. Sindhi c. Hindi d. All of these 2. Who was a teacher in college? a. Kauri b. Gyana’s wife 122 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
c. Santokh’s wife d. None of these 3. Kauri used to visit Gurudwara every ……. a. Sunday b. Everyday c. Monday 4. Gurdial Singh’s first work was a short story name…. a. Bhaganwale b. Saggi Phull c. Chan da boota d. Marhi da deeva 5. Gurdial Singh was the writer of a. Idealism b. Realism c. Feminist d. All of these Answers 1-a), 2-c), 3-a), 4- a), 5 b) 5.9 REFERENCES GurdialSingh,Parsa,trans.,RanaNayar,(NewDelhi:NationalBookTrust, GurdialSingh,EarthyTones:ACollectionofBestShortStories,trans.,Rana Nayar(New Delhi:FictionHouse, 2003 123 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Lawrence Venuti,TheTranslator’sInvisibility (London: Routledge,1995).In thisbookandseveral otherwritingsofhis,Venutihasdiscussedthesetwo methods/strategiesoftranslationat great length. a-psychological-ghar-wapsi-in-a-season-of-no-return-space-and-identity- in-gurdial-singhs-eponymous-short-story_ 124 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
UNIT – 6PREM CHAND: THE SHROUD Structure 6.0 Learning Objectives 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Literary Criticism 6.2.1 Main Character of the story 6.2.2 Critical issues highlighted 6.3 Critical approaches to literature 6.4 Summary 6.5 Keywords 6.6 Learning Activity 6.7 Unit End Questions 6.8 References 6.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this unit, you will be able to: ● Acquaint the learnings of Prem Chand. ● The lesson analyses Prem Chand’s essay “The Shroud.” ● Answer the examination-oriented questions. 6.1 INTRODUCTION 125 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Figure 6.1 Munshi Premchand (31 July 1880- 8 October 1936) Early Life Munshi Premchand also known as Dhanpat Rai Srivastav whose lifespan is from 31st July 1880- 8th October 1936 was an Indian writer who was well known for Modern Hindustani Literature. No other was as well-known as him in early 20th Century in Indian sub continient. His most appreciated work includes Godaan, Karmabhoomi, Gaban, Mansarovar, Idgah. His first collection included five shorts stories in 1907 in book call Soz-e Watan. He began writing under the pen name \"Nawab Rai\", but subsequently switched to \"Premchand\", Munshi being an honorary prefix. Other writers call him as “Upanyas Samrat” means Emperor among Novelist. He was best novel writer, story writer and dramatist. He was writer of Dozen novels, around 300 short stories, several essays and last but no the least translation of nulber of foreign literary works into Hindi. This novelist was born on 31st July 1880 in Lamhi, a village located near Varanasi and was named Dhanpat Rai (master of wealth). He was from Kayastha family who was owner of 8- 9 bighas of land. His grandfather Guru Sahai Rai was land record keeper also known as Patwari and his father Ajaib lal was a govt servant (post office clerk) His mother was Anandi Devi of Karauni village who was also his inspiration for the character Anandi in his Bade ghar ki Beti. Premchand was the 4th child of Ajaib Lal and Anandi. Other children were 2 girl who died as infant and third was a girl named Suggi.His uncle Mahabir was rich land owner whose nick name was Nawab, Nawab rai was the first pen name choosen by Dhanpat Rai. Lalpur near Lamahi was the place where he took his education in the madrasa in the age of 7 where he learnt Urdu, Persian from maulvi. In age of 8 his mother died due to long illness. 126 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Then he was taken care by grandmother who also died soon. After his grand mom death, he was isolated as his elder sister also got married and his father was busy with his day today chores. Later on his father was transferred at Gorakhpur and remarried but his stepmother was failed to give affection and love to Premchand. Stepmother later become recurring theme in his work. In Childhood Premchand sought solace in fiction and develop interest for books. Tilism-e- Hoshruba at a tobacconist's shop he heard the stories from the Persian language. He also took the job of selling’s books in bookshop meanwhile also studied several works of fiction including George W. M. Reynolds's eight-volume The Mysteries of the Court of London. He first started writing in Gorakhpur which was never published and then lost. It was a farce on a bachelor who fall in love with low caste female. The character was based on Premchand’s uncle who used to scold him for being obsessed with reading fiction the drama was probably written as a revenge. Dhanpat Rai enrolled at the Queen's College at Benares as a day scholar after his father was posted in Jamniya in mid 1890s. In 1985 at the age of 15 in ninth class he got married. The match was arranged by his maternal step grandfather. The girl was solder than premchand and was daughter of rich landlord family, to which Premchand found quarrelsome and not good looking. His father died in 1897 after a long illness and then he managed to pass the matriculation exam with second division (below 60% marks). That time the students with 1st division were given fee concession at Queen’s College. Because of poor athletic skills he was unsuccessful after getting admission I Central Hindu College thus he has to discontinue his studies. He then obtained an assignment to coach an advocate's child in Banaras at a monthly salary of 5 rupees. He used to live in mud-cell over the advocates stable and use to send 60% of his income to his home. He used to read a lot during these days. In 1899 after racking up many debts he once went back to book shop to sell one of his collected books. There he fortunately met headmaster of missionary school at chunar who gave him job as a teacher at monthly salary of Rs 18. Beside this he also takes coaching of student at fee of Rs 5 per month. In 1900 Premchand was working as Assistant teacher at the Govt. District School located in Bahraich at Rs 20/month. Immediately after 3 months he was transferred to District School in Pratapgarh where he lived in an administrator’s house and also give tution to his son. Dhanpat Rai wrote his first book under his pseudo name “Nawab Rai”. His first book based on exploration of corruption among the temple priests and their sexual exploitation of poor women was Asrar e Ma'abid (\"Secrets of God's Abode\", Devasthan Rahasya in Hindi). From 8th Oct 1903 to Feb 1905 his novel was published in a series in the Benares-based Urdu weekly Awaz-e-Khalk. Literary critic Siegfried Schulz states that \"his inexperience is 127 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
