कफ़न

by Munshi Premchand, मुंशी प्रेमचंद

This short story first published by Jamia, in 1936 is a sharp critique on human selfishness. A quintessential Premchand story.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, India, Indian Literature, Asian Literature, Audiobook

7 pages

First published January 1, 1935

About the author

Munshi Premchand (Hindi: मुंशी प्रेमचंद) was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. He is one of the most celebrated writers of the Indian subcontinent,and is regarded as one of the foremost Hindustani writers of the early twentieth century.

Born Dhanpat Rai, he began writing under the pen name "Nawab Rai", but subsequently switched to "Premchand", while he is also known as "Munshi Premchand", Munshi being an honorary prefix. A novel writer, story writer and dramatist, he has been referred to as the "Upanyas Samrat" ("Emperor among Novelists") by some Hindi writers. His works include more than a dozen novels, around 250 short stories, several essays and translations of a number of foreign literary works into Hindi.

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 India's freedom movement.

Several of his early works, such as A Little Trick and A Moral Victory, satirised the Indians who cooperated with the British colonial government.

In the 1920s, he was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement and the accompanying struggle for social reform. During this period, his works dealt with the social issues such as poverty, zamindari exploitation (Premashram, 1922), dowry system (Nirmala, 1925), educational reform and political oppression (Karmabhumi, 1931).

In his last days, he focused on village life as a stage for complex drama, as seen in his most famous work Godan as well as the short-story collection Kafan (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.

Reviews

[Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Munshi Premchand deals with the story of a lazy father and son in this book.

Ghisu and his son Madhav are lazy and always love to take rest and relax. They are somehow barely surviving due to the extreme shortage of money. But poverty doesn’t have any effect on Ghisu and Madhav’s laziness.

Madhav’s wife dies due to the lack of treatment one day. They manage to get some money from the neighbors for the shroud and funeral.

“This was not the time for anger and punishment. A person who wouldn’t even get a proper piece of clothing while being alive requires a shroud after death. What a terrible custom it was! ”

What will they do with this money? Will the death of someone close at last change the attitude of the father and the son? The author answers it through this book.

[Arsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Kafan' or 'Shroud' is a wonderful composition of short stories written by the idealist-reformist Munshi Premchand. These stories are a perfect combination of idealism and realism which traces the socio-economic structure of the feudal colonial alliance and its inhuman/brutal form under the pretext of helplessness and inhumanity. Premchand does not create a clash of realism and viewpoints in these stories but he shows the direction and reveals his convictions regarding the values that are worth living for, slogging for, and dying for.

There are so many characters and they are not confined to a single class, religion, caste and thought process. The characters are written so beautifully that you end up falling in love with the various aspects of each one. The book is full of rich and vivid conversations and such different perspectives are put forth that you have to pause often and think. I have read it a few times and every time I am moved so deeply.

Premchand coined the real India in his stories which gives a true insight into the lives of Indians. The description of the tragedies of farmers, the condition of the society during early India, the importance of both the male and female to lead an enormous life. All this is and many more philosophies are compiled very nicely in this book.

[Shabana Mukhtar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of syllabus in school.

[Rajan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kafan must be one of the best stories in not just in Hindi but world literature. Marcus Garvey truly captures the spirit of Kafan as follows:

"Poverty is a hellish state to be in.
It is no virtue.
It is a crime.
To be poor is

to be hungry without possible hope of food;
to be sick without hope of medicine;
to be tired and sleepy without a place to lay one's head;
to be naked without the hope of clothing;
to be despised and comfortless.

To be poor is to be a fit subject for crime and hell." - Marcus Garvey.

Premchand in this short story shows us the true ugly face of poverty. Poverty dehumanizes human beings. There is not much difference between an animal and poor person.It Robs us of the things which makes us human like compassion, sympathy, self respect, magnanimity, self actualization etc. Maslow also said that if the basic needs are not fulfilled the higher needs remains untouched forget about fulfilling them.

