CHAPTER IV

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

OF

THEIR SHORT STORIES

A. PORTRAYAL OF INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER

Individual human being is the basic matrix of a complex social system

likewise, the moral values of a particular individual acts as a building material in

him; stronger the value system in an individual firmer the society. Poets, writers

and men of letter have always contributed to instil correct moral values in an

individual. In the writings of Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh (1895-1997) one can

find the realistic portrayal of noble human characteristics, which are part of good

morals.

In the story "Dusti yi Khala Khirsa" ("the Friendship of Aunt Bear") the

kind hearted, gallant cafe waiter acts like a good Samaritan by saving the life of

a Russian Cossack. The hero of the story, Habibullah, could not leave the

wailing Russian Cossack in the snow to die, instead takes him up in the cart. On

his way, he sacrifices whatever he had in his possession; his robe, hard earned

money. At one point of time, Habibullah covers the cold hit Russian Cossack

with his own robe; the narrator was moved by his gesture of sacrifice and said:

"By his compassion and support (to a stranger), I was

profoundly moved; not giving way to my shyness, I stood straight and

kissed his broadforehead" 3

One can see the similar pm1rayal of sacrifice in Premchand's short story;

'Idgah' where a five year old boy sacrifices his petty tips to buy a pair of tongs

for her grandmother, who does not have one to hold chapattis, while making

them. Here, the portrayal is very real and pathetic. Premchand brings up the

scene at the end of the story, when he says,

" .. The infant Hamid had played the role of a matured Hamid.

The old lady Ameena had turned into an i11{ant when she bursts into

tears". 4

3 "Dusti-yi Khale Khirsa", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p. 64

4 "idgah", Mansarovar, vol.l, Sumitra Prakaskan, Allahabad, 1997, p.24

44

Human beings usually repent when they find after introspection that a

crime or an unjust act has been committed by them. Repentance although,

appears apparently to feel oneself humble in his own eyes but wins the heart of

others and brings respect for the one who admits his flaw and shows repentance.

In the story "Sawab ya Gunah" ("Divine Reward or Sin") by Jamalzadeh, the

hero, Sohrab, a murder convict, finds after introspection that he has killed an

innocent human being. He seeks death to recompense the crime he has

committed. The magnificent portrayal of repentance can be seen in the story

when Sohrab says:

"I do not want my penitence to be accepted by God. I have done

a blunder and need a noose around my neck to end my life. This life with

its every minute brings death sentence for me; even breathing has turned

out to be a persecution for me. The only thing which I seek from the

God, the world, the people and you; who are my only friend on earth

are; the death. "5

Premchand too, brings forth the feeling of repentance in one of his short

stories titled "Julus" ("The Procession"). In the story Birbal Singh, a mounted

police inspector hits out an old man who is leading the procession against the

British Government, marking the observation of "Complete Independence". The

old man dies of head injury. The police inspector is hated by his compatriots for

his brutal act. Realising his mistake, Birbal visits the martyr's house and tenders

his apology before the dead man's widow. The scene of remorse and repentance

is painted nicely in the story; when wife of the guilty inspector stepped into the

old widow's house she sees a young man talking to the old lady with tears in his

eyes. Miththan (Inspector's wife) was surprised to find that the young man was

his husband.

Unkind treatment of the older and aged folk by the people is a mark

of shame for the society. The pathetic condition of an old vagrant. who is

5 "Sawab ya Gunah", Kohne wa Nau, lntesharat e Sukhan,2005, Tehran, p. 24

45

exploited by the people of an area is shown by Jamalzadeh in his story "Vilan ud

Daulah" ("The Vagrant").In the story everyone goes on using the services of the

poor old man for themselves and does not have give damn care for his basic

·requirements. He goes without food and medicine when he is ill.

Out of desperation over the indifferent attitude of people towards him,

he terminates his life by taking heavy dose of opium. He dies inside a public

mosque as he was without a home. His tragic end speaks the reality of people's

selfishness and unkind treatment towards the hose aged and homeless folk.

There is touching death scene in the story:

"He slowly took out a pouch of opium from his picket and cut it

short into pieces by a pen knife, without giving any way to reason

understanding, he quickly put the whole morsel of opium in his mouth.

Holding water pipe in his hand drank some water .... He headed towards

the Shabistan6 ..• put his pair of shoes beneath his head, closed his eyes

and prayed ... Next .morning when mosque's attendant came to the

Shabistan, he found 'Vilan -ud daulah' dead. "7

Munshi Premchand has portrayed a similar situation in his story "Budhi

Kaki" ("The Old Aunt"), where a very old lady is living in bits and pieces in her

own house after she had transferred all her wealth and property to her nephew.

In the story, a sumptuous feast is being organised by her nephew on the occasion

of engagement of his son. Everyone has his full but the 'Old Aunt' is left

without food. Irresistible hunger and her urge to taste relish food items compels

her to eat from the left-over plates, late night.

Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh describes 'greed' for money as one of the major

short comings in one's personal character. It makes one blind and erodes some

other virtuous characters, too. In the story of "Dusti-yi- Khala Khirsa"

("Friendship of an Aunt Bear") the Russian Cossack gets tempted at the sight of

6 Shabistan: A mosque having a courtyard meant for nocturnal prayer 7 "Vilan ud Daula", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p.l06

46

the money lying with Habebullah. The narrator could see the evil -intention in

the eyes of the Russian Cossack, He says:

"When the money poured out of Habebullah's scarf I saw the eyes

of Russian Cossack displayed a strange evil flash. He stared as a hungry

man reacts on sighting a tempting food and wanted to swallow the

money with his eyes "8

This greed leads the Russian Cossack astray and he contemplates to kill

his own saviour. The last scene is really pathetic, the narrator says:

"Cossack hurriedly came near to the dead body and stooped down after

looking around and searched in Habib's scarf took out something and hid it

under his arm ....... suddenly I could recollect that the Cossack had ill

intentionfor the money .For the sake of petty worldly wealth he forgot all the

courage and kindness extended by the young man and stooped to kill an ..

innocent human bein.g". 9

Premchand also portrays greed as one of greatest v1ces m individual

character which tends to harm relationships and brings misery to the family. In

the story "Lottery" all the family members buy lottery tickets in the hope of

becoming rich soon. They are ready to cross any limits and plan to go to any

extent to keep the major portion of prize money as some of the buy the tickets in

share. At last, an American wins the lottery and family realises after

introspection that they had gone blind for wealth and were ready to sacrifice

mutual confidence, respect, friendship and were too, selfish dreaming about the

Wlll.

While dealing with the issue of moral corruption, Jamalzadeh very

vividly describes 'exploitation' as one of its reasons through the story "Namak­

i-Gandeedah" ("Rotten Salt"). Caught several times for pilfering, and stealing

8 "Dusti yi Khale Khirse",Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p. 63 9 "Dusti yi Khale Khirse", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p. 68

47

money of the house owner, the domestic help of Mirza Saleh at last discloses the

reason for his moral corruption. It was an eye-opener for Mirza Saleh, when he

finally realised that he was exploiting his domestic help by not paying him the

optimum salary.

"I may sacrifice myself upon you, I have a wife and children.My wife is

weak and she is in post natal stage and requires food and medicine timely.

You know well that my children are in what a condition (deplorable), without

food. When I return home and see their pale faces, which looks like and un­

watered twigs, I go mad and the world becomes dark for me that moment. I

cannot differentiate between what is right and what is wrong ". 10

Premchand in his story "Ramlila" brings out moral corruption and the

lack of sense of responsibility in narrator's father when he does not bother to

raise a good collection to pay the poor artiste, instead gives a huge sum to a belle

(Tawaif). The poor artiste had been performing in the village play since long.

Seeing a very low collection that year, the narrator bids farewell by giving away

all his small savings to the poor artiste.

The noble characters in a human being are always appreciated by the

people. Munshi Premchand seems to have mastery in the field of portrayal of

noble or ideal characters in human beings. He has the power to display the latent

noble character found inside a commoner. It is a psychological truth that a bad

person is not always bad some good characters are there in him, too. Most often

they become victim of circumstances and lose their integrity in moral character

due to some preoccupied wants or pressing needs.

In one of his stories he displays forgiveness which makes a man loftier

than many others.In the story "Mantra" Doctor Chaddha refuses to see the ailing

child of the hero, Bhagat as his visting hours were over and it was his sport time.

Many years rolled on , once Dotcor Chaddha's son is bitten by a poisonous

snake , Bhagat who had turned into an old man was called on to see the doctor's

10 "Namak e Gandideh", Kohne wa Nau, lntesharat e Sukhan, Tehran, p. 49

48

son who was nearly dead. Bhagat could easily avenge his son's death long back

but he overcomes his agony and vengeance. He rushes to the scene and bring

back the doctor's son to life by his special power of hynms which could

neutralise the poison of snake. Thus a lowly person exhibits noble character of

'forgiveness'.

In the same way duti-boundness with utmost sincerity could be seen in

Premchand's story "Namak Ka Darogha" ("Salt Inspector") in which Pandit

Alopideen despite being posted in a very profitable department discharges his

duty honestly and courageously following the guidance from his conscience. He

dares to arrest the great salt mafia. He is expelled from the service for doing so

as the salt mafia had wider influence in administrative circles and other

government departments. A time comes when the salt mafia becomes a changed

man. He begs Alopdeen to assume charge as an overseer of his estate and

persuades him to join as Permanent Manager of his estate.

In the story "Sujan Bhagat", Munshi Premchand very delicately and

passionately brings out the issue of self-respect. He says through his story that,

be it a sexagenarian or a youth when it comes to secure one's self-respect one

can go to any extent to protect it and nature too helps those who fight to win

back their lost self-respect. In the story an old, religious and renowned farmer

'Sujan Bhagat' is humiliated by his wife and son for being generous in giving

alms to the poor. His self-respect is hurt. He re-starts farming at the ripe age.

