{"id":7272,"date":"2018-03-14T16:08:23","date_gmt":"2018-03-14T16:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/?p=7272"},"modified":"2018-03-15T00:15:33","modified_gmt":"2018-03-15T00:15:33","slug":"shivrani-devi-premchand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/shivrani-devi-premchand\/","title":{"rendered":"Shivrani Devi Premchand: A Shadow on The Stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most people familiar with Hindi literature (\u0938\u093e\u0939\u093f\u0924\u094d\u092f\/saahitya, masc. noun)\u00a0<\/strong>readily recall the literary\u00a0(\u0938\u093e\u0939\u093f\u0924\u094d\u092f\u093f\u0915\/saahityik)\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>giant Munshi Premchand (or, Dhanpat Rai Shrivastav); yet, despite her contributions to Hindi literature and the Indian Independence movement, his wife Shivrani Devi, is much less renowned. Similarly, one of Premchand’s sons, Amrit Rai, composed a monumental biography (\u091c\u0940\u0935\u0928\u0940\/jeevani, fem. noun, or \u091c\u0940\u0935\u0928-\u091a\u0930\u093f\u0924\/jeevan charit, masc. noun) <\/strong>about\u00a0his father, entitled \u0915\u0932\u092e \u0915\u093e \u0938\u093f\u092a\u093e\u0939\u0940\/Kalam ka Sipahi<\/em> (A\u00a0Soldier of the Pen<\/em>), that is much more well-known than his mother’s memoir (\u0938\u0902\u0938\u094d\u092e\u0930\u0923\/samsmaran, masc. noun)<\/strong> of\u00a0her husband, \u092a\u094d\u0930\u0947\u092e\u091a\u0902\u0926 \u0918\u0930 \u092e\u0947\u0902\/Premchand\u00a0Ghar Me<\/em> (Premchand at Home<\/em>). Despite her lack of fame, Shivrani Devi’s life and personality (\u0935\u094d\u092f\u0915\u094d\u0924\u093f\u0924\u094d\u0935\/vyaktitva, masc. noun)\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>deserve to be known as an incredible woman in her own right and the driving force behind her husband’s creativity and prolificacy.<\/p>\n

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An artist’s rendering of Premchand; image by Ankur8563 on Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.<\/p><\/div>\n

In Shivrani Devi’s memoir of her husband, Munshi (\u092e\u0941\u0902\u0936\u0940<\/strong> is a respectful title for an educated man) Premchand, she introduces us to herself in the eighth chapter (\u0905\u0927\u094d\u092f\u093e\u092f\/adhyaay, masc. noun)<\/strong>, which is titled simply \u201cShivrani.\u201d As part of this introduction, she states her father\u2019s name, Munshi Deviprasad, and the specific location of her natal home in the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh): the village of Salimpur (\u0938\u0932\u0940\u092e\u092a\u0941\u0930) in the district of Fatehpur (\u092b\u093c\u0924\u0947\u0939\u092a\u0941\u0930). Her father, a relatively prosperous zamindar\/\u091c\u093c\u092e\u0940\u0902\u0926\u093e\u0930<\/strong> (landlord), married her off at the age of 11; through her description of the event, it seems less than momentous for the young Shivrani as she does not remember when it occurred or even when she was widowed. In fact, she remembers only that the marriage (\u0936\u093e\u0926\u0940\/shaadi, fem. noun, or \u0935\u093f\u0935\u093e\u0939\/vivaah, masc. noun)<\/strong> lasted 3-4 months before her husband passed away. Shivrani seems to have had an especially close and loving relationship (\u0938\u0902\u092c\u0902\u0927\/sambandh, masc. noun or \u0930\u093f\u0936\u094d\u0924\u093e\/rishtaa, masc. noun)\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>with her father. Through this bond and her father\u2019s natural desire to see her happy, she was able to escape the misery of perpetual widowhood (\u0935\u093f\u0927\u0935\u093e\u092a\u0928\/vidhvaapan, masc. noun)<\/span><\/strong>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>which so many other Hindu widows at this time had to endure, as her father set about arranging a second marriage for her.<\/p>\n

