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Indian Literature in English Translation

Acquaintances

Godaan
Godaan (Cow donation) is a Hindi novel by Munshi Premchand, translated into English
as The Gift of a Cow. The act of donating a cow in charity, or Godaan, is considered to
be an important Hindu ritual, as it helps in absolving one of sin, and incurring divine
blessings. The word dharma has been used 34 times in the novel in different context and
by different Characters. The word connotes as religion, moral principles and values,
conscience and duty.
It was first published in 1936 and is considered one of the greatest Hindustani novels of
modern Indian literature. Themed around the socio economic deprivation as well as the
exploitation of the village poor, the novel was the last complete novel of Premchand. It
was translated into English in 1957 by Jai Ratan and P. Lal translation; a 1968
translation by Gordon C. Roadarmel is now considered "a classic in itself".
Godaan was made into a Hindi film in 1963, starring Rajkumar, Mehmood and
Shashikala. In 2004, Godaan was part of the 26-episode TV series, Tehreer.... Munshi
Premchand Ki, based on the writing of Premchand, starring Pankaj Kapur and Surekha
Sikri, directed by Gulzar and produced by Doordarshan.
The story revolves around many characters representing the various sections of Indian
community. The peasant and rural society is represented by the family of Hori Mahato
and his family members which includes Dhania(wife), Rupa and Sona (daughters),
Gobar (son), Jhunia (daughter-in-law). The Story starts from a point where Hori has a
deep desire of having a cow as other millions of poor peasants. He purchased, on debt of
Rs.80, a cow from Bhola, a cowherd. Hori tried to cheat his brothers for 10 rupees. This
in turn led to a fight between his wife and his younger brother, Heeras wife. Jealous of
Hori, his younger brother Heera poisoned the cow and ran away because of the fear of
police action. When the police came inquiring the death of the cow, Hori took a loan and
paid the bribe to the police and was able to clear off his younger brothers name. Jhunia,
the daughter of Bhola, was a widow and eloped with Gobar after she got pregnant by
him. Because of the fear of the action from villagers Gobar also ran away to the town.
Hori and Dhania were unable to throw a girl carrying their son's child from their
doorstep and gave her protection and accepting her as their daughter-in-law. The
village Panchayat fines Hori as his wife tackles the personal attack of the Pandit on them
for sheltering Jhunia. Hori again is compelled to take a loan and pay the penalty. Hori is
in huge debt from local money lenders and eventually married off his daughter Rupa for
mere 200 rupees to save his ancestral land from being auctioned because of his inability
to pay land tax. But his determination to pay those 200 rupees and to have a cow to
provide milk to his grandson, leads to Hori's death because of excessive work. When he
is about to die, his wife Dhania took out all the money she had (1.25 Rupees) and made
Hori pay the priest on behalf of Godaan (cow donation). This eventually fulfils the
traditional dream of Hori but still his desire to pay back the rupees 200 to his son- in-

P-8

Indian Literature in English Translation

Acquaintances

law and to have a cow to feed the milk to his grandson remain unfulfilled. Hori is shown
as a typical poor peasant who is the victim of circumstances and possess all the
deficiencies of common man but despite all this, he stands by his honesty, duties and
judgment when time requires. He is shown dead partially satisfied and partially
unsatisfied.
Themes:
The novel has several themes:
1) Problems due to caste segregation:
People of different vocation and their respective castes represent the village. Datadin,
the Brahmin priest represents the uppermost caste; he exploits the lower caste villagers
with his various religious sanctions. Hori [peasant], Bhola[cowherd], Selia[a cobblers
daughter] represent the various hierarchies of lower castes in the caste system that
existed in India.
2) Exploitation of the lower class: Premchand has drawn a realistic picture of the
poor peasants exploited by the village zamindar and the greedy moneylenders. The
zamindars collected the revenue and imposed fine. Here, Rai Saheb fined Hori for the
death of the cow, though he did not kill it. The peasants are unable to pay the debts in
time and it gets multiplied with the passage of time. They are caught in a debt trap and
they suffer, like Hori, until their end. The author is advocating the need to end the feudal
system that existed in the country.
3) Exploitation of Women: the women characters Dhaniya, Jhunia, Seliya and Roopa
are exploited by the men they love and are dedicated to.
4) Problems due to industrialization: growth of capitalistic greedy industrialist who
exploit the labour class. Migration of youngsters from the villages to cities, conflicts and
tensions in cities are some of the problems.
5) Interpersonal relationships, Love, and marriage: Premchand as a progressive
writer envisages a modern India where love and intercaste marriages would thrive. We
have the intercaste marriages of Gobar and Jhunia, Mataadin and Seliya and that of the
educated pair, Rudra Pratap and Saroj. The marital relationship of Mr.Khanna and his
wife is strained as he lacks love and respect for her. Mr. Mehta and Miss Malathi have
serious thought provoking discussions on the issues of love, the institution of marriage,
the relation of man and woman and womanhood. They represent the voice of modern
India and mutually decide to live as friends serving society in their respective capacities.
6) Political scenario of the period: the country was fighting for its liberation from
colonial powers. It was the period for the growth and development of different parties
and ideologies.. Premchand, through the novel, expresses his stand as a socialist.
Socialism is a panacea for all kinds of discrimination and exploitation.
The narrative represents the average Indian farmer's existence under colonial rule, with
the protagonist facing cultural and feudal exploitation. It shows how the life of these
characters takes shape.