quite evident in his first novel\", which is not well-organized, lacks a good plot and features stereotyped characters. He faced many criticisms like by Prakash Chandra Gupta who call it as “immature work” which shows a tendency to \"see life only black or white\". Premchand was transferred to Mahoba in 1909 and later posted to Hamirpur as the Sub- Deputy Inspector of Schools. Same time British govt. official noticed Soz-e-Watan and banned it as a seditious work. Premchand’s house was raided on the order of British collector of Hamirpur District, during raid they found around 500 copies of Soz-e-watan and were burnt. After this incident Munshi Daya Nigam who was editor of the Urdu Magazine Zamana advised the pseudonym “Premchand”. Since then Dhanpat Rai stopped using the name “Nawab rai” and become Premchand. In 1914, Premchand started writing in Hindi (Hindi and Urdu are considered different registers of a single language Hindustani with hindi drawing much of its words derived from Sanskrit and Urdu being more influenced by Persian). Till this time he was famous as fiction writer in Urdu. Sumit Sarkar notes that the switch was prompted by the difficulty of finding publishers in Urdu. In the magazine Saraswati in December 1915 his first Hindi Story Saut was published and in June 1917 first short story collection Sapta Saroj was published in June 1917. Literary Style and Influences 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 Indian freedom movement. During the late 1900s Premchand started taking interest in political affairs while at Kanpur and this is reflected in his early works which have patriotic overtone. His political thoughts were initially influenced by the moderate Indian National Congress leader Gopal Krishna Gokhale but later he was diverted more towards extremist Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He supported greater political freedom and considered the Minto-Morley Reforms and the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms as inadequate. Several of his early works, such as A Little Trick and A Moral Victory, satirised the Indians who cooperated with the British Government. Because of strong government censorship he did not specifically mention the British in some of his stories, but disguised his opposition in settings from the medieval era and the foreign history. Swami Vivekananda teachings also influenced him. 128 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
He was also influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s non-co-operation movement and the accompanying hardship for social reform in 1902. During this period, his works dealt with the social issues such as poverty, dowry system (Nirmala, 1925), zamindari exploitation (Premashram, 1922) educational reform and political oppression (Karmabhumi, 1931). He was focused on economic liberalisation of the peasantry and the working class and was against the rapid industrialisation which he felt would hurt the favour of peasant and lead to the oppression of the workers. This was very much similar to what he mentioned in his work like Rangabhumi (1924). In his last days he concentrated on village life as a stage for complex drama as seen in the novel Godan (1936) and the short story collection Kafan in 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. Premchand's last completed work i.e., Premchand's last completed work, which is considered to be the best novel and is considered as one of the finest Hindi novels. The protagonist, Hori, a poor peasant, desperately longs for a cow, a symbol of wealth and prestige in rural India. As per Schulz “Godan” is a well-structured and well-balanced novel which amply fulfils the literary requirement postulated by the Western standards. Unlike Rabindranath Tagore, Premchand was not appreciated much outside India. Siegfried Schulz believes that the reason for this was absence of good translations of his work. Unlike Iqbal &Tagore, Premchand never travelled outside India, studied abroad or mingled with the renowned foreign literary figures. Kafaan (Shroud) was also published in 1936 by Premchand in which poor man collects money for the funeral rites of this dead wife but spends it on food and drink. Premchand’s last published story was cricket Matching which appeared in Zamana in 1938 after his death. Death Premchand was elected as the first President of the Progressive Writers' Association in Lucknow, in 1936. He died on 8 October 1936, after several days of sickness and while still in office. 6.2 LITERARY CRITICISM 6.2.1 Characters Ghisu - There was lazy man named Ghisu belongs to Dalit (Chamar) Family. He likes to rest for 3 days and work for one day. He was such an irresponsible man who have never care for her own daughter in law even when she was in pain of pregnancy. He didn’t have any tension to cure Budhiya. 129 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Madhav: - He was same as his father and has no difference in character. Instead we can son is one step ahead of father in laziness. His behaviour towards his wife shows he was waiting for her death to free himself from the responsibilities to which he never cared. Budhiya: - She was wife of Madhav and form starting of story we found she is pregnant and in pain because of her husband and father-in-law was not having money for her treatment and finally she died. Sahib: - He was village landlord. He detests Ghisu and Madhav and has even beaten them with his own hand for theft and not showing up to work. After Budhiya death the father and son beg Sahib for money for her funeral rites. Sahib don’t want to give money but on humanity ground he gave them Rs 2. Premchand one of the greatest and Famous novelist penned this story “THE SHROUD” which is considered to be the one of the best written short stories in India. It has reprinted and translated many times. As you read the story, it is impossible to miss the caustic satire, the gritty reality, and the harshness of life of the lower caste cobblers in India and especially their women. The dead woman Budhiya did not get a shroud for herself even in death make the title The Shroud more ironic. This fiction genre was written in the form of conversation between a son and father. Both father and son has played a negative role. Ghisu is old man in his sixties struggling in poverty. He is held responsible for the plight as he is slothful slacker and not hardworking and lazy. He was untrustworthy for people but he too possesses the of getting thing done. Where he was downgraded the position of his daughter-in-law to the level of an creature taking care of the household and meant for the giving birth to child. He loves his sone as well. Somewhere he gives the example of humanity as well by praying for her to get a pace in heaven for being good to the mall of her life. Madhav, his son was also becoming a lazy slacker and following the steps of his father, just concerned about the hunger. He played a role of irresponsible husband, leaving Budhiya when she needed him the most. The sufferings which he went through in poverty has completely dehumanised him from any morality. Budhiya was a victim of the unfortunate situation for being Madhav’s wife. She has suffered a lot. She sacrificed almost everything including herself for sake of her husband and father-in-law. His fate can also be the factor behind her not receiving the shroud even after her death. Father and son both were presented in a negative light. No one could melt the stony heart of her aged father-in-law Ghisu, and her husband named Madhav not even the dignity of death. Ghisu and Madhav were very lazy and also ungrateful creature. They were passing their lives without worrying about their responsibility. They were not having proper functioning conscience. They only care about themselves because poverty and their low caste status made them such cold-hearted. Though Budhiya was in the pain of childbirth and needed their assistance, Ghisu and Madhav just sat outside their hut peeling potatoes. 130 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