Its a black comedy. Its humor is just a mask to hide the ugly truth which Munshiji wants to convey. It would have been comic if the implications are not so horrible.

But what makes it contender for truly great story of world is that if it leads you to start thinking you will definitely become a better human being.

Some dalit activist in India say that it is too casteist and as the protagonists are from lower caste it shows them in bad light. But i disagree. I think Premchand has the utmost respect for the dalits and he constantly brought out their plight through his writings.

Please read and you will be a changed person.

P.S. I guess Anush Rizvi said that her movie Peepli Live is inspired by Kafan.

[Ashutosh Baghel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nobody writes better short stories than Munsi Premchand.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was penned in 1936, the year Premchand died.

The story recounts the life of a Dalit family -- Ghisu (the father), Madhav (his son) and Budhia (his daughter-in-law), all of who are devastated by poverty. The whole plot is embedded in the rural society where this family is the poorest one.

The story commences with a conversation between father and son about his daughter-in-law who is pregnant and facing labour pain. Both, Ghisu and Madhav are represented as scandalously languid. They do not want to do any work at all. Fearing nothing and living at a subhuman level they are outside all normal mores of social behaviour.

While Madhav’s wife is writhing in labour pain inside the hut, Madhav and his father sit outside, greedily devouring stolen potatoes, unwilling to go and help her because the other person might grab a larger share. Ghisu recounts in detail a feast to which he had been invited twenty years ago and Madhav listens to the vivid account of food with vicarious pleasure. The wife lies dying inside and both of them sleep unconcerned about her.

The next morning, Budhia is dead. Both, father and son start mourning. The neighbours come and express their condolences. Now arrangements for the cremation are to be made.

There is nothing in the house and both of them have no money at all. They go to the Zamindar, who gives them two rupees with contempt. Other people from the village also donate some money for cremation. They now collect some five rupees and go to purchase the shroud. They look for a cheap shroud but fail. They enter a tavern where they drink and eat, forgetting all their responsibilities. While drinking, they comment on several things including rituals, traditions and system and praise Budhia ‘who even in death provided them food and drink.” They get heavily intoxicated and in the end, start singing, dancing and wiggling just to fall down unconscious.

The story comes to an end.

In this tale, we have the theme of self-centeredness, convention, principle, autonomy, culpability, haughtiness, gender roles and accountability. 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 wellbeing 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.

The conclusion of the story is tremendously attention-grabbing, as Ghisu’s words to Madhav may be based on Ghisu’s own egocentricity. Regardless of telling Madhav that Budhia is in a superior place, the actuality is that Ghisu cannot really know if this is true or not. He is more thoughtful with getting drunk than consoling Madhav in any consequential means.

Likewise Madhav is an enthusiastic listener to his father’s words and with no trouble forgets about Budhia the more that he drinks. However the reality is very different. Madhav has a liability to Budhia which he has not honoured due to his and Ghisu’s self-centeredness. 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 stupid to give any more money to either man, even if they did do the right thing on the second occasion.

Premchand begins his story in a uncomplimentary tone castigating the father and son for their slothful nature. They are described from the upper caste point of view and branded as ineffectual fellows. The upper caste is wont to extort free or cheap labour out of the lower castes. If someone from the lower caste is indolent or a foot-dragger or shows insubordination to authority he is labelled as a hopeless or twisted man. His value in the society is measured in terms of his convenience to the overriding class.

The story is a record also of the imperceptible aggression inflicted by and the abject consequence of poverty. Even though Ghisu as a subaltern could oppose the forces of mistreatment, astonishingly and disastrously Budhiya, the woman in the family, who had catapulted Ghisu and Madhav to a position of bargaining, even if for a day, had been left without a say.

Budhiya suffered wordlessly her destiny, her demise. Yet she provided the locus on which the subaltern and the master, the exploited and the exploiter worked out their relations with each other.