The produce of that year is double than the last year's farm produce and thus

gets back his lost rights in the family.

While describing some good individual moral characters and moral

com1ptions, both Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh and Premchand are firm and

robust and understand their responsibility well that how literature influences the

minds of the individuals and shapes the character of human beings. By

portraying the good moral character they intend to instil confidence and courage

among the readers to adopt and emulate the noble characters in the 'characters'

49

they present. By highlighting the moral corruption in an individual they try to

put a check on the overall degradation of human and social values.

50

B. SOCIAL CRITICISM

Poverty is directly or indirectly related to unemployment, exploitation,

oppression, negligence of a particular social class in the development process.

Writers have always brought forth the condition of poor masses, their

exploitation and oppression by the capitalists in their writings. Whether an urban

poor or a rural one, the suffering remains same and the basic question of survival

or existence is always at stake. In Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh's writing we find

'characters' representing urban poor. In "Bila Dig Bila Chuqandar" ("Every man

to his deserts") the writer shows a group of people who are mostly peasants and

servants and live in abject poverty and destitution. Referring this class of people

he sarcastically says;

" .. they all live in abject poverty. They carry this equality to the

grave with them. The fact that, there are no tombstones on their graves,

not even bricks to mark the place, testifies to their equality. After all, how

long does it take to obliterate initial markers that might be placed on a

new grave? This expression of equality or 'brotherhood' is carried into

their vernacular as well". 11

In the story "Vilan-ud-Daula" ("The Vagrant"), Jamalzadeh highlights

the conditions of a poor vagrant who goes on serving people tirelessly, but no

one has time to reciprocate for his services. His condition becomes wretched but

the people continue exploiting him. Describing his dress the writer says;

"Vilan-ud-Daula wants people to see what he dresses, his pair of

socks have holes like a bee hive and his shirt resembles the shirt of love-

t .k l l ,j) s nc en peop e, torn at many p aces . -

11 "Bila Dig Bila Chuqandar", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p. 96 12 "Vilan-ud-Daula", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p. 103

51

The reply of Habiba Khanum in the story "Sawab ya Gunah" ("Divine

Reward or Sin") is an answer to the most important question, whether education

is a cure to poverty? Habiba Khanum rightly says;

"We do not have food or shall are stitch my stomach. With what

money shall I send this illegitimate progeny (abuses) to school? You

mean to say I must resort to stealing at this ripe age, which will be

unfounded ofme". 13

The description of urban poor by Jamalzadeh reaches its high point in the

story "Namak-i-Gandidah" ("The Rotten Salt") when narrator and five of his

friends visit Masgharabad at the comer of the city, where there are urban poor

settlements. The description of the area, deplorable condition of people, exposes

the real condition of urban poor. Cities and towns are often seen as an indication

of development and growth in a country. The writer accurately finds out the

negligence of the government authorities to look into their problems as the truth

behind existence of crimes like, snatching, robbing, stealing, pilfering, forced

begging prevalent in the cities. They are forced to do such activities to get their

daily bread.

In the story "Namak-i-Gandidah" ("The Rotten Salt") the writer says:

"all indecent words and rough tone in their speech ..... Clearly

showed that they either know nothing or have been disburdened by

things like God, law, customs, divine canons, social administration. All

their worries are to fill the empty stomach; stealing and snatching are

the petty means to cure thousands of their ailments. "14

13 "Sawab ya Gunah", Kohne wa Nau, lntesharat e Sukhan,2005, Tehran, p. 14

14 "Namak e Gandideh", Kohne wa Nau, lntesharat e Sukhan,2005, Tehran, p. 55

52

Similarly in the story "Atash Zer-i Khakistar" ("The Fire Under the

Ashes"), youthful and energetic Siyamak realises the importance of food or

medicine over books. Siyamak represents a typical Iranian youth full of energy.

He selects teaching as his profession to nurture innocent children into good

human being. Sometimes, he laments that he is not doing justice to his

profession as he was not able to give equal effort to all his students. However,

when one of his students commits suicide as his father did not have enough

money to provide bread for the family; Siyamak realises that Iranian children

needed bread and medicines more than the books.

"I was going through a tough time related to my life, started to abuse

him and said I don't care if you do not go to school for the next thousand

years. Should I steal for buying books" ?15

Thus, we see that the realistic portrayal of the condition of poor and

neglected class of people in the short stories of Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh

serves the prime objective of the twentieth century literature; when it started

proving itself to be a reflection of the society and not only a pleasure or leisure

reading of some privileged class people. Here, we see that through short stories

the literature accepts one of the biggest challenges of its time.

In the whole annals of Hindi and Urdu literatures produced in India, the

short stories of Munshi Premchand have been the real interpretation of vows,

miseries of oppressed and low-class people living in village. This was primarily

because the author hailed from rural background and had first had information

on the plight of forced labourer, low caste, farmer, artisans or others. In the story

"Kafan" ("The Shroud") the abject poverty of a low-caste Hindu (Chamar)

family is shown. The expression is so real that the father-son duo appears as the

poorest of the poor in the whole world. Both are unable to arrange a piece of

15 "Atash Zer-i Khakistar", Talkh o Shirin, lntesharat e Sukhan,2005, Tehran, p. 152

53

shroud for the dead. The remark by Madhav tells the complete story of wretched

people who do not have clothes to cover them up. He says :

" .. What a bad custom is this! The one, who could not get clothes to

wrap her up when she was living, needs a shroud when dead. The shroud

gets burned with the dead body and what is special there in it. If we could

get these five rupees earlier, we could have arranged for her

d. . ,]6

me zcznes.

In the story "Poos ki Raat" ("January Night") poor and wretched farmer

somehow manages to save some money to buy a blanket to save himself from

biting winter months. He is forced to give away his petty savings to his money

lender to avoid getting insulted before his wife. Lastly, he had to spend the

whole night in his fields without a blanket. The spine-chilling cold waves do not

allow the poor farmer to leave the campfire and he could not help the whole

farm being eaten up by the herd of Nilgai. The helpless condition of the

wretched farmer can be visualised well when the moving through the climax of

the story;

"Jabra (pet dog) was barking. Animals were grazing the field and the

crop was ready. What a good crop it was this year! These ruthless animals

are destroying it completely.Halku (the farmer) stood up with firm conviction

stepped forward but suddenly he felt striken by stinging cold wave which

appeared to pierce through his body, he came back and sat before the dying

campfire, started to turn the ashes to get some warmth from the fire under

the ashes. " 17

Acute penury of the grandmother (Ameena) of a five year old kid

(Hamid) attracts the sympathy of the reader in Premchand's the story "Idgah".

16 "Kafan",Premchand ke Numainde Afsane, Qamar Rais ,Educational Book House ,Aiigarh,2001,

p.230 17

"Poos Ki Raat", Mansarovar, vol.l, Sumitra Prakaskan, Allahabad, 1997, p.97

54

The pathetic condition of Ameena on the eve 'Eid' speaks about the extent of

poverty. Premchand's unique ability to aptly portray pathos related to poverty

makes the reader feel as if he is watching an interesting movie. Ameena says:

" .. that day I had sewed Fahiman's dress and got eight Annas, which I

had been saving like faith but (what a bad luck) I had to part with it

partially for paying dues. There is nothing left for Hamid (to be given as

tip). Two Paisa is needed for milk and only two Annas() are left. Three

Paisa is with Hamid and five Paisa in Ameena's purse. This is all our

status and top of it, today is Eid. May God save us! Washerwoman, mid­

wife, cleaners, milk-maid, bangle-seller; all will come for Eid tips ... "18

Premchand is a master in portraying the condition of rural-poor. His

sketch is apt and heart rending too. Poverty begets exploitation. In our social

system a poor person resorts to do any kind of odd jobs for his livelihood and

the privileged class uses this as an opportunity for his exploitation. The

exploitation can be in form of not paying proper wages against the services

taken or even corporal punishment for asserting one's supremacy over the other.

In a society, where class difference is distinct and deep-rooted, the exploitation

of the low class people by the privileged or capitalist class tends to be more.

Caste-oppression was one of the kinds of exploitation in the name of caste. The

higher caste-Hindus exploited the low caste, who were generally poor and

thought they were predestined to be used by high caste. Premchand wrote

extensively about such exploitation in the Indian society. Writers of Progressive

Movement vowed to right about the masses highlighting tortures, atrocities,

exploitation, injustice received by the oppressed. Premchand was a protagonist;

highlighting lives of labourers, farmers, outcastes. In one of his famous stories

"Sadgati", both the husband and wife belonging to a low-caste called 'Chamar'

are at the service of upper-caste Brahmin. The cunning Brahmin engages Dukkhi

for his household work all day long, without food. Dukkhi dies chopping woods

18 "ldgah", Mansarovar, vol.l, Sumitra Prakaskan, Allahabad, 1997, p.16

55

in Brahmin's house. As Dukkhi was an untouchable, no body dared to touch his

dead body .Adding to his misery, untouchables from Dukkhi's clan too, refused

to remove the body from Brahmin's house. They were protesting against the

killing of their fellow men. Next day, when it was dawn Brahmin tied a noose

around the feet of the dead body and dragged it out of the village. The story is so

realistic that it appears as if the writer was the witness to the whole incident.

In the story "Thakur ka Kuan" ("Thakur's Well") Premchand describes

the pathetic condition of an untouchable from a lower caste who is unable to

bring a pot of clean water for her ailing husband. At that time Untouchables

were not allowed to draw water from the wells belonging to upper caste. This is

the sordid tale where the young woman dares to draw water from Thakur's well

secretly at night. The fright of being caught is deep in her mind that when she

hears the opening of the doors of Thakur's, she drops back the drawn water in

the well. Some stories of Premchand strike hard over the wrongs of the society.

