Return to Greatness

Memoir writing may be an art form perfected by several renowned authors. But how does one write a memoir when the grandfather is Premchand? For Sara Rai, remembering is also imagining. Raw Umber brings out the persona of her grandparents and other family members even as different essays here serve as stand-alone pieces. Allahabad and Varanasi are as much part of the cast as Rai’s famous ancestors.

Revisiting the past can be a complex endeavour. The memoirist may see her mother, her grandmother, or an aunt in herself. At times the images can be distorted, damaged or even
false. Rai deploys different metaphors to describe the past. The past “has been called another country, and perhaps it is, for the physical features of the town of my childhood have changed beyond recognition. And yet a similitude persists.”

The essay on Premchand is interestingly titled, ‘The Ancestor in The Cupboard’. Of her living family, nobody had seen him except Rai’s father, uncle and her grandmother Shivrani Devi. And yet, she saw him everywhere as his presence permeated every nook of their house. He died young at 56 and his absence from the family was an “emptiness peopled by the idea of Premchand… the idea of him was ubiquitous, not confined to just our house.” As is well known, Premchand’s life and literature reflect his commitment to the underdog and his willingness for personal sacrifices for the larger good. His ideals were embedded in the lives of his family as though they were interwoven in the fabric of its different members. 

Premchand saw Mahatma Gandhi during his visit to Gorakhpur. He was deeply influenced and inspired by his ideals. He was 41 years old, father of two children in 1920 when in response to a call by Gandhi, he resigned from his job in the education department with no idea about how he would feed his family. Rai is fascinated by the anecdotes of her grandfather where he appears saintly and yet could at once break out in loud infectious laughter, quite similar to her own father and uncle.

The author undergoes many dilemmas on account of the fame and respect enjoyed by her grandfather even posthumously. She is invited to performances of stories such as Idgah and Bade Bhai Sahab and the family is met with extreme reverence by all present. Rai is left confused with a mix of pride, embarrassment and guilt, for what have we done to deserve this, she wonders. There are many reasons for Premchand’s greatness. His world was inhabited by ordinary people comprising different sections of a diverse society. Men and women living in poverty and hardship were central characters in his works. His women characters were strong and played key roles in the narratives. The diversity of society is represented with ease in his universe. Dalits, tribals, women, Christians, upper castes are not stereotyped. His treatment of the downtrodden in his stories is always sympathetic and humane. His prose is unlike the existing major works of the time in its earthiness and realism.

Premchand’s stories were inhabited by real people. He was not perceived as a remote intellectual by ordinary people but as one of their own who told their stories to the world. At performances they crowded to pay homage to his memory and for putting them on the literary map by giving them a voice. He will be remembered forever as much for Godan as for his short stories.

Rai’s prose is free flowing and lucid as she attempts to make sense of the inheritance she is born into. Her work combines memories and reflection with the ease of a gifted writer.  

About The Author

Zakia Soman

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