This is the nature of power and the logic of exploitation.

Budhiya is crushed under the threesome forces – a) feudalism, b) patriarchy and c) poverty. The manipulation that Ghisu worked to wring whatever small from the ruling class was missing in the case of Budhiya. Ghisu and Madhav could put up a struggle, however scheming and survived.

Budhiya gave her everything and was defeated.

This story though exemplifies subaltern conflict; it nonetheless raises some more issues whose answers are not present in it.

What are the questions that the readers are left with:

*Whom do we identify as the real subaltern?

*Why is their relation not egalitarian?

*What will allow Budhiya to raise her voice against the exploitation she is subjected to?

*Which resistance is more urgent for a woman like Budhiya?

*Such questions need to be addressed to understand the multifariousness of subaltern exploitation and the complicity of peer groups in that racket.

*Ghisu and Madhav exploited Budhiya to earn the extra buck, even though it cost her life. We may say that economic deprivation had dehumanized both to an extent where human relations were meaningless to them.

But that couldn’t perhaps act as a subterfuge for the manipulative relation between Ghisu, Madhav and Budhiya brought out unambiguously in the following lines. ‘Ever since his wife had entered their house, she had established some kind of order in their disordered lives and strived to stoke the bellies of these two shameless wretches. With her arrival, the father and the son had become more slothful than ever, and cocky too, to boot’.

This is noteworthy as whatever costly little they worked to feed themselves before her arrival, had been stopped now; shifting the onus absolutely hereafter on Budhiya.

And when she died, it was in her name that the money was raised, though consumed by the same people who exploited her while she was alive. Not unlike the ruling class, they too were never short of validations. “Yes, son, she’ll certainly go to heaven. She never hurt a fly, never bothered a soul all her life. Even in her death, she managed to fulifi our dearest wish. If she won’t go to heaven, who will? These rich, fat slobs who fleece the poor and then, to wash away their sins, take a dip in the Ganga river or offer its holy water in the temples?”

The privileged has always justified mistreatment to serve his self-interests, be it the feudal master or the patriarchal father.

[Rajan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kafan must be one of the best stories in not just in Hindi but world literature. Marcus Garvey truly captures the spirit of Kafan as follows:

"Poverty is a hellish state to be in.
It is no virtue.
It is a crime.
To be poor is

to be hungry without possible hope of food;
to be sick without hope of medicine;
to be tired and sleepy without a place to lay one's head;
to be naked without the hope of clothing;
to be despised and comfortless.

To be poor is to be a fit subject for crime and hell." - Marcus Garvey.