Premchand has touched upon almost all the major social evils prevalent during

his time. Discussing the monster of 'usury' which had ruined many lives he

paints the picture of a poor farmer Shankar who had taken some wheat flour

from a local money-lender(Vipraji) to honour his guest. Shankar had paid many

times more than what he received but did not declare it out of modesty. The

small debt turns into an enormous loan with interest compounding over the

principal. Shankar dies in harness of the debt and in return his son is engaged to

work for the money lender as a debt recovery. Usury was like strong and tight

claws of a hawk which holds its prey tightly and does not leave till it is dead.

Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh too speaks about exploitation of poor by the

rich . In the story ""Bila Dig Bila Chuqandar" the narrator reads the diary of a

European bath attendant who once visited Iran. The bath attendant classifies

Iranian people according to their headgear. Those who wore yellow hats

belonged to peasants and servants or the oppressed class. White hats are sported

by "Shaykh or Akhunds" (religious clerics) and Black hats are called "Khans"

56

occupying government positions and make laws for the public. On the sheer

exploitation working class people by religious clerics he says:

" ..... a major preoccupation of the White hats and the Black hats whose

only goal consists of possessing more and more Yellow hats ....... Very much

like our European tradition of buying and selling honey bee in hives, in Iran

and yellow hats are sold as families with their house, hamlet and even

village. For instance, you might hear that today so and so bought one

hundred yellow families for the such and such an amount. "19

Some social evils like 'bribery' initially emanates from the moral

corruption of an individual. Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh dared to attack the

corrupt Iranian politicians during his time. In the story "Rajul-i-Siyasi" ("The

Politician"), the writer shows how an ordinary cotton beater catches the skills of

a seasoned politician, who is normally an expert in receiving bribes. The cotton

beater takes bribe due to some comedy of error and at last turns into a full­

fledged politician of same lot. In the story "Bila Dig Bila Chuqandar"

Jamalzadeh sarcastically exposes the habit of taking bribes in religious clerics

"Akhunds". He says:

"One day I said to one of my I rani an acquaintances, 'I knew that these

white hats (Akhunds) belong to a profession that involves some sort of

manual activity. But I do not know what profession that is.' He said 'there is

truly an industry on which Iran's very existence hinges. Without this

industry all the country's affairs will come to a full stop and country with

destruct.' 'What is the name of this sublime profession? I asked

'Bribery' he said"20

In Premchand' s story the hero witnesses the corrupt system before him. He

is a man of principle and would not budge an inch to sacrifice his principles. In

19 "Bila Dig Bila Chuqandar", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p. 98

20 Ibid, p. 95

57

the story "Namak ka Darogha" ("The Salt Inspector"), hero of the story,

Bansidhar, a Salt Inspector is assigned to check on the transit of salt. A famous

and rich trader Pandit Alopideen is an influential merchant who has links with

government servants and administration. The honest inspector stops his truck

loads of salt being transported illegally. Alopideen could not bribe him for

relinquishing his duty. Premchand describes it as the battle between 'wealth' and

'duty'. He says:

"the 'wealth' started to attack excitedly. The rate started from one

thousand to five, then to ten and fifteen, and from fifteen it reached to

twenty thousand, but the 'duty' with its immense courage stood calm,

composed, determined and firm like a mountain before the large army of

wealth. .. will forty thousand suffice you?'even for forty lakhs it would be

impossible' . The 'duty' had routed 'wealth'. "21

In the early twentieth century the objective of literature had undergone a sea

change. It started.speaking of the society and started to take giant stride towards

the new challenge of 20th century .It was no more a mere tool for entertainment.

Diverse issues from various social sections classes needed to be attended.

Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh was one of the courageous writers of his age. He

started exposing the ill practices prevalent in the Iranian society at that time. He

criticised the ruling class, religious clerics for the exploitation of common

masses. A journey through his short stories reveals that he was an ardent social

critic of his time. One of the striking features of his social criticism was that his

approach was mostly direct.

The first story of his collection of short stories "Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud"

("Once upon a time") published in Berlin in 1921 starts with a satire on the

contemporary Iranian regime saying:

21 "Namak ka Darogha", Mansarovar, vol.lll, Prakaskan Sansthan, New Delhi, 2004, p.201

58

" in no other place of the face of earth but in Iran are saints and sinners

alike ... "22

Commenting on judges the so-called "khans" he says that all the

government offices are controlled by this tribe. They have a private club and

whoever from the outside can enter it finds him to be in a clover. They call their

assembly as "Diwan" or court. One of scathing attacks he has made in his story

"Atash Zer-i- Khakistar" where he condemns the Western political thought

imposed on Iran. Through the character Mirza Ruhullah, he has given message

to those who always talk big but actually do nothing for the welfare of people.

He says the Iranian multitude does not want to understand the meaning of

democracy propounded by America and definition if revolution by Russia in

empty stomach. Our world is the woman who has the body of the child with her

hands bleeding and drops of blood trickling on the earth. Inspiring the politicians

and administrators of the country he says:

" ... your world is these common masses who neither know America or

Russia, they are hungry, weak and want bread, clothing and medicines. "23

His story "Bila Dig Bila Chuqandar" ("Every man to his deserts") is a

piquant satire on the despotic order, way of life, ruling circles and class

distinction in Qajar times. Fate takes a European bath attendant to Persia, where

he becomes advisor to a minister and his memoir 'People and Government' in

Iran is a direct attack on the religious clerics, state administrator. It was mainly

the remarks made in this story that disturbed the religious and state dignitaries in

the early 1920's, when the book was first published. He accuses the "Akhund"

being rampantly involved in receiving bribe. Their headgear and rosary in their

hands is a mask to deceive people. Criticising about their headgear he writes in

the story:

22 "Farsi Shikar Ast", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p. 19 23

Atash Zer-i Khakistar", Talkh o Shirin, lntesharat e Sukhan,2005, Tehran, p.167

59

"One day I asked an Iranian, 'why do the Akhund tie so much

material around their head?

'It is quite simple', he replied. 'When your finger is injured, don't

you wrap some bandage around it to keep it away from further harm?

Perhaps the brains of the Akhunds are damaged and they intend to

prevent fresh air from reaching .... "24

He charges that the profession of 'Akhunds' is to take bribes and

comments on their habit of reading beads. He sarcastically says:

"Whatever the profession I believe, the thumbs and the forefinger

play a major role in its performance. I say this because the White hats

(Akhunds) constantly rub these digits against each other. Could it be

that they keep them well exercised? They have gone so far as devising a

means for the proper exercise of the digits. It consists of running a

string through the holes of a number of coloured stones "25

Criticism of the contemporary society IS seen m the stories of

Premchand, too but in a slightly different form and style than Jamalzadeh.

During Premchand's time India was ruled by the Britishers. In the aftermath of

India's 'first war for independence' termed by the Britishes as the famous

'Revolt of 1857' or even 'Sepoy Mutiny of 1857' the sense of India as one

country was generating among the masses. Premchand came at a time when the

freedom movement had already started in India. Now, it was the duty of the

writers to generate to feelings of 'nationalism' in the common masses so that the

idea gets proliferated well in society. Premchand was no doubt an intelligent

writer; he understood the responsibility of men of letters at that time. In his first

collection of short story "Soz-e-Watan" ("Passion for the nation") most of the

stories incite the readers to love one's country and stand united for the cause of

setting the country free. In one such story he very nicely blends romance with

2~"Bila Dig Bila Chuqandar", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p. 97 25

Ibid, p. 98

60

patriotism. In the story "Duniya ka Sabse Anmol Ratan" ("World's most

invaluable Jewel"), the hero 'Dilfigar' falls in love of the unparalleled beauty

named 'Dilfareb' and proposes her. The lady asks 'Dilfigar' to bring for her the

most invaluable thing in earth. The lover presents one after another many things

to her, but she rejects those calling them, not the invaluable one she wanted. At

last when the lover gifts her drop of martyr's blood who died defending his

country, 'Dilfareb' accepts it as the most invaluable thing on earth and agrees to

get married to 'Dilfigar'. The dialogues are really inspiring and instil courage to

fight for the nation. At one place the dying warrior says:

"what is the use applying ointment over wound! Let the blood ooze

out. Shall I live for the sake of being a slave in my own country? I would

rather choose death. Death like this one rarely comes. "26

In the story "Samar Yatra" a seventy five-year old woman lady inspires

the village folk to come to the support of 'Satyagrahi' (Truth-Seekers) fighting

to make the country free. She is not cowed down by the mental and physical

atrocities inflicted upon her compatriots who were in the services of the rulers,

instead she stands against them. She manages to mobilise a huge rural masses to

join for the cause of the freedom movement. Inciting the village folk she says:

" For how long will you be thrashed? .... Show them that you

are alive and care for your self-respect. When your self-respect is lost

there is no use of gaining virtues? Leave this corwardness! After all you

all are going to die, why not die fighting for the noble cause and die like

h ,27 a era

The emergence of Mahatma Gandhi in national politics and propagation

of national values were simultaneous. Britishes had intensified the efforts to

quell the anti-British sentiments in India. Several leaders were being rounded up

26 "Duniya Ka Sabse Anmol Ratan", Duniya Ka Sabse Anmol Ratan Tatha Anya Kahaniyan, Amrit Rai, Saraswati Publication, New Delhi, 1986, p.21 27 "Samar Yatra", Mansarovar, voi.VII, Prakaskan Sansthan, New Delhi, 2004, p.52

61

and put in jail, press freedom was curtailed, people's rights were substantially

clipped, men of letters were warned producing literature that arouse the national

sentiment or criticises the incumbent administration. It was really testing time

for the men of letters. In this atmosphere, Premchand' s first collection of short

stories "Soz -e-watan" ("a passion for the nation"), comes in public and

Premchand is charged with sedition. The copies of his first collection of short

stories is confiscated and ordered to be burned by the British Administration.