6.2.2 Critical issues raised Suffering ofDalits: - The Story of Madhav and Ghisu resemble story of every Dalits at the times of Britisher in India. By these two-character premchand showcase the situation and mentality of Dalit Characters. Premchand’s intention is not only to portray the conditions of Dalits but to bring the sharp realities of the feudal colonial exploitation. It is often said that lower caste people don’t have any belongingness with family which is so not true. It is that in this whole process of subjugation and oppression, they are now exhausted. Their attention towards morality is somewhat eliminated. Blind Beliefs & Customs: - At one stage Madhav said that \"What a bad custom it is that someone who didn't even get a rag to cover her body when she was alive, needs a new shroud when she's dead.\" Premchand wants to show that when person is alive no one came to help but when someone is dead they helped to make her funeral. This show that custom and ritual are important rather than person. Poverty The shroud is the story of all low caste poor family of 1030s. On one hand the writer depicts the protagonists, Ghisu, Madhav’s awful, lazy and to blame for their predicament. Despite of having enough work opportunity in village the son and father was not willing to work. On other hand writer express some sympathy for their situation attributing it to the highly unequal and unjust class system in which they live. The narrator remarks that Ghisu and Madhav's attitude is no surprise given that they live in a society where poor peasants who do back breaking labour are in no better shape than they are. Finally, \"The Shroud\" offers a reflection on poverty as a cycle and a trap. Ghisu’ s son, Madhav, has taken his father's attitude to an even greater extreme. After their feast at the wine-house, the men will presumably awaken to the same miserable situation. The only thing that has changed is that now Madhav, just like his father, will have the memory of a feast he will likely never be able to experience again. Selfishness Overall, the father and son were selfish. They take advantage of Budhiya hard labour and then her to die alone in childbirth. They even didn’t try a bit to help her. The actor’s self- serving attitudes reach a climax in the story’s final scene. They beg money from Saheb for Budhiya funeral but in end they used the money for their self-desire but buying food and alcohol at the wine house. 131 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Genders Here Premchand explores gender roles through the main characters treatment of Budhiya. After the marriage of Madhav and Budhiya, she worked hard grinding and cutting the grass in the village. In this way she was able to feed her family including Madhav and Ghisu traditional gender roles dictate that she must feed the male yet she also holds the responsibility of providing for the household economically. On other hand son and father just grow lazier. Thus, Budhiya also assumes the traditional male role of bread winner bringing in the household's only income Budhiya's suffering reaches a high point as she struggles to give birth. Madhav, the male character leaves her moan with pain and die. When Budhiya was giving birth, both seem to perceive her pain with degree of horror and disgust. In fact, Madhav says “he can’t” remain there to see her writhing and thrashing around. The men exploitation of young woman reached its height when they spend her funeral money in food and alcohol. Religious hypocrisy Theme of hypocrisy in religion can be seen in “The Shroud”. In low caste society,the upper classes are considered to be religiously pure and loaded with preiesthood. In this type of society people loves to give money to the upper cats for religion ritual and festivals. Here ghisu and Madhav show that wealthy as hypocrites as they exploit people and then act as if they can repent for this cruel behaviour through religious rituals. Premchand was only 56 yrs old at the time of his death in year 1936. He evolved as writer over more than three decades. While his early stories show ‘untouchables’ having full faith in the beliefs of the Hindu religion and accepting the unjust caste hierarchy and oppression associated with it, stories like “Kafan” that were written shortly before his death show them free from such notions. “Kafan” has drawn most flak from Dalit writers and critics who read into it many things that was weird here. More liberal writers like Omprakash Valmiki have reacted powerfully against it. They allege that Premchand has shown the father-son duo — Gheesu and Madhav — in poor light and they come through as villainous characters on account of their negative portrayal. Dalit things that its attempt to imitate then in “Untouchables” in kafan a charge that looks truly preposterous if one takes into account Premchand’s writings in their totality. A few like Dharmvir let their imagination run riot and attack the story for those episodes or relationships that are not found in it but which, according to them, logically flow from it. This will change the methodology of literary criticism upside down. 132 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
6.3CRITICAL APPROACHES TO LITERATURE In The Shroud by Premchand we have the theme of selfishness, tradition, honour, independence, guilt, self-importance, gender roles and responsibility. Narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator the reader realises after reading the story that Premchand may be exploring the theme of selfishness. Both Ghisu and Madhav appear to be more concerned about their own well-being than they are of Budhia’s. With neither man being concerned enough to check on Budhia as she lies dying in the hut. What is also interesting about both Ghisu and Madhav is that they feel as though they deserve to be better off than they are. Yet they are not prepared to do the work that is needed to improve their lives. It is as though both men feel they are owed a certain lifestyle by the world. Something that is noticeable by the fact that Ghisu begs for money after Budhia’s death when the reality is there was nothing stopping him from preparing himself financially for Budhia’s death. The work was there for both Ghisu and Madhav but neither man was prepared to do it. Rather both men preferred to live their life as idlers. The Shroud itself may also be symbolically important as Premchand may be introducing it into the story to highlight to the reader the sense of tradition that exists. However tradition is not followed due to the fact that Ghisu and Madhav decide to get drunk rather than buy the shroud. Not only have they been dishonourable to Budhia while she was alive but both men also dishonour her memory by not buying a shroud for the cremation. It is also possible that Premchand is placing a spotlight on the role women played at the time the story was written. Budhia appears to have done all the work while Ghisu and Madhav sat around and done nothing. It is as though