This is wikipedia summary in hindi:
इसका प्रारंभ इस प्रकार होता है- झोंपड़े के द्वार पर बाप और बेटा दोनों एक बुझे हुए अलाव के सामने चुपचाप बैठे हुए हैं और अंदर बेटे की जवान बीवी बुधिया प्रसव वेदना से पछाड़ खा रही थी। रह-रहकर उसके मुँह से ऐसी दिल हिला देने वाली आवाज़ निकलती थी कि दोनों कलेजा थाम लेते थे। जाड़ों की रात थी, प्रकृत्ति सन्नाटे में डूबी हुई, सारा गाँव अंधकार में लय हो गया था। जब निसंग भाव से कहता है कि वह बचेगी नहीं तो माधव चिढ़कर उत्तर देता है कि मरना है तो जल्दी ही क्यों नहीं मर जाती-देखकर भी वह क्या कर लेगा। लगता है जैसे कहानी के प्रारंभ में ही बड़े सांकेतिक ढंग से प्रेमचंद इशारा कर रहे हैं और भाव का अँधकार में लय हो जाना मानो पूँजीवादी व्यवस्था का ही प्रगाढ़ होता हुआ अंधेरा है जो सारे मानवीय मूल्यों, सद्भाव और आत्मीयता को रौंदता हुआ निर्मम भाव से बढ़ता जा रहा है। इस औरत ने घर को एक व्यवस्था दी थी, पिसाई करके या घास छिलकर वह इन दोनों बगैरतों का दोजख भरती रही है। और आज ये दोनों इंतजार में है कि वह मर जाये, तो आराम से सोयें। आकाशवृत्ति पर जिंदा रहने वाले बाप-बेटे के लिए भुने हुए आलुओं की कीमत उस मरती हुई औरत से ज्यादा है। उनमें कोई भी इस डर से उसे देखने नहीं जाना चाहता कि उसके जाने पर दूसरा आदमी सारे आलू खा जायेगा। हलक और तालू जल जाने की चिंता किये बिना जिस तेजी से वे गर्म आलू खा रहे हैं उससे उनकी मारक गरीबी का अनुमान सहज ही हो जाता है। यह विसंगति कहानी की संपूर्ण संरचना के साथ विडंबनात्मक ढंग से जुड़ी हुई है। घीसू को बीस साल पहले हुई ठाकुर की बारात याद आती है-चटनी, राइता, तीन तरह के सूखे साग, एक रसेदार तरकारी, दही, चटनी, मिठाई। अब क्या बताऊँ कि उस भोज में क्या स्वाद मिला।...लोगों ने ऐसा खाया, किसी से पानी न पिया गया।..। यह वर्णन अपने ब्योरे में काफी आकर्षक ही नहीं बल्कि भोजन के प्रति पाठकीय संवेदना को धारदार बना देता है। इसके बाद प्रेमचंद लिखते हैं- और बुधिया अभी कराह रही थी। इस प्रकार ठाकुर की बारात का वर्णन अमानवीयता को ठोस बनाने में पूरी सहायता करता है।

कफन एक ऐसी सामाजिक व्यवस्था की कहानी है जो श्रम के प्रति आदमी में हतोत्साह पैदा करती है क्योंकि उस श्रम की कोई सार्थकता उसे नहीं दिखायी देती है। क्योंकि जिस समाज में रात-दिन मेहनत करने वालों की हालत उनकी हालत से बहुत-कुछ अच्छी नहीं थी और किसानों के मुकाबले में वे लोग, जो किसानों की दुर्बलताओं से लाभ उठाना जानते थे, कहीं ज्यादा संपन्न थे, वहाँ इस तरह की मनोवृत्ति का पैदा हो जाना कोई अचरज की बात न थी।... फिर भी उसे तक्सीन तो थी ही कि अगर वह फटेहाल है तो कम से कम उसे किसानों की-सी जी-तोड़ मेहनत तो नहीं करनी पड़ती। उसकी सरलता और निरीहता से दूसरे लोग बेज़ा फायदा तो नहीं उठाते। बीस साल तक यह व्यवस्था आदमी को भर पेट भोजन के बिना रखती है इसलिए आवश्यक नहीं कि अपने परिवार के ही एक सदस्य के मरने-जीने से ज्यादा चिंता उन्हें अपने पेट भरने की होती है। औरत के मर जाने पर कफन का चंदा हाथ में आने पर उनकी नियत बदलने लगती है, हल्के से कफन की बात पर दोनों एकमत हो जाते हैं कि लाश उठते-उठते रात हो जायेगी। रात को कफन कौन देखता है? कफन लाश के साथ जल ही तो जाता है। और फिर उस हल्के कफन को लिये बिना ही ये लोग उस कफन के चन्दे के पैसे को शराब, पूड़ियों, चटनी, अचार और कलेजियों पर खर्च कर देते हैं। अपने भोजन की तृप्ति से ही दोनों बुधिया की सद्गति की कल्पना कर लेते हैं-हमारी आत्मा प्रसन्न हो रही है तो क्या उसे सुख नहीं मिलेगा। जरूर से जरूर मिलेगा। भगवान तुम अंतर्यामी हो। उसे बैकुण्ठ ले जाना। अपनी आत्मा की प्रसन्नता पहले जरूरी है, संसार और भगवान की प्रसन्नता की कोई जरूरत है भी तो बाद में।