In the story "Shatranj ke Khiladi" ("The Chess Players"), Premchand

portrays the playing of chess as an ill omen and symbol of luxurious life,

prevalent in Nawabs of Lucknow those days. British forces are advancing to

capture the Nawab of Lucknow, Wajid Ali Shah. Instead of fighting the British

forces to defend their seat of power,the clan members continue playing chess

and chose to go on with their relaxed life. They don't dare to ponder that they

are on brink of disaster their own ruin is in the offing. The scene portrayed by

Premchand at the time of the arrest of the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah is marvellous,

he says:

"Nawab Wajid Ali Shah had been captured and the army (British)

has been transporting him to some undisclosed place. There is no hustle

and bustle in the city; no free country has ever lost the battle in this

peaceful manner. This was not the non-violence on which Gods would

feel happy, instead it is sheer cowardice ... " the Great Nawab of Oudh is

imprisoned and being taken away (by Britishes) and Lucknow is busy

merrymaking. It is the height of political downfall. "28

In the same manner, we see that during Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh's

time that Constitutional Movement was going on ( 1905 - 1911 ). The chief forces

behind the Constitution Movement and the coup de tat of Reza Shah ( 1921)

were the result of increased contact with the Western world. In addition to these,

the first Russian Revolution (1905) affected the developments in Iran. In 1907

28 "Shatranj ke Khiladi", Mansarovar, vol.lll, Prakaskan Sansthan, New Delhi, 2004, p.197

62

Anglo-Persian agreement was signed dividing the country literally into three

parts "Sphere of Influence" a Russian zone in the north, a British zone in the

south and a neutral zone in the middle. The despotic regime of Mummad Ali

Shah ended in 1909, when Majlis reopened. The Russian Revolution of 1917

brought a relaxation of Russian pressure. This was a time when Jamalzadeh

appeared on the scene with his first collection of short stories "Yaki Bud Yaki

Nabud" ("once upon a time"), published in Germany in 1921. The collection

speaks about the contemporary society in a satirical manner. In the story "Rajul­

i-Siyasi", Jamalzadeh vividly describes about the scene of Majles (the

Parliament) from the view point of commoner. The commoner says:

"Oh! The over- dressed people, God's mercy be upon them ... one of

the over- dressed person with a white beard sat in the first row (Prime

Minister) said to me ... After him some people talked in complex and

complicated manner. I could only understand that the over-dressed

person who spoke first was the 'Head of Ministers' and the rest were

among the rotten lost of 'Democrats' and 'Moderates'. "29

Attacking the 'Reformist' brigade among the law-makers referred in the

story as "Bila Dig Bila Chuqandar", as Black Hats. The narrator says that this

group is willing to entertain certain changes or "reform" in the divan or

assembly. For instance, they believe that the full import of constitution has not

been done by the Akhunds. The prosperity of some of the Akhunds, disrupts the

harmony cultivated in the land. They intend to replay the situation so that at the

end the Akhunds and the 'peasants and workers' become truly equal. Whenever,

there is lust of power or position the sincerity of the job is compromised.

Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh very clearly brings out the tortures inflicted upon

the common masses at the hand of government officials. Most often the officials

are extra cautious by virtue of which they tum the life of a common man into

29 "Rajul-i-Siyasi", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p. 44

63

misery. In the story "Farsi Shikar Ast" ("Persian is Sugar"), commenting on the

attitude and behaviour of the passport official says the narrator says:

" ... that very morning a new official had arrived in Anzalifrom Rasht.

To prove his loyalty and viability, they said, this official was turning the

wet alongside the dry, as it were. His behaviour was like that of a rabid

dog that, without any apparent reasons, attacks innocent people left and

right. Additionally, this very official was eying the governorship of the

region. Preparing the ground for becoming the governor of Anzali,

thought the morning, he had tied up the entire Anzali-Tehran telegraph

line, transmitting information of his own activities". 30

The similar high handedness of government official with the general

public can be seen in the stories of Munshi Premchand. The Britishes often

manhandled or treated Indian masses badly. At times the situation became very

complex when a member of a family served for the Britishes and often became a

party to the British oppressors. Premchand very artistically manages to strike the

balance between the two sides. He would always cling to the theme of the story

till the end. In the story "Julus" ("The Procession") a mounted police inspector

charges batons on the procession brutally as a result an old man leading the

procession dies of head injury. The populace detests the sub-inspector for his

behaviour with his compatriots. People dislike him, even his wife feels sorry for

the incident as she was the sympathiser of the Satyagrahis. In the story, the

inspector introspects the reason for his criticism His wife finds mental peace

when she meets her remorseful husband at the widow's house. It was the

stinging remark from his wife which compelled the Inspector to go for soul­

searching. His wife had said:

" .. you may get promotion, but what is the use of getting such a

promotion when your hands are stained with blood of an innocent.' You

30 "Farsi Shikar Ast", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p.23

64

shall be rewarded (by the Britishers) for outstanding performance but

ld . . " 31 wou remazn a trmtor .

It is very difficult to understand a child's mind; at times it thinks those

things which surpass the thought of grown-up people. Understanding a child's

mind and to inculcate right moral and values, family and social etiquettes in

them is a difficult task. Writers need to produce such a work which caters to

both the demands, i.e. that of the parents and the child. A child seeks pleasure in

his inquisitiveness, flight of fantasy or imagination. The parents are worried for

the right character building of the child. Therefore, it is essential for a writer to

know the basics of child psychology. Both Jamalzadeh and Premchand are

skilful in handling child character. For instance, in the story "Farsi Shikar Ast"

("Persian is sweet"), the main character is a young boy who is unable to

understand the various dialects of Persian. At the top of it, his urge to know why

something has gone wrong remains crucial aspect in the whole story. The young

boy seemed to be relaxed when he found that somebody could understand and

converse in the language he spoke. Jamalzadeh nicely puts in the story:

more importantly when he realised that we spoke the same

language, he grabbed my hand repeatedly kissed it. His delight knows

no end, as if he had been given the world. He said, 'May I be sacrificed

for your words? You must be an angel sent from above to rescue

1ne ... "32

Jamalzadeh's theme in the story wants to persuade people to use simple

Persian in their speech. After creating a complex situation due to dialectical

intricacies of the language, he resolves the crisis with this suggestion from the

young boy:

31 "Julus", Mansarovar, voi.VII, Prakaskan Sansthan, New Delhi, 2004, p.39 32

"Farsi Shikar Ast", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p. 29

65

" .. whenever you find you do not understand them (the European and

the Mullah) help yourself to these sweets and remember me. "33

In the story "Hoomza wa Loomza", Jamalzadeh very delicately brings

out the physical and mental trauma faced by a child of a 'madrasa' when he is

unable to pronounce a couple of Arabic words. The madrasa teacher, a Mullah,

serves as an executioner of the child and does not spare at the child for

committing mistakes. The child lives in a state of complete mental excitation

and fear of punishment continuously haunts his mind. Difficult words often

create hallucination to him. The torture at the hands of the Mullah makes the

child so worried that the two words started to appear like demons, remembering

his childhood days the narrator says:

" .. the old magicians by dint of their magical tricks could turn human

beings into smoke and even made them disappear .I kinds of stories I

had learnt that these kinds of story very much. Therefore, the words

'Hoomza' and 'Loomza' started to take the shape of a child's

perception of magicians, tricksters. One day I could see their physical ,34 appearance too ....

Premchand pays much attention to building of 'character' in the story.

He gives emphasis on every minute details of the child's thought process. In the

story "Idgah" he very smoothly manages to move the story with five children

'characters'. The hero of the story is a five year old poor boy, whom Premchand

has portrayed so lively that his actions seem fully justified and the reader sides

with the hero. A child has an impressionable mind and powerful memory, he

remembers things or events which attracts or influences him. He may remember

a trivial event and forget a major event or the other way, in other words he has

an unpredictable but strong memory. Premchand gives a detail account of his

childhood days spent with an ordinary postman. The writer very aptly describes

33 Ibid, p.32

34 "Hoomza wa Loomza", Kohne wa Nau, lntesharat e Sukhan,2005, Tehran, p. 143

66

the child's psychology that a child knows no constraint in mixing with people.

He remembers only those who give him love and affection. In the story "Kajaki"

a poor postman who worked under narrator's father came to their house

regularly and used to play with the narrator when he was very young. One day

the postman reaches late on duty and could not deliver mails on time. He kept

himself busy with catching a young deer for the child. He was suspended from

work. The poor postman loved the child very much and child also loved him,

too. Unable to meet the child daily, he becomes mentally weak. When narrator's

father came to know his condition, he is asked to rejoin duty. The story shows

selfless love in its pure form.

Love for one's country can be found in the stories of Jamalzadeh. He

very nicely expresses the condition of a Western-educated Iranian youth who

returns to his country to see the woes and desperation. Sometimes he is unable to

cope with the situations and put himself in trouble. Many 'characters' of this

type appear in Jamalzadeh's work but none of them is able to tolerate the

prevailing socio-political environment in Iran and finds difficult to

accommodate with his fellow countrymen. They are not only seen as an alien

being in the social environment but also seen as an outsider in their own family

circle. In "Atash zer-i- Khakistar" ("The Fire under the Ashes"), the hero

Rahmatullah returns to Iran from Europe after acquiring high skills in carpentery

and set up a factory in Tehran. He becomes popular as a master craftsman and

his trade flourishes rapidly, rival firms could not tolerate the success of their

young colleague and their secretly plot to harm his business. He becomes their

victim and Rahmatullah had to close the factory and relinquish the profession.

Later, he becomes an interpreter to a Persian military mission in Germany; once

again his honesty with the profession brings him grief. Upon the instigation of

the officers, to whom he had exposed in a case vent their ire against him and he

is forced to return to Persia. No sooner did he return to Iran than he is arrested

and charged with communist activities. In the end, he and other members of his

family are reduced to misery and complete destitution.