Budhia was treated as no more than a slave by both men. Possibly because she may have been considered inferior to both men due to her sex. If anything it would seem that Budhia had no independence and filled a role that was expected of women. To be both unpaid workers and child-bearers. Premchand also possibly suggesting that the role of the female within a marriage or family was to be subservient to the male. It may also be possible that Premchand is suggesting that money can bring independence. After Ghisu gets the five rupees from begging. He is able to take control of his and Madhav’s life and do as he pleases. It just happens to be a case that Ghisu and Madhav decide upon acting selfishly rather than buying the shroud for Budhia. It is also while drinking that Ghisu beings to change character somewhat believing in his own self- importance. Something that is probably driven by the fact that Ghisu is getting drunk. He makes unrealistic promises that he cannot fulfil to Madhav. Who is also getting drunk and as such believes his father? The guilt that Madhav begins to partially feel about not purchasing the shroud may also be significant as it only lasts a short time. Again Madhav has possibly numbed himself sufficiently from reality that his thoughts do not last and also they take on little significance. Which may be the point that Premchand is attempting to make. He may be suggesting that alcohol can numb and individual for a short period of time. However it 133 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
cannot completely divert an individual away from the realities they face. Which may leave some readers to suggest that when sober Madhav may be full of remorse for his actions. The end of the story is also interesting as Ghisu’s words to Madhav may be based on Ghisu’s own selfishness. Despite telling Madhav that Budhia is in a better place. The reality is that Ghisu cannot really know if this is true or not. He is more preoccupied with getting drunk than consoling Madhav in any meaningful way. Likewise Madhav is a willing listener to his father’s words and easily forgets about Budhia the more that he drinks. However the reality is very different. Madhav has a responsibility to Budhia which he has not honoured due to his and Ghisu’s selfishness. If anything Madhav prefers to get drunk with his father than prepare Budhia’s body for cremation. Just as she may have been abandoned in life by Madhav. Likewise in death she is being abandoned. With Ghisu assured that he will find the money again for the shroud and Madhav believing his father will be able to do so. However the reality may be very different. People may be tired of Ghisu and Madhav’s actions and realise that they would be foolish to give any more money to either man. Even if they did do the right thing on the second occasion. ‘The Shroud’ is an ironic title because the dead woman whose name was Budhiya did not get a shroud for herself even in death Premchand, in this realistic story, has focused on two aspects vital to the workings of an Indian village in pre-independence India: The abuse of women in India and the sexism rampant in the country. The poverty of the lower caste people. Budhiya was dying during childbirth. Though she had done her best by Ghisu and Madhav, they made no move to call a doctor to save her life. They were more concerned about peeling and eating the potatoes they had just managed to procure. They believed in living the cliched ‘one day at a time’ but in a very warped manner. By not calling a doctor or wet nurse to attend to Budhiya, they became her murderers when she died after a painful night. Despite the closely-knit village they lived in, no one came to see why there was so much shrieking and screaming going on in Ghisu’s hut which showed the following: They were fed up with the lazy ways of Ghisu and Madhav and wanted nothing to do with them. They were cruel as well as negligent of the fact that no one was attending to the wailing Budhiya. Thereby, they were murderers, because they were ‘deaf’ to her screaming for help during the birth of her child. 134 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Poverty had hardened them so much that they were not bothered that there was a commotion in Ghisu’s home. They did not want to get mixed up in Ghisu and Madhav’s affairs as they were always hard up. Their carelessness led to Budhiya’s death. However, no one felt that they were at fault. The father and son cried crocodile tears and lied how: They had sat by Budhiya’s side all night while, in reality, they were fast asleep as she died. They had no medicines to give her, and that was why she died. That she was the one who had abandoned them and so they were the victims more than she. The fickle-mindedness of Indian village society is seen starkly in ‘The Shroud’. Although the villagers did nothing to help the shrieking Budhiya in life, they congregated around the hut once she was dead. Their main concern was to make sure she got a proper cremation. Women of the village who did not stir from their homes while Budhiya wailed her lungs out, cried over her dead body. There is a mention in the story of the screaming of Budhiya not affecting Ghisu or Madhav. They were both unwilling to leave their potatoes alone lest one of them ate the other’s share. Ghisu gave the excuse that because Budhiya was naked, being her father-in-law, he could not go and be by her side. On the other hand, Madhav states that he could not go and be by her side as he could not stand her screaming and hoped it would end with her death. It is very satirical to see that the father-in-law was more concerned about propriety than his dying daughter-in-law’s life. They manage to borrow a total of five rupees from: The landlord The merchants The traders Other villagers Probably, all these people were from the higher castes. They borrow the five rupees from them intending to buy a shroud for Budhiya to cover her dead body, a sacred custom in Hindu society in India. However, instead of quickly buying the shroud for Budhiya, they 135 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
shop for it as if they were shopping for a woman’s wedding saree. They make excuses for not liking the plain white cloths presented to them, and at the end of it, they give in to their stomachs and base instincts and spend the money on food and alcohol. They spend the entire day and night drinking and eating without even caring that the money they were spending was for a deceased woman’s shroud. The desire for food and drink was their primary motive in getting the money in the first place. They knew they would get a lot of money from the fickle-minded pretentious villagers out of sympathy for their dead Budhiya. They only wanted the money to satisfy their desire for a feast. They eat a lavish feast of: Snacks Fried fish A variety of chutneys A variety of pickles Liver Any number of puris They scream and toast the dead Budhiya’s soul, as, in her name, they had managed to get such a royal feast, a satire on men whose consciences were dead with selfishness and dire poverty. They gifted the remaining puris to a beggar and intoxicated make their way home. They tell the beggar to bless Budhiya, who was dead. They praise