अपनी उम्र के अनुरूप घीसू ज्यादा समझदार है। उसे मालूम है कि लोग कफन की व्यवस्था करेंगे-भले ही इस बार रूपया उनके हाथ में न आवे.नशे की हालत में माधव जब पत्नी के अथाह दुःख भोगने की सोचकर रोने लगता है तो घीसू उसे चुप कराता है-हमारे परंपरागत ज्ञान के सहारे कि मर कर वह मुक्त हो गयी है। और इस जंजाल से छूट गयी है। नशे में नाचते-गाते, उछलते-कूदते, सभी ओर से बेखबर और मदमस्त, वे वहीं गिर कर ढेर हो जाते हैं।

Premchand in this short story shows us the true ugly face of poverty. Poverty dehumanizes human beings. There is not much difference between an animal and poor person.It Robs us of the things which makes us human like compassion, sympathy, self respect, magnanimity, self actualization etc. Maslow also said that if the basic needs are not fulfilled the higher needs remains untouched forget about fulfilling them.

Its a black comedy. Its humor is just a mask to hide the ugly truth which Munshiji wants to convey. It would have been comic if the implications are not so horrible.

But what makes it contender for truly great story of world is that if it leads you to start thinking you will definitely become a better human being.

Some dalit activist in India say that it is too casteist and as the protagonists are from lower caste it shows them in bad light. But i disagree. I think Premchand has the utmost respect for the dalits and he constantly brought out their plight through his writings.

Please read and you will be a changed person.

P.S. I guess Anush Rizvi said that her movie Peepli Live is inspired by Kafan.

[Madhulika Liddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short story about a poor village woman, writhing in the throes of labour, while her good-for-nothing husband Madhav and his equally hopeless father sit outside roasting stolen potatoes and reminiscing about a grand banquet...

Classic Premchand: in so few words, he paints such a vivid picture of human emotion, of human nature. There are only two main characters in this story, and they're thoroughly unlikeable—so low, so unfeeling, so devoid of any depth, that they will stoop to even benefiting from the death of the only person who looked after them. And yet: there is an insight into (perhaps) why Gheesoo and Madhav are like this, what makes them so bereft of common human decency. This is what I admire about Premchand: with a few dialogues, a couple of hard-hitting scenes, he is able to delve deep, to show human nature, with all its weaknesses, all its frailties, all its vulnerabilities. Eventually, while I could not help but despise these two men, I could not also help feel some pity for them, for their plight.

[Abhishek · Rating 4 out of 5]

hmm........
what I say about the book. A very heart-touching short story by famous hindi writer. A usual pattern always i saw in his writing like related to social problem, simple language, some heart-touching movement, real presentation of human nature, poverty and a very different kind of ending. I think, since he was from a mediocre family this was the reason that he can easily present the real picture of problem faced by the lower group of society and the situations are very realistic. Some of readers might be disagree with my opinion but it is only because they haven't seen or experienced such poverty.in short, all his stories are a perfect combination of idealism and realism having a social massage with some heart-touching movements, especially for those who has experienced poverty closely.

[Divya Darshani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written 👍🏻

[Ayesha (Seokjin's Version) ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an absolutely powerful short story about human nature by Munshi jee. The amount of atmosphere that he is able to build in such a short time, of the characters, the villagers, and the village itself is so delightful to read. Whilst the story itself deal with heavy topics, this story manages to dig into human nature and present the complexity of it in the most brilliant way.

[Shahh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Merciless and Heartless

[Siddharth Srivastava · Rating 5 out of 5]

No decorations, no metaphors, just pure facts straight at the face of your being. The author stands out for his bluntness on the tender and sensitive issues that he talks about in his books while being detached but still not indifferent towards it.