67

In "Khana bi dush" ("Vagabond"), the story revolves around Ahmad.

Ahmad goes to Britain to study for a brief period. During his stay in Britain he

dreams of serving his countrymen when he returns there. When he returns, all

his dreams are shattered once he returns home. Morover, the job he is given by

the government is a petty one; of sticking labels on the bars of opium! Even in

this menial employment he finds the opportunity to voice against the prevailing

bribery and corruption at the work place. His complains are ridiculed by his

friends, his father too does not take his complains seriously. At the end, he finds

a teaching job among the wandering tribes, who later regard him as a saintly

icon.

The same state of mind of another Euorpe-returned Iranian can be seen

in "Farsi Shikar Ast" ("Persian is Sugar"), the Europeanised fellow is puzzled

why the government passport official has locked him up in the cell and is

surprised at the government's treatment towards a west-educated Iranian. He

says:

"I have not come up with an 'absolument' answer, either 'positif' or

'negatif'. Besides is this not 'absolument comique' for them to treat me,

a diploime, from the best of families, as if I were a 'criminal' and

'nouveau' "35

Thus, it is seen that Jamalzadeh's stories portray the tragedy of West­

returned students; much of their unhappiness comes when they are in a state of

transition and intend to settle back in their country. Unhappy with the Western

life, idealistic and ambitious young students returning to their country, where

prejudice and the predominance of selfish and influential classes with no sense

of civic responsibility still existed. Jamalzadeh is most suitably attends the

theme. He himself is an archetype of such Iranian student who find difficulty in

adapting himself to prevailing conditions in this own country.

35 "Farsi Shikar Ast", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p.30

68

To acquire education was the privilege of a lucky few during

Premchand's time. Only children of well off families like those of landlords,

government servants, and upper class people could get education. Premcharid

understood that youth are the potential resources of a country and if they were

directed towards Independence movement, substantial pressure could be belt on

the British government. He believed in shaping of the youth by influencing their

thought process. He argued that in whatever, sphere one lives or works, he must

adhere to the basic ideals. In the story "Prerna" ("Inspiration") the narrator's

pupil comes to visit him. He is now the Deputy Commissioner of a district. The

narrator is taken aback, as he was a very weak student when he taught him. He

inquires the reason for the outstanding success. The pupil disclosed that his

source of inspiration was a nine year old boy in front of whom he had to present

himself as an ideal elder brother. He had to relinquish all his ill habits and

concentrate on studies, which later brought good results. Thus, one finds that

Premchand' s emphasis is on character building and sense of responsibility in an

individual.

Similarly, in the story "Bade Bhai Sahab" ("The Elder Brother") the

elder brother of the narrator is not good in studies. He fails at least twice or

thrice in every class, but he very well understands the responsibility as an elder

brother. His inner conflict can be ascertained well when he at discloses to his

younger brother one day:

"I do not forbid you for flying kites; I too get enticed to it but what I

must do! If I go astray, how will I be able to protect you? This

responsibility is also upon my shoulders! "36

To employed youth, Premchand appeals to be honest and sincere in

discharging one's duties .He asks not to compromise with sincerity or nobility of

36 "Bade Bhai Sahab", Mansarovar, vol.l, Prakaskan Sansthan, New Delhi, 2004, p.56

69

the profession. In the story "Namak Ka Darogha" ("Salt Inspector") the hero,

Pandit Aloopdin despite being in such government department where illegal

money making could be very easy, he chooses to perform his duty with great

courage and acts as per the voice of his conscience. The result is that he dares to

arrest a very influential person of the coterie of illegal traders on the charge of

'bribing an official on duty' and consequently loses his job. In the end, his sense

of responsibility and honesty brings him both respect and money when his worth

is identified. But in the story "Julus" ("The Procession") he paints the character

of a mounted police inspector in a slightly different way. The inspector charges

baton on a group of Satyagrahi in which an old man is severely injured and

succumbs to injuries. Above all, we see that in the story Premchand intends to

impart an important message to the youth serving in the British administration,

that they must have compassion for their compatriots, who may be seen as a

threat in the eyes of British administration. Another important point in the story

is that; even a smart, advanced and educated individual would be hated by the

common masses if he serves in the British government and would be regarded as

a traitor .who disrespects the freedom struggle. In such an environment it is

logical for the hero of the story "Julus" ('The Procession") to admit that he has

committed a mistake. The 'hero' is remorseful on not supporting the

independence seekers. Rebuking his colleague he says:

" .. do you know who is called a rebellion? They are those who rob,

steal or kill people. Those who dare to die for the sake of the country are

not rebellion. It is our misfortune that we are on the opposite flank, and

not supporting them. This is not a moment of feeling proud or rejoicing

(at the death of compatriot), but a matter of great distress or shame. "37

The theme that appears large in Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh's writing is

the criticism of the religious clerics called 'Akhunds'. This is because he is

thoroughly a representative of a middle class and by birth a member of the

clerical professional element. He can portray middle-class people with an

37 "Julus", Mansarovar, val. VII, Prakaskan Sansthan, New Delhi, 2004, p.42

70

accuracy and vividness born only of the most intimate acquaintance as in "Farsi

Shikar Ast" ("Persian is sweet").In the story one finds a verbose speech of

Mullah, apparently appears to be humorous ; is not out of context to the question

raised by the 'hero'. In the story the writer introduces Mullah to the reader by

mixing satire with humour. The narrator says:

"I could make out something shiny and white that resembled a cat

curled over a bag of coal. In reality, however, I was looking at a Mullah

who sat in the manner of school children, with his arms wrapped around

his knees. His entire body was covered with his cloak. What I had

mistaken for a shiny, white cat was his turban the tail end of which,

dangling over his shoulder, looked like the tail of a cat. The hissing

sound of course, was the sound of his Arabic prayers. "38

In "Bila Dig Bila Chuqandar" ("Every man to his deserts"), Jamalzadeh

heaps scorn on the 'amama' (turban) saying:

" .. their heads, thus resemble a minaret on which stork has built a

nest. One day I asked an Iranian 'why do the Akhund tie so much

material around their heads? 'It is quite simple', he replied. 'When your

finger is injured, don't you wrap some bandage around it to keep it

away from further harm? Perhaps the brains of the Akhunds are

damaged and they intend to preventfresh air from reaching there. "39

Jamalzadeh is slightly more sympathetic or more urbane towards the

clergy, he believes, that the institution they represent is noble, but the clergy

themselves fall short of its ideals and requirements. Jamalzadeh writes

scathingly about the Mullah in the story "Dard-i-Dil-i-Mullah Qurban Ali"

("The Grievances of Mullah Qurban Ali"), an infatuated Mullah tells about his

reckless love for the daughter of a neighbouring merchant. The girl dies and the

38 "Farsi Shikar Ast", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p.22 39 "Bila Dig Bila Chuqandar", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p.95

71

unfortunate Qurban Ali, of whose love the girl's family knows nothing, is

invited to spend the night beside the coffin praying for her soul. During the night

he cannot quench the temptation to see the beautiful face of his beloved once

more. He is caught kissing the lips of the dead girl and ends up in jail.

Jamalzadeh's unique ability to beat 'Akhund with Akhund's own stick' can be

seen in the story. Jamalzadeh is well versed with terminologies clerics use unlike

others who, while criticising clerics in their writing limits themselves to bare

statement like 'the clergy are a vile collection of reactionary hypocrites who bar

progress.

Jamalzadeh's pre-emmence m Persian literature is mainly due to his

timely clarion call for 'literary democracy' and regeneration of prose by using

simple and colloquial Persian language in the writings. In an interview in 1938

he stated that he was very proud of his "Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud" ("Once Upon a

Time") for it was the origin of a new school of prose; yet he rightly affirmed that

the innovation had been in the air already and he believed that if he had not

started some else would have. In "Farsi Shikar Ast" ("Persian is Sugar"), he

weaves a story in such a realistic way that the reader is compelled to ponder

upon the problem of a language and its different dialects. He brings forth an

important issue before the Iranian masses. After him, followed the trend of

simplification of language in literary writings and penetrated deep into the

masses. Common people could understand various vital issues and the gap

between the educated class and the common mass was bridged. Jamalzadeh's

effort in this regard had two major dimensions: one, simplification of the literary

language; second, wider proliferation of literature among the populace.

Jamalzadeh's cry for the use of simple Persian as a common language of

Iranians can be heard from the mouth of Ramazan, in "Farsi Shikar Ast"

("Persian is Sugar"). He says:

" .. tell me you Muslims, what crime have I committed that I don't

know about? If I am thief have any hand cut off,· if I am guilty of

something, flog me, pull out my nails, nail my ear to the gate, pull my

72

eyes out of their sockets, shod me, shackle me, pour hot water on me.

Otherwise, for God's sake, release me from the cell and from the clutches

of these mad demons. God know, I am about to go crazy. You are forcing

me to share a grave with these loonies. "40

Jamalzadeh has mostly written about the problems of the urban masses

but sometimes he speaks about the condition of tribal people. In "Khana bi

Dush" ("Vagabond"), he portrays the tribal life where common folk accord a

princely welcome to an educated person from the city. The tribal people

consider the hero as a messiah who has come to bring them out of darkness.

Ahmad begins his work with full vigour and zeal; devotes himself to the cause

of the tribesman. With his selfless service he finds a place in the heart of every

tribesman. They also keep him dear to their lives. From imparting education to

curing children and elders, making bridges he is present everywhere working

with full energy. He is fully contented with the purity of life there He breathes

his last among the people who are pure at heart. After his death, people gave him

cult status and later started linking his lineage to Imams. They built a tomb on

his grave and visit it every day.