According to scholar Jyoti Atwal, Shivrani\u2019s father arranged her second marriage by writing and publishing a book in 1905 called Kayastha Bal Vidhva Uddharak Pustika\u00a0<\/em>(A Book for the Deliverance of Kayastha Child Widows<\/em>) in which he included an advertisement (\u0935\u093f\u091c\u094d\u091e\u093e\u092a\u0928\/vigyaapan, masc. noun)<\/strong> for the remarriage of his daughter. Interestingly, in this chapter about Shivrani, she does not mention the book her father wrote, only the advertisement. Fortunately, Premchand saw this advertisement and wrote to Shivrani\u2019s father, stating his desire to marry as well as his educational qualifications and salary (<\/strong>\u0935\u0947\u0924\u0928\/vetan, masc. noun)<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span>The two men arranged to meet in Fatehpur and, as Shivrani\u2019s account goes, Premchand made a favorable impression on her father. Scholar P. Lal is perhaps too quick to idealize Premchand when he reports that \u201cin marrying Shivrani, Premchand made it a condition that there was to be no dowry (\u0926\u0939\u0947\u091c\/dahej, masc. noun)<\/strong>, though, as an eligible bachelor he could have easily claimed it\u201d; this is, in fact, not the case according to Shivrani\u2019s account, in which she states that, at the conclusion of their meeting, her father gave Premchand money for rent and a barccha<\/em> (or \u092c\u0930\u091a\u094d\u091b\u093e\/\u092c\u0930\u0947\u091a\u094d\u091b\u093e)<\/strong>, which is a settlement for all or part of a bride\u2019s dowry. It seems that the young Shivrani did not have much say in this second marriage either, because she writes, \u201cI wasn\u2019t even aware of where my wedding was taking place\u201d\u00a0(\u201c\u092e\u0941\u091d\u0947 \u092f\u0939 \u092d\u0940 \u0928\u0939\u0940\u0902 \u092e\u093e\u0932\u0942\u092e \u0915\u093f \u092e\u0947\u0930\u0940 \u0936\u093e\u0926\u0940 \u0915\u0939\u093e\u0901 \u0939\u094b \u0930\u0939\u0940 \u0939\u0948\u201d)\u00a0<\/strong>(PGM\u00a0<\/em>29).<\/p>\n

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Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, not too far from where Shivrani Devi grew up; image by David Prasad on Flickr, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.<\/p><\/div>\n

Although the Bengali Renaissance figure Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar had campaigned for the remarriage of Hindu widows to be legalized in the 1850s, the effects of his campaign (\u0906\u0902\u0926\u094b\u0932\u0928\/aandolan, masc. noun)<\/strong> and the colonists’ subsequent legalization of widow remarriage in 1856 were uncertain on the ground. For example, in the 1880s, sending widows to a home reserved for such women was considered more practical and desirable in the popular imagination. However, Atwal states that \u201cwith the popularization of print culture in the early 20th<\/sup> century, the idea of widow remarriage was rejuvenated. This rejuvenation was [in part] motivated by\u2026newspaper reporting on the killing of illegitimate infants by widows. [Additionally the] representation\u2026of widows as perpetual sufferers also evoked powerful emotional responses among readers.” It was in this more sympathetic climate that Shivrani obtained a second chance (\u092e\u094c\u0915\u093e\/maukaa, masc. noun)<\/strong> at marriage and fulfilling the duties of a female householder, which are enshrined in some Hindu scriptures as the most important aspects of a woman\u2019s life. Shivrani\u2019s high caste (Kayasth\/\u0915\u093e\u092f\u0938\u094d\u0925<\/strong>, a scribe caste generally regarded as Kshatriyas\/\u0915\u094d\u0937\u0924\u094d\u0930\u093f\u092f\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>or one of the three twice-born castes) undoubtedly increased her chances of remarriage as caste (\u091c\u093e\u0924\u093f\/jaati, fem. noun)<\/strong> was often a critical object of consideration in determining for whom it would be more acceptable to remarry.<\/p>\n