This story makes you grieve and feel helpless down till your very soul. The writing so simple and effective and the story so impactful that the existential fatigue is felt right in our bones.

The lives of the characters are so dreadful that they make morals rot and even grief decay. Sheer helplessness, as if gravitating towards a blackhole, from where you see no way out. However, what makes it stand out is that Premchand doesn't mourn their situation, neither does he critique their false decisions, but simply puts it to us like a mirror to see and gloom.

[Tanaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved these stories. So simple yet so profound. 💯

[Doc. · Rating 4 out of 5]

“कैसा बुरा रिवाज है कि जिसे जीते जी तन ढाँकने को चीथड़ा भी न मिले, उसे मरने पर नया कफ़न चाहिए।”

३१ जुलाइ मेरे मन में हमेशा के लिए हैरी पॉटर के जनमदिन से जुड़ गया है| लेकिन रात के बराबर १२ बजे गूगल ने मुझे याद दिलाया कि १८८० में इसी दिन पर एक उत्कृष्ट भारतीय लेखक का भी जनम हुआ था: मुंशी प्रेमचंद| जब मैं स्कूल में थी, मुझे उनकी कहानियाँ बोहोत पसंद थी| लेकिन अफसोस, स्कूल के बाद इन पिछले दस सालों में मैंने कभी हिन्दी पढ़ने की हिम्मत नहीं की| काश किया होता, तो आज मुझे नौ पृष्ठ पढ़नें में इतनी तकलीफ़ नहीं होती... पूरे दो घंटे लग गए! अब उन्ही का वर्णन करने में ना जाने कितना वक्त गवाँना पड़ेगा!

यह कहानी घोर गरीबी के बारे में है। गुडरीड्स पर कुछ लोगों ने लिखा है कि यह कहानी द्वार लेखक हमें दिखाना चाहते थे कि गरीबी का मानव प्रकृति और दृष्टिकोण पर विनाशकारी प्रभाव हो सकता है| लेकिन यह मेरी व्याख्या नहीं है। प्रेमचंद दयावान थे, इसका मुझे कोई शक नहीं| अगर उनमें सहानुभूति नहीं होती तो घीसू और माधव जैसे बेरहम शक्स के लिए पढ़नेवालों के दिल दुःख और व्यथा से नहीं भरते| दोनों के निर्लज्ज हास्य में भी गंभीरता मिली हुई है; उनके लालच में सिर्फ़ और सिर्फ़ निराशा दिखाई देती है... यह कहानी इन जैसे गरीबी से पीड़ित लोगों के लिए एक प्रार्थना है|

अंततः इस कहानी में प्रेमचंद का लेखन अद्भुत और आवाहक है| शब्द नदी के तरह बहते हैं:

“ज्यों-ज्यों अँधेरा बढ़ता था और सितारों की चमक तेज होती थी, मधुशाला की रौनक भी बढ़ती जाती थी। कोई गाता था, कोई डींग मारता था, कोई अपने संगी के गले लिपटा जाता था। कोई अपने दोस्त के मुँह में कुल्हड़ लगाये देता था।

वहाँ के वातावरण में सरूर था, हवा में नशा। कितने तो यहाँ आकर एक चुल्लू में मस्त हो जाते थे। शराब से ज्यादा यहाँ की हवा उन पर नशा करती थी। जीवन की बाधाएँ यहाँ खींच लाती थीं और कुछ देर के लिए यह भूल जाते थे कि वे जीते हैं या मरते हैं। या न जीते हैं, न मरते हैं।”

[Rajan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kafan must be one of the best stories in not just in Hindi but world literature. Marcus Garvey truly captures the spirit of Kafan as follows:

"Poverty is a hellish state to be in.
It is no virtue.
It is a crime.
To be poor is

to be hungry without possible hope of food;
to be sick without hope of medicine;
to be tired and sleepy without a place to lay one's head;
to be naked without the hope of clothing;
to be despised and comfortless.

