Godaan
General fiction
Synthetic audio
Summary
Godan is regarded as one of the greatest Hindi novel of modern Indian literature. Themed around the socioeconomic deprivation as well as the exploitation of the poor village, the novel was the last complete novel of Premchand. The protagonist, Hori,… a poor peasant, desperately longs for a cow, a symbol of wealth and prestige in rural India. In a Faustian twist of fate, Hori gets his cow, but ends by paying for it with his life. After his death, the village priests demand a cow from his widow to bring his soul absolution, and peace (Godaan). The narrative can be said to represent the existence of the average Indian farmer under colonial rule, with the protagonist facing cultural and feudal exploitation.