her verbally and brazenly many times. It is Madhav who suddenly, in the midst of his revelling, feels a slight prick in conscience. He wonders what answer would he give his dutiful wife when he would enter eternity. She was sure to ask him why, despite being her husband, he did not even give her a shroud. Ghisu, the sixty-year-old experienced lout, declares to the spirit dampened Madhav that the villagers are so superstitious where a dead body is concerned that they will again contribute a few rupees to buy a shroud. Though this satisfies Madhav’s good-as-dead conscience, he often brings it up, which irritates Ghisu. These two individuals, Ghisu and his son Madhav are showing a mirror of the paradox of Indian village society who ignore the living but have a lot of respect for the dead. Premchand declares towards the end that more than Budhiya, it seemed that everyone in the story was truly dead because their respect for humanity was dead, and their priorities were not where they should be. Ghisu and Madhav fall in a heap due to their drunken state. So too falls the opinion of people concerning the village life of pre-independence India. The problem is, nothing much has changed since Premchand’s time: 136 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Women are still abused in India and are looked down upon. People from the lower castes live a miserable existence and are regularly beaten and abused for trying to assert their rights. A person becomes more important dead than alive. The rich have it all while the poor still starve. People are still highly superstitious and fickle-minded. Kafan” is really not about the caste problem. Gheesu and Madhav are landless agricultural labourers who act as free agents and refuse to work if they are not in the mood or if the terms are not agreeable. They cannot be forced to work by the upper castes as used to be the case earlier. However, a life of suffering and want has completely dehumanized them. Madhav’s wife Budhiya is about to die in childbirth. However, neither of them is concerned about saving her. Unlike the Dalit characters of earlier stories, they question the custom of wrapping the dead body of a woman, who never got a new sari in her life, in a new shroud. They raise money for her funeral and spend it on drinking liquor and eating tasty food to their hearts’ content. Premchand’s artistic intention is not to portray the condition of the Dalits, but to bring the feudal-colonial exploitation of the peasantry into sharp relief because despite working much harder than Gheesu and Madhav, peasants did not fare any better. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SYMBOLS, METAPHORS AND SIMILIES USED IN THE STORY The Potatoes (Symbol) Ghisu and Madhav eat potatoes they stole from another person's field. They are so hungry and impatient that they don't wait for the burning-hot potatoes to cool down. Eating the potatoes thus causes them pain and even brings tears to their eyes. In this way, the potatoes symbolize the main characters' desperation and the cycle of poverty that reproduces itself. The men are so hungry that they cannot even experience pleasure satisfying their hunger. At the same time, the potatoes symbolize Ghisu and Madhav's self-destructive lifestyle. The Shroud (Symbol) The shroud is a multi-faceted symbol. On the one hand, it symbolizes tradition. The men perceive an obligation to buy a new shroud to cover the dead body out of respect for the deceased. But the shroud also becomes a symbol of society's hypocrisy, particularly when it comes to religion and class. As Ghisu and Madhav see it, tradition requires them to buy a new shroud that will ultimately burn along with the dead body anyway. They feel it is hypocritical for a society that doesn't care enough to provide poor people with proper 137 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
clothing when they are alive to require mourners to provide a brand-new shroud for the dead. In this way, the shroud, which is literally a cloth that covers over something, figuratively represents the way that society covers over poverty, class inequality, and the reality that the wealthy do not care to help the poor. On the one hand, the shroud is a symbol of tradition, which requires a funeral shroud out of respect for the deceased person's body. Yet the shroud also becomes a symbol of irony and religious hypocrisy. This is because a poor person who was never properly clothed in life must in death be dressed in a new shroud, which will only burn to ashes anyway. “At him the whole village wagged its finger\" (Metaphor) The author uses this metaphor to highlight the extent to which the village is unified in its hatred of Ghisu. Premchand describes the village as one big hand waving a rejecting finger at this lazy, unmotivated slacker who defies social norms. \"To show compassion to Ghisu was to try to dye a black blanket\" (Metaphor) The narrator uses metaphor to highlight the absolute impossibility of showing compassion to Ghisu. This is because Ghisu seems to ruin every kind gesture that someone shows him. The Landlord Sahib's actions are the perfect example, since ultimately his donation finances Ghisu's drunkenness rather than Budhiya's funeral. Showing compassion to Ghisu is thus so impossible that the narrator likens it to dyeing a black blanket, a clearly impossible feat since no colour can cover over black. As if two gigantic serpents lay coiled there\" (Simile) The narrator uses a simile to compare the sleeping Ghisu and Madhav to \"two gigantic serpents\" that \"lay coiled there\" as Budhiya suffers and eventually dies. Serpents are often associated with evil and temptation. The simile thus highlights Ghisu and Madhav's awful treatment of Budhiya as they fall asleep rather than helping her. The simile also has a somewhat ironic and sarcastic tone. Up until now, Ghisu and Madhav have been described as impoverished, cruel, and selfish. Their comparison with huge, strong serpents that are ready to attack only serves to ironically highlight their lack of power. 6.4 SUMMARY This story is set in post-Independence India. The reality of poverty and Zamindari system can be seen as a backdrop of the story. This story is about Ghisu, a sixty-year-old man in a village and his son Madhav, his forty-year-old son. This pair of father-son is not ideal to follow. They are laziest persons in the village. They certainly have no will to work or even function as a part of the society. Story starts with Madhav's wife Budhiya writhing in pain as she is in 138 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