To be poor is to be a fit subject for crime and hell." - Marcus Garvey.

Premchand in this short story shows us the true ugly face of poverty. Poverty dehumanizes human beings. There is not much difference between an animal and poor person.It Robs us of the things which makes us human like compassion, sympathy, self respect, magnanimity, self actualization etc. Maslow also said that if the basic needs are not fulfilled the higher needs remains untouched forget about fulfilling them.

Its a black comedy. Its humor is just a mask to hide the ugly truth which Munshiji wants to convey. It would have been comic if the implications are not so horrible.

But what makes it contender for truly great story of world is that if it leads you to start thinking you will definitely become a better human being.

Some dalit activist in India say that it is too casteist and as the protagonists are from lower caste it shows them in bad light. But i disagree. I think Premchand has the utmost respect for the dalits and he constantly brought out their plight through his writings.

Please read and you will be a changed person.

P.S. I guess Anush Rizvi said that her movie Peepli Live is inspired by Kafan.

[Jaykumar B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Munshi Premchand is a pioneer. he wrote about reality, the truth which was often hidden by his contemporaries in the face of splendor and pastoral romance.

reading any work by Premchand is a delight and a gut-wrenching experience at the same time. it hurts, it angers, it makes one pity and sympathise, and arouses passions which often are hardened by the ordinary life.

in this collection of short stories, i would like to review the titular one, 'The Shroud'.

Should we, the readers, be angry at the madhav and Ghisu? or should we pity them and their situation and poverty?
the wife is dying inside the hut from labor pains, but all her husband and father-in-law care about are the roasted potatoes which they fear the other would steal if in case one went in to check on the dying woman!
they pray for her soul and devour their pathetic meal while complaining of their poverty.
with the narrative one also understand their philosophy, but the author takes no sides.

'The Shroud' is a seminal piece of work which should be read and discussed for its philosophical, moral and societal implications in a dispassionate, disinterested manner sans a personal axe to grind.

[Sadaf · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a rule, I like reading Premchand. He narrated simple narratives that subtly veer your attention towards the larger concerns - not only of the protagonist, but of people in general.
However, I feel that this book could have been compiled better. Maybe if they selected a story of each theme. that's one of the reasons for the absence of one star.
Another, is that the translation is not at par with experience of reading him in Hindi. Other than that, the book is very good.
These are stories you can read in any mood, they raise questions regarding patriarchy, of our understanding of piousness, of our hypocritical stances at creating an equal society, and of the woes of farmers, that have not changed a bit in all these years that have passed since his writing.
I had a story of his for my Hindi paper in college, which had to do with office politics, if that were included, or some story on those themes, the compilation could have been better. the reason being, his portrayal of how a person gets eased into politics, of any kind, is rather compelling.
Nonetheless, this has been a good read.

[Shounak · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I read on a single evening! Unputdownable ! The short stories are too good! Each one captures the true spirit of rural India... Like Jim Corbett's "My India" this one too speaks about the lives of simple village people , their basic needs and their simple ways , culminating into unforgettable , heart warming stories . This was the first Premchand book I read and am definitely looking forward to more!

[Jyotsna Jaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think so no one can write a short story as elegantly as Premchand. This story truly depicts how we are moral only when our basic needs are fulfilled. No man who is deprived of basic things can think of righteous things. Basic needs instincts are so high that it compels to focus on that rather than being morally upright.

[Snuffles · Rating 4 out of 5]

premchand bestie knew what was up. the writing style brings out the desperation and rawness of the story

also reading it both in hindi and english highlighted the intensity that hindi gives the text. something about native languages and their depth, truly can't be replicated in a translated text.

made me want to delve deeper into hindi literature, that's a mission for next year :))

[Ankita · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poignant and moving account of the mayhem that takes place in a family when the lady of the house dies in childbirth. A stirring tale describing poverty, hunger and helplessness of India's poor.

