Rangbhoomi
Rangbhoomi: The Arena of Life[a] is a Hindi language novel by Premchand. The novel features an idealist protagonist inspired by Gandhian values.[1] First published in 1924, the novel is covers complex human relationships and emotions, with various themes, including problems faced poor people due to industrialization during British Raj.[2]
 Premchand, the author of Rangbhoomi | |
| Author | Munshi Premchand |
|---|---|
| Original title | Rangbhoomi |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Published | 1924 |
| Publisher | Darul Ishat |
| Media type | Novel |
| ISBN | 9788122205329 |
Set in colonial India, the novel presents a grim account of a blind beggar, Soordas, against the acquisition of his ancestral land. The theme of the oppression of working classes is typical as in other Premchand works.[3] Among Premchand's works, Soordas is the character with the most significant Gandhian influence. He is simple and fearless, and personifies the protest against industrialisation in his village, consistent with the Gandhian views on industrialisation.[4]
Content[edit]
The novel revolves around several characters, covering different aspects of life such as lust, agony, bravery, truth, righteousness, duty, moral values, patience, compassion, etc., during the colonial India.
The story revolves around, Soordas, a blind beggar from Pandepur Basti in Prayagraj who struggles for the acquaintance of his ancestral land with Mr. John Sewak, an industrialist and Mahendra Pratap Singh, the king of Chatari and president of Municipality.
The novel also covers the life account of Mr. John Sewak and his orthodox Christian wife Ms. Sewak who wants her daughter to follow Christianity, which her daughter , Sophia dislikes.
Another character, Vinay the prince and belonging from Hindu family, whose mother Rani Jahanvi wants him to sacrifice his life for country, but he is lustful towards Sophia. There religious difference created a chaos in whole society. The novel covers the problems arose due to industrialisation in India.[5]
Novel's various characters, such as, Soordas, Sophia, Vinay, Bharat Singh, Jahnavi, Mr. Sewak, Prabhu Sewak, Iswar Sewak, etc. represents different emotions of life, such as, patriotism, lust, strength, fear, insecurities, etc.
Characters[edit]
Main characters[edit]
Soordas[edit]
Soordas is a blind poor beggar from Pandepur Basti, in Prayag. Much of Soordas' character is inspired from Gandhian value, and sometimes is associated with Mahatma Gandhi itself. Soordas has an ancestral land of 10 Bigha, which is collectively used by whole colony, for either animal feeding or to stay temporarily during plagues and wars. However, Mr. John Sewak, a British Christian industrialist wants to open a tobacco factory on this land. He tries his best to snatch the land from Soordas. Soordas, is yet involved in many other struggles during his life, such as, from himself, his blindness, his nephew Mithoo, who was raised by Soordas after the demise of his parents, and from the other villagers itself, such as Bhairo, who hates Soordas, and often at a conflict with his wife Subhagi. Subhagi shelters in Soordas' hut to protect herself from her husband's rage, and thus, villagers often are suspicious towards Soordas and Subhagi. Bhairo lit Soordas' hut in fire, which ruins Soordas' small savings and other belongings too. Soordas' character is represented as a struggle of a fragile and poor man, but, who never renounce righteousness to win, or never disappoints on his defeat. A revolt occurs in Pandepur, when Mr. John Sewak ruined the whole settlement for his industry, and during the stampede, Soordas was shot by Mr. Clark, fiancé of Mr. John Sewak's daughter Sophia. Soordas' death at the end, is a remarkable theme and punch event of the novel:
The demise of Soordas triggered widespread city-wide demonstrations, drawing crowds eager to pay homage to the renowned player known for his resilience and sportsmanship. While some praised his perfection, others hailed him as a guardian or even a deity. However, in truth, Surdas epitomized the essence of a virtuous player on life's stage. He harbored no malice, never faltered in courage, and never retreated. Whether victorious or defeated, he maintained an unwavering sense of contentment, harboring no ill will towards his opponents. He adhered strictly to fair play, refraining from any form of manipulation or clandestine harm against his adversaries.
— Premchand, Rangbhoomi, (Translated)
Sophia[edit]
Sophia is the daughter of Mr. John Sewak, a Christian industrialist and his orthodox Catholic wife Mrs. Sewak. Sophia is represented as a liberal and independent girl, who always suspects and criticize the teachings of Christ, tough, do not disrespect him. The criticism of Jesus by her leads to an argument between her and her mother Mrs. Sewak, forces her to leave her house. Sophia seeks shelter in Kunwar Bharat Singh's house, the noble local king, after an accident and had an encounter with her old friend Indu, who were her classmate back in Nainital. Sophia soon, turned to be everyone's favorite in house, but soon fell in love with Bharat Singh's son Vinay Singh, who had already been sacrificed himself to his nation and people. Sophia came to know that Vinay's mother Queen Jahnavi wants Vinay to became a saint like person, with no luxuries and only pain and suffering, that the nation had been gone through. Sophia and Vinay's love soon turned lustful, which Jahnavi came to know, and thus, sent Vinay for practice in Rajputana. Jahnavi became suspicious of Sophia, and soon, orders her to marry with someone else. Mrs. Sewak fixes her marriage with Mr. Clark,
Footnotes[edit]
- ^ The first word is also sometimes spelt as Rangabhoomi, Rangabhumi or Rangbhumi]
References[edit]
- ^ Datta, Amaresh, ed. (1988). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Devraj to Jyoti. Sahitya Akademi. p. 1354. ISBN 978-81-260-1194-0.
- ^ "Plain fare: diet during industrialization". From Plain Fare to Fusion Food: 1–10. 2003-04-24. doi:10.1017/9781846150777.002.
- ^ Vasudeva, Uma (22 May 2011). "Classic retold". The Tribune. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- ^ Das, Sisir Kumar (2005). History of Indian Literature: 1911-1956, struggle for freedom: triumph and tragedy. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 79–80. ISBN 978-81-7201-798-9.
- ^ Riello, Giorgio (2020-03-26), "Factories before the Factory: The English East India Company's Textile Procurement in India and British Industrialisation, 1650–1750", Reinventing the Economic History of Industrialisation, McGill-Queen's University Press, pp. 262–275, ISBN 978-0-2280-0206-2, retrieved 2023-10-05
Further reading[edit]
- Joshi, P.C. (2005). "The Subaltern in Indian Literature: Some Reflections on Premchand and his "Godaan"". Indian Literature. 49 (2 (226)). Sahitya Akademi: 101–118. ISSN 0019-5804. JSTOR 23346637 – via JSTOR.
- Chandra, Sudhir (1981). "Premchand: A Historiographic View". Economic and Political Weekly. 16 (15): 669–675. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 4369701 – via JSTOR.
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