child labour. Ghisu and Madhav sits outside the hut oblivious to fact that Budhiya needs medical help. Author tells us why we shouldn't expect that from these two. They were so lazy that they don't look for food even if they fast for a day. Then they would do temporary and easy jobs to get money of food. In seasons they would just steal crop so they don't have to work. They are immoral and dishonest that way. Budhiya was unlike them. She had worked hard from the day she had married Madhav. She had brought some order into the hut and used to work in farms. That stopped these two from doing any work as she was feeding them. But that woman was lying in pain right now and these two-no feeling for her. Madhav didn't even care for his child in Budhiya's womb. They are peeling stolen potatoes while she is dying. They get their mouth burnt as they eat very hot potatoes. Ghisu escapes from this harsh present by remembering past. He remembers a feast given by landlord where he had eaten so much that he still considered it as best meal of his life. They both eat potatoes while dreaming about a grand feast and sleep there without bothering about what happened to Budhiya. She dies by next morning. When Madhav founds her dead, he is still emotionally unmoved. Ghisu and Madhav start crying and lamenting over her death. They are pretending this as they want sympathy and help from other people. Other people come as they learn about death of Budhiya. As custom they give consolation to both. But they start showing their worries on lack of money for her final rites. From this point starts a clever scheme of coning. They first go to landlord, who despise them. He had even beaten them as they had stolen from land. Madhav and Ghisu acts as if they have done everything for Budhiya but couldn't save her. They pleads landlord to help them. Landlord doesn't want to help them but he has no choice as it is matter of a death. He reluctantly gives them two rupees, sufficient amount for last rites. But Ghisu and Madhav has something else in their minds. They go to other people in the village and ask for money. They use the name of landlord to get more money. They get sum of five rupees in total. Other people prepares for the last rites and these two goes to market with excuse of buying a shroud for Budhiya. They spend evening there, buying nothing. Then they go in a wine house and order a whole bottle of alcohol and food items which they never had before in life. They spend all the money for it. In the state intoxication Madhav feels bad for Budhiya but Ghisu is careless and tells Madhav that she will get heaven as money for her last 139 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
rites has been used for their satisfaction. Madhav too believes in this distorted logic. They gets more intoxicated as they drink, even give some food to a beggar. When Madhav asks how will they get a shroud Ghisu laughs and tells him that innocent people will believe their lies and help again or will get a shroud instead. Then they both start singing and dancing and makes noise and other people join them. At last they collapse as they have consumed so much alcohol. 6.5 KEWORDS Intoxicated- having had too much alcohol to drink; drunk Paradox -a situation or statement with two or more parts that seem strange or impossible together Despise -to hate somebody/something very much Dehumanize -to make somebody lose his/her human qualities such as kindness, pity, etc Fickle mindedness -one who is prone to casual change or inconstant, Chamars - A group that is part of the \"untouchable\" caste, the chamaar are often considered to be leather-workers. Notorious - Famous, often for something negative or bad Chillum - A straight conical smoking pipe traditionally made of clay, first used in India in the eighteenth century Ascetic - Practicing strict self-denial as a measure of personal and especially spiritual discipline Rupee - The common name for the currency of India (and several other countries) Consolation - Something that gives comfort to someone who is sad or disappointed Dutiful - Obediently fulfilling one's duties Swagger - To walk or strut in a proud, defiant way Indolent - Habitually lazy Thrash - To move wildly or violently 140 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Repletion - The act of eating to excess Vouchsafed - Granted or gave, often in a gracious or condescending manner Puris - A deep-fried bread in India Ghi (or ghee) - A class of clarified butter that originated in ancient India Chutney - A type of thick sauce, made of fruit or vegetables, sometimes pickled, originating in India Raita - An Indian condiment usually made of yogurt with diced cucumber and seasonings Relish(verb) - To enjoy the taste of something Staggered - Walked unsteadily Dhoti - A loose piece of clothing wrapped around the lower half of the body, worn by some men in South Asia Lamenting - feeling or expressing sorrow or regret Raptor - A carnivorous medium- to large-sized bird Prostrate - To cast oneself face down on the ground in humility, submission, or adoration Writhing - Twisting the body about or squirming, as in pain or struggle Rite - An established, ceremonial, usually religious, act Treacherous - Likely to betray trust, unreliable Bastard - Often used as a slur, bastard historically refers to a child born of unmarried parents Verandah - A roofed, open-air gallery or porch Brahmins - A class in Hinduism that specialized as priests and teachers. Sindur - Sindur refers to the bridegroom's putting red ochre in the parting of a bride's hair, an important part of some Hindu wedding ceremonies. 141 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
6.6 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. Read ‘Godaan’, ‘Gaban’ Karambhoomi’ etc by Munshi Premchand and study his art of writing in simple yet effective technique. __________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 2. Study Munshi Premchand’s biography and understand his exemplary contribution in Hindi and Urdu literature __________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 6.7 UNIT END QUESTIONS A. Descriptive Questions Short Questions 1. How does Ghisu describe his dying wife? 2. In what way Madhav and Ghisu convinced the villagers to donate money? 3. Give the character sketch of Budhiya in the story. 4. Describe the theme of shroud in short. 5. What is the significance of Ghisu’s memory of the feast? Long questions 1. What does the shroud symbolize? 2. What is the significance of Ghisu's memory of the feast? 3. What role does gender play in \"The Shroud\"? 4. Ghisu and Madhav can be described as anti-heroes. Why? 5. How does ‘The Shroud’ by Munshi Premchand talk about ingenuity in subaltern resistance? B. Multiple Choice Questions 1. Why is eating the potatoes painful for Ghisu and Madhav? 142 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
a. Because they are burning hot b. Because they are uncooked c. Because they are stolen d. Because they are unripe 2. Why is Ghisu not fully a trickster? a. He is too stupid to be a trickster b. He does not follow the rules of the tricksters to improve his social position c. He is too smart to be a trickster d. He is still a peasant 3. Why does Ghisu remember the wedding procession from twenty years ago? a. Because he drank a whole bottle of liquor b. Because it was the only time he was truly full and satisfied c. Because that it where he met his wife d. Because that is when he gained a bad reputation 4. What kind of language does the narrator use to describe Madhav's discovery that Budhiya has died? a. Cold, distanced, mildly disgusting b. Heart-broken and depressed c. Defeated, exhausted, tragic d. Regretful and apologetic 5. What amount did both Ghisu and Madhav collected from villagers? a. Twenty rupees b. Five rupees c. Twenty dollars d. Five dollars Answer 1-a), 2-a), 3-b), 4-a), 5-b) 6.8 SUGGESTED READINGS Reference’s book Devasthan Rahasya – 1903 – 1905 143 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