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Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, a reformer of the Bengali Renaissance. Image by Arr4 on Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Public Domain.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Shivrani speaks of Premchand\u2019s decision to marry her, a child widow (\u092c\u093e\u0932-\u0935\u093f\u0927\u0935\u093e\/baal-vidhvaa)<\/strong>, with evident pride when she states that, \u201cyour aunt\u2019s [actually Premchand\u2019s stepmother] opinion, etc., was not consulted in our marriage. But this was your audacity. You wanted to break off your ties to society to the point that you didn\u2019t even give the news to your relatives\u201d (\u201c\u092e\u0947\u0930\u0940 \u0936\u093e\u0926\u0940 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0906\u092a\u0915\u0940 \u091a\u093e\u091a\u0940 \u0935\u0917\u093c\u0948\u0930\u0939 \u0915\u093f\u0938\u0940 \u0915\u0940 \u0930\u093e\u092f \u0928\u0939\u0940\u0902 \u0925\u0940 \u0964 \u092e\u0917\u0930 \u092f\u0939 \u0906\u092a\u0915\u0940 \u0926\u093f\u0932\u0947\u0930\u0940 \u0925\u0940 \u0964 \u0906\u092a \u0938\u092e\u093e\u091c \u0915\u093e \u092c\u0902\u0927\u0928 \u0924\u094b\u0921\u093c\u0928\u093e \u091a\u093e\u0939\u0924\u0947 \u0925\u0947 \u0964 \u092f\u0939\u093e\u0901 \u0924\u0915 \u0915\u093f \u0906\u092a\u0928\u0947 \u0905\u092a\u0928\u0947 \u0918\u0930\u0935\u093e\u0932\u094b\u0902 \u0915\u094b \u092d\u0940 \u0916\u093c\u092c\u0930 \u0928\u0939\u0940\u0902 \u0926\u0940\u201d)<\/strong> (PGM<\/em> 29). This was indeed a bold and unusual move on Premchand\u2019s part, most likely influenced by Premchand\u2019s own reformist social beliefs (\u0927\u093e\u0930\u0923\u093e\/dhaaranaa, masc. noun)\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>and the fact that his father had married him off previously when he was only a teenager (\u0915\u093f\u0936\u094b\u0930\/kishor, masc. noun)<\/strong>; in fact, he was still married at the time of his marriage to Shivrani, which she did not discover until later.<\/p>\n

Despite Shivrani\u2019s remembrance of Premchand\u2019s actions, which is clearly tinged with pride (\u0917\u0930\u094d\u0935\/garv, masc. noun)<\/strong> and affection (\u0938\u094d\u0928\u0947\u0939\/sneh, masc. noun)<\/strong>, immediately after her marriage, she was generally unwell as her mother had died when she was fourteen (she was married at 16). Moreover, in making the painful transition from her natal (\u092e\u093e\u092f\u0915\u093e\/maaykaa, masc. noun)<\/strong> to marital home (\u0938\u0938\u0941\u0930\u093e\u0932\/sasuraal, fem. noun)<\/strong>, Shivrani missed her brother dearly, who was 11 years her junior and whom Shivrani loved and cared for as if he were her own son. After her mother\u2019s death, Shivrani makes the telling statement that she essentially became the woman of the house: \u201cFrom that time [of my mother\u2019s death], I became aware of my responsibilities\u201d (\u201c\u0909\u0938\u0940 \u0938\u092e\u092f \u092e\u0941\u091d\u0947 \u0905\u092a\u0928\u0940 \u091c\u093f\u092e\u094d\u092e\u0947\u0926\u093e\u0930\u093f\u092f\u094b\u0902 \u0915\u093e \u091c\u094d\u091e\u093e\u0928 \u0939\u0941\u0906\u201d)\u00a0<\/strong>(PGM<\/em> 29).<\/p>\n

