Gaban (novel)
Gaban (literally, Embezzlement) is a Hindi novel by Munshi Premchand, published by Saraswati Press in 1931.[1] Through this novel, he tries to show "the falling moral values among lower middle class Indian youth in the era of British India", and to what depths a person can descend to, to become a pseudo-elite, and maintain a false image as a rich person.[2]
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| Author | Munshi Premchand |
|---|---|
| Original title | गबन |
| Translator | Christopher R. King |
| Language | Hindi |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Published | 1931 |
| Publisher | Saraswati Press (India), Oxford University Press (US) |
Published in English | 2000 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| ISBN | 978-0-19-565216-1 (Eng. trans. paperback) |
Original text | गबन at Hindi Wikisource |
It tells the story of Ramanath, a handsome, pleasure seeking, boastful, but a morally weak person, who tries to make his wife Jalpa happy by gifting her jewelry which he can't really afford to buy with his meager salary, gets engulfed in a web of debts, which ultimately forces him to commit embezzlement. It is considered Premchand's best work, after Godaan.
It was adapted into a 1966 Hindi film with the same name by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
References
- Sigi 2006, p. 90
- "Munshi Premchand Birth Anniversary - From 'Sevasadan' to 'Godaan', 5 must-read books by the legendary author". The Free Press Journal. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
Bibliography
- Sigi, Rekha (2006). Munshi Premchand. A.H.W. Sameer Series. Diamond. ISBN 978-81-288-1214-9.