Prema – 1907 Kishna – 1907 Roothi Rani – 1907, 1909 Vardaan – 1912 Mangalsootra ( Incomplete) - 1936 http://www.oppapers.com/subjects/different-kinds-of-approaches-to-hrm- page1.html https://www.gradesaver.com/the-shroud-and-other-short-stories/study- guide/character-list https://scroll.in › Books And Ideas › Found In Translation 144 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
UNIT – 7:MAHASHWETA DEVI: DRAUPADI Structure 7.0 Learning Objectives 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Literary Criticism 7.3 Critical Approaches to literature 7.3.1Relevance of the story in today’s world 7.4 Summary 7.5 Keywords 7.6 Learning Activity 7.7Unit End Questions 7.8 References 7.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this unit, you will be able to: Acquaint the learning of Mahasweta Devi. The lesson analyses Mahasweta Devi’s essay “Draupadi.” 145 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
7.1 INTRODUCTION Figure 7.1 Mahasweta devi (14 Jan 1926-28 July 2016) Early Life Mahasweta Devi (14 January 1926 – 28 July 2016) was an Indian writer in Bengali and an activist. Her notable literary works include Hajar Churashir Maa, Rudali, and Aranyer Adhikar. She was a self-proclaimed leftist who worked for the rights and empowerment of the tribal people (Lodha and Shabar) of West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states of India. She was honoured with various literary awards such as the Sahitya Akademi Award (in Bengali), Jnanpith Award and Ramon Magsaysay Award along with India's civilian awards Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan. Mahasweta Devi was born on 14 Jan 1926 in Dacca , BritishIndia (now Dhaka, Bangladesh). Her father, Manish Ghatak, was a well- known poet and novelist of the Kallol movement, who used the pseudonym Jubanashwa. Ghatak's brother was noted filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak. Devi's mother, Dharitri Devi, was also a writer and a social worker whose brothers were very distinguished in various fields, such as the noted sculptor Sankha Chaudhury and the founder-editor of Economic and Political Weekly of India, Sachin Chaudhury. Mahasweta Devi's first 146 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
schooling was in Dhaka, Eden Montessori school (1930) but then she moved to West Bengal (now in India). Then she studied in Midnapore Mission Girls High School (1935). After that she was admitted to Santiniketan (1936 to 1938). After that, she studied at Beltala Girls' School (1939-1941) where she got her matric. Then in 1944 she got I.A. from Asutosh College. Then she joined the Rabindranath Tagore-founded Visva-Bharati University and completed a B.A. (Hons) in English, and then finished an M.A. in English at Calcutta University. On 27 February in 1947, she married renowned playwright Bijon Bhattacharya, who was one of the founding fathers of the Indian People's Theatre Association movement. In 1948, she gave birth to Nabarun Bhattacharya, who became a novelist and political critic. She worked in a post office but was fired for her communist leaning. She went on to do various jobs, such as selling soaps and writing letters in English for illiterate people. In 1962, she married author Asit Gupta after divorcing Bhattacharya. In 1976, the relationship with Gupta ended. Mahasveta Devi teaches English at Bijaygarh College in Jadavpur, India, an institution for working-class women. She has published over a dozen novels, most recently Chotti Munda ebang Tar Tir (\"Chotti Munda and His Arrow\"), and is a prolific journalist, writing on the struggle of the tribal peasant in West Bengal and Bihar. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin. The translator of Derrida's De la grammatology, she has published essays on Marxist feminism, deconstructive practice, and contemporary literature and is currently completing a book on theory and practice in the humanities create oppositions; its insistence that in disclosing complicities the critic as- subject is herself complicit with the object of her critique; its emphasis upon \"history\" and upon the ethico-political as the \"trace\" of that complicity-the proof that we do not inhabit a clearly defined critical space free of such traces; and, finally, the acknowledgment that its own discourse can never be adequate to its example. This is clearly not the place to elaborate each item upon this list. I should, however, point out that in my introductory paragraphs I have already situated the figure of Senanayak in terms of our own patterns of complicity. In what follows, the relationship between the tribal and classical characters of Draupadi, the status of Draupadi at the end of the story, and the reading of Senanayak's proper name might be seen as produced by the reading practice I have described. The complicity of law and transgression and the class deconstruction of the \"gentlemen revolutionaries,\" although seemingly minor point in the interpretation of the story as such, take on greater importance in a political context. I cannot take this discussion of deconstruction far enough to show how Dopdi's song, incomprehensible yet trivial (it is in fact about beans of different colors), and ex-orbitant to the story, marks the place of that other that can be neither excluded nor recuperated. 147 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
\"Draupadi\" first appeared in Agnigarbha (\"Womb of Fire\"), a collection of loosely connected, short political narratives. As Mahasveta points out in her introduction to the collection, \"Life is not mathematics and the human being is not made for the sake of politics. I want a change in the present social system and do not believe in mere party politics. Mahasweta is a middle-class Bengali leftist intellectual in her fifties. She has a master's degree in English from Shantiniketan, the famous experimental university established by the bourgeois poet Rabindranath Tagore. Her reputation as a novelist was already well established when, in the late '70s, she published Hajar Churashir Ma (\"No. 1084's Mother\"). This novel, the only one to be imminently published in English translation, remains within the excessively sentimental idiom of the Bengali novel of the last twenty-odd years.7 Yet in Aranyer Adhikar (\"The Rights or, Occupation] of the Forest\"), a serially published novel she was writing almost at the same time, a significant change is noticeable. It is a meticulously researched historical novel about the Munda Insurrection of 1899-1900. Here Mahasveta begins putting together a prose that is a collage of literary Bengali, street Bengali, bureaucratic Bengali, tribal Bengali, and the languages of the tribals. Since the Bengali script is illegible except to the approximately 25 literate percent of the about 90 million speakers of Bengali, a large number of whom live in Bangladesh rather than in West Bengal, one cannot speak of the \"Indian\" reception of Mahasveta's work but only of its Bengali receptiom8 Briefly, that reception can be described as a general recognition of excellence; skepticism regarding the content on the part of the bourgeois readership; some accusations of extremism from the electoral Left; and admiration and a sense of solidarity on the part of the non-electoral Left. Any extended reception study would consider that West Bengal has had a Left-Front government of the united electoral Communist parties since 1967. Here suffice it to say that Mahasveta is certainly one of the most important writers writing in India today. Any sense of Bengal as a \"nation\" is governed by the putative identity of the Bengali language. Meanwhile, Bengalis dispute if the purest Bengali is that of Nabadwip or South Calcutta, and many of the twenty-odd developed dialects are incomprehensible to the \"general speaker.