Influence of Ghalib’s Poetry on Premchand’s Short-Story

“When pain exceeds limits, it becomes itself a cure”, a remarkable verse by the Legendary Urdu poet Ghalib holds its grounds even today. The fact that much of the literature reflects the influence of the theory behind this verse and even in post modern times, it feels so relevant, itself speaks for the immortality an timelessness of Ghalib’s art. Much has been written about Ghalib’s poetry and his aesthetic and mystic theories. In this paper, I aim to reflect the influence of Ghalib’s poetry and his theory of two worlds (his mystic bent) on Premchand’s shortstory Kafan (Shroud). Keywords— Ghalib, Maya, Mysticism, Premchand, Shroud.


INTRODUCTION
Ghalib, Assadullah Khan ; the stalwart of Urdu Ghazal writing ( poetry) remains a popular figure not only in the Indian Subcontinent but also among the South Asian diaspora around the world. His writings carry a mystic essence. Though his poetry has a multidimensional facade attached to it, mysticism and religious bigotry are one of the centralised themes of his poetry. Ghalib laid emphasis on seeking God rather than following ritualistic religious practices. In one of his poem, Ghalib states: "The God whom I worship lies beyond the boundaries of Intellect; For men who've got vision, the Kaaba is mere compass, not God's dwelling" Like many other Hindustani poets, Ghalib was skeptical of religious bias and ritualistic order. He staunchly ridiculed the practices of certain Molvis (religious clerics), who in his opinion stood for narrowmindedness and hypocrisy. In one of his couplets, Ghalib while criticising the ulemas writes: "Retrospect within yourself, it is you who alone cannot listen the melody of His secrets".
Dhanpat Rai Sahai, popularly known by his pen name, Munshi Premchand is regarded as one of the foremost Hindi writers of modern hindustani literature. Premchand has extensively wrote about Dalit predicament in his writings. In stories like "Thakur ka Kuan"(The Thakur's well), Kafan (Shroud) and countless others; he debunks the social and religious order which pushes the lower caste Dalits to the extent that they are not at all perceived as humans by their upper caste masters. Premchand through his writings lays bare the hierarchy and shows how in the garb of religious order lower caste people are being subjugated and exploited at economic, social and political fronts. In his story Kafan, Premchand portrays the helplessness and social exploitation of Dalits through the characters of Ghisu and Madhav. The powerlessness in the face of social conditions has left them vulnerable to the extent that they seek validation in the metaphysical world. They think of this mortal world as a cage in which they have been imprisoned and long for the dawn of freedom which only death can grant them. Death stands as a gateway to freedom from the miseries and hardships of this world.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN GHALIB'S POETRY AND PREMCHAND'S SHORT-STORY KAFAN (SHROUD)
""Listen! two worlds exist out there", states Ghalib  year. In any case, if released, I shall proceed straight to the world of Spirits, for where else does a prisoner go to but to his home whenever he has been set free." This is an example of Mystic bent/ Spirituality which is one of the delightful characteristics of Ghalib. Towards the end of the story, the same traces of mysticism are observed in characters of Ghisu and Madhav when Ghisu consoles his grief-stricken son and tells him to be happy that she ( Budhia) has broken the fetters of maya so soon. Budhia's escape from this maya and her passage to heaven is the manifestation of this mysticism which Ghalib talks about in his letters and poetry. Also, their callousness in the face of Budhia's death and the remarkable blend of sorrow and despair which they later display doesn't just reflect their helplessness but if observed profoundly It depicts their acceptance of the fact that this world is just a maya, a cage, a transitory place of punishment and we all have to left sooner or later into the world of eternity. This callousness and acceptance of reality on part of the father-son duo is reminiscent of one of the Ghalib's verses: "Bazeechai atfaal hai duniya ye mere aage; hota hai shab-o-roz tamasha ye mere aage'' Trans.: The world is just a child's play before me The farce goes on night and day before me Here, Ghalib defines world as a child's playground, an entity of least importance and further the poet says that he has become so used to this mockery and worthlessness of the world that it doesn't now bother him to think anymore about the pompous and glamour of the world. It's pretence and appearances don't charm him at all. Ghisu's angry outburst, If she doesn't go to heaven who will? These fat, bloodsuckers of the poor who go for a darshan of the Ganga to wash their sins and offer prayers in temples" reminds us of the words of Ghalib: "Kaha mai-khane ka darwaza Ghalib, aur Kaha wayiz Bas itna jaante hai Kal wo jaata tha ki hum nikle" Trans: Far be it for us, O Ghalib, to see the preacher at the tavern However, we know we saw him as we left the gate or his question, "What good would it have done if we'd brought the shroud? It'd only be burnt to ashes" express the utterances of Ghalib: "hue mar k Jo ruswa, huwe kyun na garqe dariya, .
Na kabhi janaza uthta, na kahi mazhar hota" Trans: In death I was abhorrent; I should have perished in a torrent Nay funeral rite, Not burial site, my infamy to exhibit These statements of Ghisu are nothing but echoes of the critique of narrow minded, hypocritic, unjust and ritualistic religious system by Ghalib, who believed in the freedom of soul. Ghalib's idea of religion resembles to that of Sufi Saints. "His religion was 'suleh kul' (peace with all)", as his dear disciple from Panipat, Khawja Altaf Hussain Hali records. Ghalib was indeed one who hadn't belief in religious rituals and never practiced them as such. His couplet: "Hum mawahhid hein hamara kesh hai tark-e-rasoom Millatein jab mit gayi, ajza-e-iman ho gayeen" Trans: Unitarian we are in spirit, Utilitarian we are in practice Civilisations are indistinct, when they become extinct to ferment stands testimony to this disbelief of his in ritualistic order. Ghisu and Madhav have no money and their pain has crossed all thresholds. They have become so used to pain that it (pain) has become itself the medicine. They are no more entangled in maya (world and worldly pursuits), it has no power over them anymore. The situation, they are caged in reminds us of famous versesayings of the Asad (Ghalib): Until death, why should one hope to be free from clutches of sorrow?
Their celebration of Budhia's death and the concluding song, they start singing in state of utter anguish "Deceiver, why do you cast such enchanting glances, O Deceiver!" depicts them illuminated. They are no longer, worthless, lazy , callous drunkards but misery and sorrow has lead them to the similar state where the poet realized that this world is nothing but the world of imprisonment and punishments and a mere fragment of fancy. This brings to our mind the famous lines of the poet as he himself conveys beautifully: In these lines, the poet says that he too would have been the great mystic/ saint, had he not his shortcomings, much like Ghisu and Madhav who owing to their misery have conditioned themselves as such that due to their detachment, self-restraint and patience in the face of baser needs they have been elevated to the position of sainthood, except for their limitations as Premchand states, "Had the father-son duo been sadhus, they wouldn't have been required to practice self-restraint for attaining contentment. It was second nature to them."

III. CONCLUSION
Premchand came to Hindi via Urdu, although he wrote extensively in Hindi. The influence of Urdu literature on his writings is evident. Even after standing centuries apart, a kind of synchronization can be drawn between some aspects of Premchand's write-ups and Ghalib's poetry. Though, Kafan overtly reflects Dalit predicament and plot seemingly revolves around the Dalit characters but the story has multi-layered meanings and is still not understood in all its ramifications. On analyzing deeply, we realize that there is some sort of mystic essence associated with both the characters and the instances of the story.