The story has two dimensions. In the first part, the author describes the

urban lifestyle and psyche of the people who live in cities and towns. They are

the people who are dishonest and cunning. But the tribal are simple and

ingenuous. Welcoming Ahmad in their tribal area, tribal chief says:

" .. we are tribal people, are simple and uneducated people of open

field and it is equally true that we understand the value of knowledge

and importance of reading and writing. People call us thieves or bandits

and when you get more familiar to us, you would see that the real

thieves and bandits are those with lots of oppression and many false

pretentions, rob ourselves with our wages and leave us hungry and our

40 "Farsi Shikar Ast", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p.29

73

children without schools. Our ailments or disease are left unattended by

doctors and are without medicines. "41

Munshi Premchand too, portrays the contrasting psyche and attitude of

an educated doctor and an illiterate poor old man living in a village, in the story

"Mantra" ("The Hymn"). Once, the only child of a poor villager becomes

seriously ill. The poor man carries his son to a city doctor who has just finished

seeing patients at his clinic and was getting ready for his sports. The poor man

implores hardly to save the life of his dying child son, but all goes in vain and

the boy dies. The life of the rural couple is ruined. One day son of the same

doctor is bitten by a poisonous snake; doctor tried all efforts to save his son but

could not do. The poor man hears the news of doctor's son battling with life .At

last, he brings the doctor's son back to life with his supernatural power of curing

snake bites by reciting hymns. The beautiful contrast of psyche of an educated

urban rich and a simple poor villager appeals the reader.

Unlike Premchand, women 'character' does not appear as. the mam

character in the short stories of Jamalzadeh. But many shades of a woman are

nicle portrayed in the short stories of Jamalzadeh. In the story "Sawab ya

Gunah" (Divine reward or Sin) the domestic help Habiba Sultan faces much

hardship in bringing up her child. She is unable to provide food and education to

her child due to severe poverty, but she never wants to compromise with her

good morals and resort to unlawful means of earning money like stealing.

In "Dard-i-Dil-i-Mullah Qurban Ali" ("The Grievances of Mullah

Qurban Ali"), Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh very successfully explains the beauty

of the daughter of Qurban Ali's neighbour. The writer very candidly builds up

the scene mixing the simulations and beauty of the neighbour's daughter which

impels Mullah to get attracted upon the girl. The Mullah narrates;

41 "Khana bi Dush", Kohne wa Nau, lntesharat e Sukhan, Tehran, p.134

74

"after having tea and hookah, I was prepared to step out from the

house, suddenly I heard a soft voice which trembled me at once ...... the

currency notes slipped from my hand ...... when she bent to pick up the

currency notes her chadur (veil) slipped, I could see her pink-rose face

tree, the hairs got loosened ... For a moment, it appeared the sun has

dazzled my eyes, my heart started beating fast. "42

In the story "Aqd-i-Tamhidi" ("Facilitative Marriage") the theme is on

the exploitation of woman in form of marriage prevalent in Iranian society. A

new type of marriage is discussed in the story which is aimed at exploiting

women by men to facilitate their objective of earning wealth or property. There

is a young, handsome and attractive man who can easily seduce women. He

entraps an old woman in his love and gradually gets control of her wealth. His

wife is a partner in the false-love drama harped by the man on the old lady. The

lady when realised the truth, dies heart-broken. The hero later abandons his wife

too and looks out for another woman. The issue of exploitation of women by the

institution of marriage is the theme of the story. The story there is a sharp

criticism on "Sigheh" ("Limited Period Marriage") type of marriage. In the story

one of the friends narrates what his father had said about "Sigheh" ("Limited

Period Marriage"). His father said:

"beware! Do not rush for 'sigheh' and other types of things in this

city (Mashhad), as any woman or a girl comes into marriage contract

with could be your erstwhile mother. There is a probability that your

father had known her previously". 43

In the story "Bila Dig Bila Chuqandar", Jamalzadeh has nicely presented

what a foreigner says about Iranian women. In the story a European bath

attendant travels to Iran. He writes a memoir titled "People and Government in

42 "Oard-i-Dil-i-Mullah Qurban Ali", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p.78

43 "Aqd-i-Tamhidi", Kohne wa Nau, lntesharat e Sukhan, Tehran, p.77

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Iran", in which he makes comments m lighter vein low presence of Iranian

women in public;

"One day, on the street, I observed the people had surrounded a

youth with long hair, a clean face, a long dress and a sash. Thinking

that they had surrounded a woman, I headed in that direction...... I

discovered the fellow was a Dervish. "44

Commenting on the veil "Hijab" of Iranian women he says:

" ...... wrap themselves in black bag so thoroughly that their entire

body, from head to toe, is covered. There is no opening in the bag, not

even for breathing..... they cannot enter public places like teahouses

and the like. "45

Premchand also portrays every shade of Indian women ranging _from

poor, weak and oppressed women of lower class, outcaste; to rich and effluent

society women. The portrayal of ideal Indian woman having a fair

understanding of family values can be seen in the story "Bade Ghar ki Beti"

("Daughter of a high family"), the main character of the story is the daughter of

a rich man possessing dignity and honour in the society. She is married to the

graduate son of a landlord named Srikanth. Once, Srikanth finds that his

younger brother had misbehaved with his wife Anandi, when he was out for

some days. Srikanth becomes awfully angry and rebukes his brother sternly.

His younger brother could not tolerate the heart-breaking talks of the elder

brother and decides to leave the home. Anandi an intelligent girl,she acts

judiciously and efforts to reunites the warring brothers. The home is saved from

being broken. Here, Anandi rightly discharges the duty of an ideal housewife

and an excellent homemaker.

44 "Bila Dig Bila Chuqandar", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p.94 45 ibid, p.95

76

In "Shanti" ("Peace") the main character is a teenage girl who loves her

self- respect and has a much developed thought of husband and wife relations.

Being brought up in an in open atmosphere, she believes that love must flow

from both sides; a husband must treat his wife as an equal partner and not as a

subservient being. The girl does not want to give in her self-respect and wants to

be treated fairly; like an equal partner. Moreover, the husband wants his wife to

be subservient to him. The husband leaves the house due to the conflict and the

wife commits suicide. The relationship is severed, but the mother adores her

daughter's death, who fought for her right. The mother says;

" my Sunni was really a goddess . ... man does not live to cry for

whole life. When one comes to know that there is nothing left in life

except, woes and miseries, what is the use of living such a life? Just to

eat, sleep and die ....... the mother of a martyred son feels happy at her

son's courage .. so my daughter was equally courageous as a martyr. "46

Premchand's hallmark is his ability to portray 'characters' lively and

utilise it as per the theme of the story. In "Samar Y atra" the chief inspiration for

the mass awakening for freedom struggle comes from a seventy five year old

woman. She inspires locals to work for freedom struggle and support the

'Satyagrahis'!. In the story "Julus" ("The Procession") the mounted police

inspector beats the old man leading the procession commemorating 'complete

independence'. His wife scorns at the husband for his brutal act. Premchand has

very carefully attended to the scene building which helps the police-inspector in

his soul- searching; the inspector later repents at his mistake. The writer says:

" ... when a man insults another man, he feels angry, but when a

woman insults a man, he feels remorseful. Birbal Singh (the Inspector)

could not dare to stand before the womanfolk"47

46 "Shanti", Mansarovar, vol.l, Prakaskan Sansthan, New Delhi, 2004, p.66

47 "Julus", Mansarovar, vol.ll, Prakaskan Sansthan, New Delhi, 2004, p.41

77

Thus, we see that Premchand has been successful in the highlighting the

spirit of nationalism and mass-awakening for the freedom struggle.

Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh (1895-1997) is the founder of the

European-style short stories as a genre, per se in Iran. In the same way,

Premchand also adheres to the Western model of short story writing. Therefore,

the fundamental elements of the criticism of the modem short stories shall form

the basis for the comparison of the short stories of the writers in question.

78

C. METHOD AND STYLE OF WRITING: A COMPARISON

Human life is composed of a series of closely related events, the result

of environment modified by inherent tendencies and individual

characteristics. As they ordinarily occur, these events are so frequently the

result of the same or a similar chain of circumstances, occurrences, and

incidents, as to attract little more than passing notice; yet they hold the real

heart-interest of life, because they are the medium through which human

character is made manifest. No event of life is unimportant.

The chief aim of fiction is to provide a suitable, artistic setting for these

every day events, and thus make them both attractive and entertaining. The

short-story is a form of fiction intended to present a word-picture of a single

event of human experience in an artistic setting. This setting must consist of

plausible, influential circumstances, striking occurrences, and remarkable

incidents so deftly massed as to emphasize the laugh, the tear, or the thrill

which the event holds. It is a literary genre of fictional, prose narrative that

tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such as

novellas and novels.

Short stories have their origins in oral story-telling traditions and the

prose anecdote, a swiftly sketched si~uation that comes rapidly to its point. With

the rise of the comparatively realistic novel, the short story evolved as a

miniature version tends to be less complex than novels. Usually a short story

focuses on only one incident, has a single plot, a single setting, a limited

number of characters, and covers a short period of time. In longer forms of

fiction, stories tend to contain certain core elements of dramatic structure.

However, the endings of many short stories are abrupt and open and may or

may not have a moral or practical lesson. As with any art form, the exact

characteristics of a short story will vary by author. The simple narration of an

event, disconnected from its antecedents, while it may possess a passing

interest, is not entertaining because of its commonplaces.

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Because of their length, short stories may or may not follow this

pattern. Modem short stories only occasionally have an exposition. More

typical, though, is an abrupt beginning, with the story starting in the middle

of the action. As with longer stories, plots of short stories also have a climax,

crisis, or turning point. Determining what exactly separates a short story

from longer fictional formats is problematic. A classic definition of a short

story is that one should be able to be read it in one sitting. Other definitions

place the maximum word length at 7,500 words. In contemporary usage, the

term short story most often refers to a work of fiction no longer than 20,000

words and no shorter than 1 ,000. Stories less than 1,000 words are usually

referred to either as "short short fiction" or "short shorts."