\") In 1947, on the eve of its departure from India, the British government divided Bengal into West Bengal, which remained a part of India, and East Pakistan. Punjab was similarly divided into East Punjab (India) and West Pakistan. The two parts of Pakistan did not share ethnic or linguistic ties and were separated by nearly eleven hundred miles. The division was made on the grounds of the concentration of Muslims in these two parts of the subcontinent. Yet the Punjabi Muslims felt themselves to be more \"Arab\" because they lived in the area where the first Muslim emperors of India had settled nearly seven hundred years 148 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
ago and also because of their proximity to West Asia (the Middle East). The Bengali Muslims-no doubt in a class-differentiated way-felt themselves constituted by the culture of Bengal. Bengal has had a strong presence of leftist intellectualism and struggle since the middle of the last century, before, in fact, the word \"Left\" entered our political shorthand.1° West Bengal is one of three Communist states in the Indian Union. As such, it is a source of considerable political irritation to the central government of India. (The individual state governments have a good deal more autonomy under the Indian Constitution than is the case in the U.S.) Although officially India is a Socialist state with a mixed economy, historically it has reflected a spectrum of the Right, from military dictatorship to nationalist class benevolence. The word \"democracy\" becomes highly interpretable in the context of a largely illiterate, multilingual, heterogeneous, and un-politicized electorate. Literary Style and Social Activities Devi wrote over 100 novels and over 20 collections of short stories primarily written in Bengali but often translated to other languages. Her first novel, titled Jhansir Rani, based on a biography of the Rani of Jhansi was published in 1956. She had toured the Jhansi region to record information and folk songs from the local people for the novel. Mahasweta Devi's specialisation lay in the studies of Adivasi, Dalit and Marginalized citizens with a focus on their women. They were associated as protestor in the face of the oppressive British rule, the Mahajanas and upper class corruption and injustice. She lived in the Adivasi villages in West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh years afer years, befriending them and learning from them. She has embodied their struggles and sacrifices in her words and characters. She had claimed that her stories aren't her creation, they are the stories of the people of her country. Such an example is her work \" Chotti Mundi Ebong Tar Tir\" In 1964, she began teaching at Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College (an affiliated college of the University of Calcutta system). In those days Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College was an institution for working-class women students. During that period she also worked—as a journalist and as a creative writer. She studied the Lodhas and Shabars, the tribal communities of West Bengal, women and dalits. In her elaborate Bengali fiction, she often depicted the brutal oppression on the tribal people and untouchables by the powerful authoritarian upper-caste landlords, money-lenders, and venal government officials.[8] She wrote of the source of her inspiration: I have always believed that the real history is made by ordinary people. I constantly come across the reappearance, in various forms, of folklore, ballads, myths and legends, carried by ordinary people across generations. The reason and inspiration for my writing are those 149 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
people who are exploited and used, and yet do not accept defeat. For me, the endless source of ingredients for writing is in these amazingly noble, suffering human beings. Why should I look for my raw material elsewhere, once I have started knowing them? Sometimes it seems to me that my writing is really their doing. Postcolonial scholar Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak has translated Devi's short stories into English and published three books Imaginary Maps (1995, Routledge), Old Woman (1997, Seagull), The Breast Stories (1997, Seagull). Mahasweta Devi raised her voice several times against the discrimination suffered by tribal people in India. Devi's 1977 novel Aranyer Adhikar (Right to the Forest) was about the life of Birsa Munda .and in June 2016, consequent to Devi's activism, the Jharkhand State Government finally saw to the removal of the manacles from the figure of Munda, which had been part of the commemorative sculpture of the notable young tribal leader due to its having been based on a photograph dating from the era of British rule. Devi spearheaded the movement against the industrial policy of the earlier Communist Party of India (Marxist) government of West Bengal. Specifically, she stridently criticized confiscation from farmers of large tracts of fertile agricultural land by the government which then ceded it to industrial houses at throwaway prices. She supported the candidature of Mamata Banarjee in the 2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election which resulted in the end of the 34-year long rule of CPI(M). She had connected the policy to the commercialization of Santiniketan of Rabindranath Tagore, where she spent her formative years. Her lead in the Nandigram agitation resulted in a number of intellectuals, artists, writers and theatre workers joining together in protest of the controversial policy and particularly its implementation in Singur and Nandigram. She is known to have helped the noted writer Manoranjan Bypari to come into prominence as his initial writings were published in her journal and as prompted by her. At the Frankfurt Book Fair 2006, when India was the first country to be the Fair's second time guest nation, she made an impassioned inaugural speech wherein she moved the audience to tears with her lines taken from the famous film song \"Mera Joota Hai Japani\" by Raj Kapoor. This is truly the age where the Joota (shoe) is Japani (Japanese), Patloon (pants) is Englistani (British), the Topi (hat) is Roosi (Russian), But the Dil... Dil (heart) is always Hindustani (Indian). My country, Torn, Tattered, Proud, Beautiful, Hot, Humid, Cold, Sandy, Shining India. My country. Death 150 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)
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