[Hassan Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpiece. Prem Chand is at the top of the Urdu/Hindi writers. No match.

[Aditya Vikram · Rating 4 out of 5]

एक कठिन कहानी जो मैंने अभी पढ़ी है, जिसका नाम ‘कफ़न’ है। प्रेमचंद जी ने जिस अंदाज़ में इस कहानी को पिरोया है, वह मुझे बेहद शानदार लगता है क्योंकि कहानी दिलचस्प भी है और दर्दनाक भी।
मैं अभी भी उस कफ़न के बारे में सोच रहा हूँ जो कहानी का मुख्य प्रतीक था, पर जिसका अर्थ अत्यंत अनमोल था।

दो बेरोज़गार, आलसी और लगभग राक्षस-से हृदय रखने वाले ये दो आदमी केवल यह साबित करते हैं कि कुछ चरित्र ऐसे होते हैं जिन्हें केवल कहानियों तक ही सीमित रहना चाहिए। परंतु कहीं न कहीं ऐसे लोग अस्तित्व में अवश्य होंगे, और ऐसी दुनिया में रहने का विचार ही मुझे डराता करता है।

मुझे यह एक बात हमेशा पसंद आती है, और वह यह है कि कहानी में शब्दों का प्रयोग इतनी सरलता से किया गया है कि छोटा-से-छोटा पाठक भी इसे समझ सकता है।
बस दिक्कत वहाँ आती है कि यदि हर कोई कहानी को पढ़ सकता है, तो उसके कठिन पहलू भी सबके सामने स्पष्ट होने चाहिए। कुछ स्थानों पर मुझे लगता है कि हर व्यक्ति उन पहलुओं को समझ न पाए फिर अंत में स्वयं को उन्हीं दो राक्षसों में पाता हुआ देखे।

अंततः मुझे तो बस एक ही बात पर ध्यान बटोरना चाहूंगा कि इंसान कुछ भी कर सकता है।
वह चाहे किसी को मुफ्त का पैसा दे दे, हज़ार बार माफ़ कर दे, और वही इंसान अपने ही भीतर इतना डूब सकता है कि उसकी नैतिकता ही नष्ट हो जाए।

[Muhi Uddin · Rating 3 out of 5]

কাফন আমার পড়া প্রথম হিন্দি বই। খুবই সাবলীল ও বোধগম্য ছিলো। প্রচুর মজা পেয়েছি। একটা বিদেশী ভাষায় বই পড়ায় আনন্দ মেলা।

পুরো কাহিনির সাথে আমি লেগে ছিলাম।

বাপ বেটার আলসেমি আর স্বার্থপর জীবন যাপনের গল্প পড়ে হেসেছি, রাগও হয়েছে।

সীমাহীন আফসোস হয়েছে মাধবের বৌয়ের জন্য। বেচারি মরেও এদের থেকে সামান্য সহানুভূতি পায়নি।
আসলে সে যেনো মরেই বেঁচে গেছে।
এ ��ংসারে যাপিত জীবন থেকে মৃত্যুই হয়তো সম্মানের। আনন্দের।

[Nogendra Sanodiya · Rating 5 out of 5]

जहां यथार्थवाद चरम मे होता है, वहीं यह कहानी अस्तित्व मे आति है।

[Karan joshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Kafan" by Premchand is a powerful critique of social injustice and human apathy, portraying the harsh realities of poverty with stark realism.

[Vee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Read the translation.

[Kakoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Premchand has captured the myriad emotions of it's characters beautifully. The writing is flawless.

[Riya ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story that I read in both Hindi and English reminded me why I loved Prem Chand in the first place. The way he could say so much in so little. And the way his simple writing could portray the hardest of themes. I am so glad that there was a man called Prem Chand ever born and I am so grateful for having the privilege to read his wonderful writing.