PLOT

Plot is a series of events and character actions that relate to the central

conflict. The conflict is a struggle between two people or things in a short

story. It is a link in the chain which is the story. A simple definition of plot is

this: A narrative in which an obstacle is interposed to interrupt the free action

of the chief character or characters of the story, and thus to complicate

matters. The great news stories are those which give or strongly indicate all

the links. There is no story without these, the essences. Humour and pathos,

subtle tenderness, suspense, philosophy, surprise, dramatic climax-all these

may be added, giving colour, flavour, spice; but plot and character, the

essences, must be there or the whole will fall flat. No directions have ever

been written for manufacturing a plot.

If the obstacle is successfully overcome the story ends happily; if not,

it is a tragedy. Sometimes the obstacle appears as a matter of principle,

sometimes as human frailty or ignorance, sometimes as an enemy plotting

against the hero. But it is this obstacle, this predicament, and the struggle of

the two opposing forces which makes the situation, is called a plot.

Plot refers to the systematic chain of events which make up the short

story. Each link in this chain helps to build suspense and to solve a problem.

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The main character is presented with a situation which presents a problem or

conflict which he must resolve. The largest part of the story will deal with the

main character's struggle to resolve this problem or conflict. The conflict can

exist within the main character himself (internal conflict) or it may exist

between the main character and outside forces (external conflict). The point in

the story in which the conflict is resolved is the high point or climax of the

story. The adolescent finds himself at odds with parents, teachers and other

authority figures. His resulting alienation from the adult world often leads him

to his contemporaries for solace and as a result he often becomes the victim of

peer pressure, another external conflict.

CHARACTER

Character is a person, or sometimes even an animal, who takes part in

the action of a short story or other literary work. The setting of a short story is

the time and place in which it happens. Authors often use descriptions of

landscape, scenery, buildings, seasons or weather to provide a strong sense of

setting. Readers know the characters in the short story through the indirect

method of physical description, the character's thoughts, feelings and words,

the comments and reactions of others and the actions of the character and the

direct method of the author's stated opinion about the character. The main

character is usually on one side of the central conflict. On the other side, the

main character may struggle against another important character, against the

forces of nature, against society, or even against something inside him or her.

To be a story, it must entertain; to entertain, it must possess heart­

interest; to possess heart-interest, it must include the antecedent

circumstances, occurrences, and incidents necessary to emphasize the laugh,

the thrill, or the tear which the event holds. These circumstances occurrences,

and incidents must be consistently and logically arranged with a view to

holding the attention of the reader until the point or climax-the laugh, thrill,

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or tear-is reached. Such an arrangement of the antecedents of an event is

popularly called the plot of the story.

SETTING

Setting or the time and place of the action in a short story have a definite

impact on the character development and plot. The setting is often found in the

exposition of the plot and readily establishes time and place. Frequently it plays

an important role in the conflict giving credence to the rising action as a climax

or turning point is approached.

The element of setting m a short story quite readily lends itself to

writing activities that focus on figurative language and effective use of

adjectives to create vivid, exact sense images and impressions. The study of

setting in the short story not only enables the students to analyze the importance

of this element to the whole but will allow them to reflect upon the importance

of time and place in their own life and understand how it contributes to their

own character development and conflicts.

SEQUENCE

The necessity for a close study of sequence is shown by the fact that

this quality is one of the essentials in good writing. Its presence or its

absence shows the difference between an amateur and a finished writer. The

lack of it shuts out a composition from consideration by editors and readers

alike. Such deficiency indicates not only the lack of capability in writing, but

also the poorer quality of mind; the mind stuff that is produced by the

childish, the garrulous, the insane. Every one, be the writer or no, should

look after the continuity of his thought, both for his own sake and that of the

people with whom he comes in contact.

There are two phases of the subject for the writer, one dealing with the

visible forms of sequence, and these are very important both as an aid to the

reader and also as a means of keeping the mind of the writer steady; and the

other phase is, in fact, but the enlargement of these visible aids to the whole

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field of correlated thought. In dealing with the 'visible forms of sequence'

the relationship is indicated by words of retrospective and prospective

reference. The pronouns, pronominal adjectives, certain adverbs,

conjunctions where there is a choice or rejection of choice, all of these and

some others are the links of the great chain of connected ideas. In the perfect

adaptation of these to a production of thought we find great pleasure in the

reading; without, there is none.

POINT OF VIEW

A critical part of the maturation process involves the ability to see things

from the perspective of another. The adolescent is very often so involved with

his own concerns that he does not even recognize the points of view of others.

The adolescent point of view is very often limited to self. The understanding of

others points of view is a crucial part of life and that the short story can serve as

a vehicle in which to help students to understand the positions of others.

The action in a short story can be seen through 1) omniscient point of view the

narrator knows all, the thoughts, motives and feelings of each character 2)

detached observer the narrator can describe the characters and what they do and

say but not their thoughts and feelings 3) first person the main character tells

his own story and refers to himself as "I".

A vital element in the modem short-story is its view-point. This is a

fact which beginners do not appreciate, and which even old stagers find it

hard to learn. As a result, beginners and old stagers alike suffer. In this

present day, the story-teller no longer describes, explains, discusses and

analyzes his characters, nor does he conclude by drawing a moral from their

acts. His art has reached a higher plane. He tells simply what they do; and in

so doing, lures the Reader, that one great, impersonal Reader, who typifies

the vast army of readers, into inferentially describing, explaining, discussing,

analyzing and moralizing. It is by his ability to lure the Reader,

unconsciously, for the nonce, into the place of the leading character and to

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persuade him that that character's actions and emotions are his own, that the

story-teller's success must be gauged.

To the reader, the story must appear as something which actually

happened; it will appear actual only in so far as the Reader feels, at the

moment of perusal, that he is actually experiencing the events depicted. In

the hero's place for the time being, he must thrill with the same hopes, be

weighed down by the same despair, face the same doubts, conquer the same

difficulties, and achieve the same triumphs. In so far as the Reader is led to

this pass, the story is successful; in so far as he falls short of reaching it, the

story fails.

CLIMAX

The importance of a study of the climax cannot be overestimated. For

however, interesting the introduction, close the sequence, or rapid the action,

it is always the climax toward which the mind is ever reaching. If not in the

right place, if not well prepared for, or if not of sufficient importance, or bare

possibility, if it be not in evidence at all, then is there disappointment in the

whole theme. The main thing in either fiction or essay, in scientific or non­

scientific, in anecdote or obituary, is to have a central point of interest, in fact

a climax.

There are two places in a story in which the climax may be introduced-the

position being determined by the character of the writing and the object to be

accomplished thereby.

The plot is the planned series of incidents that makes up the action of the

story. In a short story the important incidents are a succession of crises or

complications against which the character struggles, successfully or

unsuccessfully. Thus, plot is action-the developing struggle through crises to

climax to outcomes, whereas, theme is the significant points, the observed truth

that the author wishes to reveal in telling the story. The plot is designed to let the

reader himself live through the experience so that he may arrive out the truth. It

84

is the nucleus of the story; the detailed working out of the nuclear idea requires

integrity. In the story ""Farsi Shikar Ast" ("Persian is Sugar"), the plot is well

formed. The story starts actually when the author is detained by a passport

official in cell. Inside the cell he meets two more inmates, one a Europeanised

Iranian and the other, a cleric. The conflict starts when the main character of the

story, a young boy wants to reason out why he was detained and put in a dark

cell? Desperate, the young boy goes to cleric for an answer, but does not

understands his verbose way of talking which contains more Arabic words that

Persian. He then goes the Europeanised Iranian to seek an answer to his worry.

There he hears Persian mixed with Europeanised word. The situation becomes

complex. Out of desperation he starts wailing. The author comes in the story to

resolve the crisis, when he speaks simple Persian the situation starts improving.

All the four detainees including the narrator are soon released.

The story "Vilan ud Daulah" ("The Vagrant") describes the pathetic

condition of a city vagrant who is exploited by everyone till he dies a tragic

death. Although the literary piece has a nice narration and a fine sketch of

people's character and a satire on the privileged class of people, but lacks

movement of actions and therefore does not have a definite plot. It could be

called a "narrative". The story "Dusti yi Khala Khirsa" ("the Friendship of Aunt

Bear") is the tragic story of a kind-hearted, enthusiastic and gallant cafe waiter

who saves the life of an wounded Russian Cossack lying in the snow on the road

to Kermanshah. The wounded soldier learns that his rescuer is carrying a small

sum of money with him. When he is transported to a safe place, the Cossack

incites a group of Russian dnmken troopers to arrest the waiter and have him

shot by a firing squad. Barring of some inessential details, the movement and

pathos make the piece as good as some of the best short stories of European

literature.

In "Hoomza wa Loomza". the story starts in a relaxed way with the

description of the some irrelevant details. The theme of the story is the

description of hardships faced by the narrator in learning two Arabic words,

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when he was a child. The hallucination effects coming up in the minds of a child

has been vividly and explicitly portrayed. The piece is a memoir narrating a

childhood incident .The story lacks the essential 'movement' of action leading

toward resolution of a conflict or a crisis.

Apart from having a basic plot, the story "Atash Zir-i- Khakistar" ("The

Fire under the Ashes"), has sub plots too, the first part of the story deals with the

social condition prevailing at the time of the last Qajar king. Although elaborate

description of the contemporary society in which the 'characters' live is

generally out of scope of a short story .It hampers the brevity and compactness of

the story. The story revolves around the main character "Rahmatullah" but the

characters "Enayat" and "Siyamak" are discussed under sub-plots. The main plot

and the sub plots appear to be disparate and disjoint with one another hampering

the movement of the story.

The smooth movement of the story with a definite plot and setting can

be observed in the story "Dard-i-Dil-i-Mullah Qurban Ali" ("The Grievances of

Mullah Qurban Ali"). The writer is able to involve the reader in the story with

efficiently applying 'character' development, progress of the events and action.