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Rabindranath Tagore, a renowned Bengali author and first non-Western recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature, wrote Chokher Bali, a novel on the situation of young widows in India, that is well-known to this day for its sympathetic portrayal of the main character, a widow named Binodini; image by Mar11 on Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Public Domain.<\/p><\/div>\n

Inspired by her husband and her own desire to challenge herself in the arenas of reading and composition, Shivrani\u2019s literary work was published for the first time in 1924 in the form of a story, \u201c\u0938\u093e\u0939\u0938\/Sahas\u201d (\u201cCourage\u201d); this story appeared in a well-known women\u2019s journal of the time, called \u201c\u091a\u093e\u0901\u0926\/Chand\u201d (\u201cMoon\u201d). Later, Shivrani would go on to write a full-length memoir of her famous husband, which would be published in 1944 in the midst of the Progressive Writer\u2019s Movement, which began in Lucknow in 1936. During this movement, \u201cliterary intellectuals revisited and reworked their political associations and ideological commitments,\u201d often bringing controversial social issues to the fore of their writing (Atwal). This movement and the ideologies it espoused may have influenced Shivrani to boldly state her progressive stance on certain social issues primarily affecting women and craft a memoir about her famous literary husband with such a strong imprint of her own personality and experiences (\u0905\u0928\u0941\u092d\u0935\/anubhav, masc. noun)<\/strong> (Atwal). This was an especially fruitful time for those with strong social (\u0938\u093e\u092e\u093e\u091c\u093f\u0915\/saamaajik)<\/strong> views, as the literary movement that came before, known as \u201cChhayavad\u201d or \u201cNeo-Romanticism\u201d did not generally delve into contemporary social and political issues, but rather focused on abstract discussions of universal human emotions (\u092d\u093e\u0935\u0928\u093e\/bhaavnaa, fem. noun)<\/strong> and experiences. Despite these and other contributions to the Hindi literary sphere, Shivrani\u2019s Premchand Ghar Me <\/em>is not often addressed in scholarship on Premchand and, if it is, it is given only passing attention.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Not only was Shivrani Devi a writer (\u0932\u0947\u0916\u093f\u0915\u093e\/lekhikaa, only for a female writer, \u0932\u0947\u0916\u0915\/lekhak for a male writer)<\/strong> and enthusiastic participant (\u0938\u0939\u092d\u093e\u0917\u0940\/sehbhaagi)<\/strong> in the Hindi literary sphere, she was also an activist and was sent to jail multiple times for supporting the Indian Independence movement. Considerate of her husband’s chronic ill health, she often went to jail in his stead, allowing him to bolster the movement with his writings. She was also a hardworking and dedicated mother and housewife and, for these many reasons, deserves her place amongst the literary giants of the modern age (\u0906\u0927\u0941\u0928\u093f\u0915 \u091c\u093c\u092e\u093e\u0928\u093e\/aadhunik zamaanaa)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Most people familiar with Hindi literature (\u0938\u093e\u0939\u093f\u0924\u094d\u092f\/saahitya, masc. noun)\u00a0readily recall the literary\u00a0(\u0938\u093e\u0939\u093f\u0924\u094d\u092f\u093f\u0915\/saahityik)\u00a0giant Munshi Premchand (or, Dhanpat Rai Shrivastav); yet, despite her contributions to Hindi literature and the Indian Independence movement, his wife Shivrani Devi, is much less renowned. Similarly, one of Premchand’s sons, Amrit Rai, composed a monumental biography (\u091c\u0940\u0935\u0928\u0940\/jeevani, fem. noun, or \u091c\u0940\u0935\u0928-\u091a\u0930\u093f\u0924\/jeevan charit…<\/p>\n

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