In the story an infatuated Mullah tells about his reckless love for the daughter of

a neighbouring merchant. The girl dies and the unfortunate Qurban Ali of whose

love the girl's family knows nothing, is invited to spend the night beside the

coffin praying off her soul. During the night he cannot quench the temptation to

see the beautiful face of his beloved once more. He is caught kissing the lips of

the dead girl and ends up in jail. In the beginning of the story, there is elaborate

description of the narrator and his uninteresting sermons. The actual story starts

when the narrator recounts his experience. The short stories of Jamalzadeh's are

mostly anecdotal type where the plots plays important role along with the action

to move on the events. The stories externally appear to emerge out of some

event or incidents and progresses forward with the help of actions surrounding

the characters.

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In terms of short story writing, Premchand is an idealist; he adheres to

the fundamentals or ideals of the genre. He gives ample time to work out his

'plot' and build 'character'. He generates a crisis and develops it gradually up to

the climax before giving an end. He gives much effort to maintain the brevity in

dealing with the events, as for example, in "Thakur ka Kuan" ("Thakur's well")

he starts the story by placing a situation which needs to be resolved; a poor and

sick outcaste is groaning of pain he is severely thirsty but cannot drink the

stinking water they have . The main character is the wife of the sick person. She

decides to bring water from other wells; ready to do a forbidden job. The writer

moves towards the resolution of crisis gently and reaches to the climax when the

wife has almost drawn water out from Thakur's well. But when she suddenly

hears the door of Thakur's house flung open, she drops the water pot; thus

giving an anti climax to the situation. The story ends with last scene; the wife

returns empty-handed and sees her husband drinking the same malodorous

water, holding his nose tight. In the story, the 'character' wins the sympathy of

the reader from the beginning as the writer is able to strike the reader

psychologically; the main character being a woman, taking a giant stride against

the age-old oppression of upper caste. The action of the hero is justified by the

simple reason that every one struggles for existence; here, it is matter of

someone's life and death. One more striking feature of the story is that the

characters are not introduced as done in a conventional style, rather 'type'

character is used; one representing the upper caste, the other the outcaste . This

is one of unique styles of Premchand where he involves the reader in the story.

Here, he does so by leaving the reader to imagine the 'character' according to

their perception.

Sometimes we find symbolism in Premchand's story. In "Shatranj ke

Khiladi" (The Chess Players) he uses playing chess as the symbol of relaxed and

carefree life. The progenies of Nawabs are so engrossed in the game that they

have abandoned all their household responsibilities and have lost their family

pride, too. They shamelessly witness the historic moment of the capture of

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Nawab of Lucknow, Wajid-Ali Shah before their eyes; but do not move. The

story very clearly portrays the last phase of the downfall of Moghul Empire.

Premchand as an idealist can be seen in the story "Bade Ghar ki Beti"

("Daughter from a high family") where he portrays the main character as an

ideal housewife and a great home maker through a family drama. The chain of

events in the plot is nicely woven and every 'character' justifies his or her

action. In the story, when the conflict starts and the matter aggravates, the hero

comes up with a new plan to resolve the crisis. Her noble character 'forgiveness'

comes into the forefront which not only resolves the conflict but also saves the

family from destruction. The hero in the story behaves like an idealist; crucifies

her ego for the sake of saving a home from destruction. She remembers her

prime responsibility as a home-maker even at the thick of actions. The nobility

of thought and character makes a man great, is the underlying theme of the

story.

In "Nasha" ("Intoxication"), the writer places the reader in a new and

extra-ordinary situation with the hero, thus making the story slightly

adventurous. The reader journeys through the 'character' and thereby attaches

himself to the story. In the story much attention and great care has been given to

the development of 'character'. The striking feature of the story is that the

change in behavior of the main 'character' is developed slowly. The story

"Duniya ka Sabse Anmol Ratan" ("The world's most precious gem") represents

a tale or an anecdote and differs from a typical short story. There is elaborate

description of love scene, the adventure tour of the hero in the form of Arabian

Nights. There is no psychological crisis or conflict involved in the story, which

needs denouement. The story has a very bold theme that the love for one's own

land is shown loftier than the love for a beautiful maiden. This transformation in

presentation of love theme by writer was the need of the hour.

In the stories of Premchand, incidents and characters come from real

life. They are generated by writer's own experiences or observations. The more

88

experienced the writer, the wider are his themes and more diversified are his

characters. To weave a psychoanalytical story the writer has to know the basic

elements of human psychology. Premchand writes "an incident cannot be a story

unless it demonstrates a psychological truth"

The 'characters' are the living creatures involved in the events and crises

of the story. The impression that one form about 'character's stems from a

number of sources: what the 'character's do; what they say about them; what the

author may say about them in description or in passing. The eyes through which

one sees the 'character' is called- the point of view. The story can be told in the

first person; the narrator can be merely an observer or both an observer and an

actor. The author can use the method of third-person narration; the narrator can

either see or report everything (the omniscient narrator) or he is limited to a

specific view. A 'character' may be presented with only surface detail or in

depth; but the development of the 'character's must be in keeping with the plot,

theme and setting of the story.

Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh is a social critic; like Premchand, he

chooses his 'characters' from everyday life. "Khana Bi dush" ("Vagabond"),is a

'character' oriented story, revolves round the central 'character' 'Ahmed Aga'

who goes to Britain to study for a brief period. During his study in Britain, he

dreams of serving his countrymen, but all his dreams are shattered once he

returns home and find people indifferent to him, including his father. He wants

people to be truthful and honest but there is no taker of his words, except his

sister who understands his feelings. Although, he is a Ph.D. but the job he is

given by the government is that of sticking labels on bars of opium. Even in this

menial employment he finds occasion to complain of the prevailing bribery and

corruption. His complaints are ridiculed by his friends and his own father. He

feels an absolute stranger at home and finally, after giving up the attempt to

settle down with his people, finds a teaching job among the wandering tribes. He

completely identifies himself with the nomads, living and moving with them and

89

winning their love and gratitude for teaching children. When he dies his tomb is

venerated and turns into a place for pilgrimage.

Most of the 'characters' created by the writer belong to middle class, but

occasionally we also find hermit type of 'character' dispelling philosophical

ideas, sage remarks and discussing super natural phenomena. In "Darvish-i­

Mumiyai" (Mumified Darvish), the hero is an outcast. Though a learned and

conscientious student, he has locked himself up in a room in Geneva, without

proper food or sleep. He is brooding on abstract ideas such as existence of God,

the secret of creation, free-will and predestination. He is a bookworm and lives

like a hermit.

In another character-centric story, "Dusti-yi-Khala Khirsa" ("Friendship

of Aunt Bear"), Jamalzadeh pays due attention and care to the development of

'character'. It is so nicely developed that and the reader does not realize when he

has actually entered into the story. The scenes, action, all are in unison and help

maintaining the movement of the story. In the story a brave cafe-waiter,

Habebullah, the hero, the narrator and two other persons form travel partners

heading for Kermanshah in a cart. While they were passing through snow laden

hilly area, Habebullah saw a wounded soldier lying in the snow, groaning. Out

of compassion he lifts him up and arranges a place for him sacrificing his own.

He pays no heed to the warning and alarm of fellow passengers for carrying the

soldier with them. The 'character' displays the nobility in the being and

surpasses in sacrifice. His sacrifice is selfless and sincere. When the caravan

reached Kangavur, the wounded soldier having the ill-intention of acquiring his

saviour's small sum of money whispered to his soldier friends and had him shot

by firing squad. In the end, the narrator saw him stealing the money from the

hero's corpse. In the most of stories of 1 amalzadeh the 'character's are not

introduced gradually but appear suddenly in a drama-style as in the story "Bila

Dig Bila Chuqander" ("Everyman to his deserts") the introduction of the hero a

European bath attendant "Dilak" appears all of a sudden.

90

In "Aqd-i-Tamhidi" ("Facilitative marriage") the story starts with a chat

room discussion on "Motaa" (Limited period marriage) and then everyone

shares his own observation of the marriage institutions in different parts of the

world. The elaborate introduction is a deviation from the set-style of a typical

short story. The main plot appears when the house owner 'Kaab-ul-Akhbar'

comes to narrate his experience of a special type of marriage prevalent in the

city and narrates a story in this regard which formed the theme or a title of a

story. There appears an irrelevant discussion in the story, which seems to be

detached from the story. The story looses brevity and compactness. However,

the second part of the story which starts with a new plot is more interesting.

Most of the stories of Jamalzadeh are told in first person narration

,where the writer is both an observer and actor like in "Farsi Shikar Ast"

("Persian is Sugar"), "Dusti-yi-Khala Khirsa" ("Friendship of Aunt bear"),

"Bila-Dig-Bila Chuqandar" (Everyman to his deserts), "Sawab ya Gunah"

("Divine Reward or Sin") and other stories. The story like the one "Rojul

Siyasi" ("The Politician") is in third person narration. In the story "Namak-i­

Gandidah" ("The Rotten Salt") the writer tells in third person and is an

omniscient narrator; who can see and report everything.

The 'characters' in the stories of Jamalzadeh are from all walks of life. It

seems that he has mastery in presenting Europe-returned Iranian youths and

religious cleric or mullah. While demonstrating the West-returned Iranian youth

he excels as he is able to grasp the complications in the minds of the youth. In

the story "Khana Bidush" ("The Vagabond") the inner self of a foreign returned

Iranian youth finds peace and solace when he joins a group of nomadic tribe

people and serves them. He finds pleasures in his work. The crises created and

their denouement is touching. The story concludes with a happy ending.

Whether it is the description of the class of people wearing white head

gears in Dilak's memoirs in the story "Bila Dig Bila Chuqandar" or the village

school master in the story "Hoomza wa Loomza" or the religious cleric wearing

91

robe and head gear in "Farsi Shikar Ast" ("Persian is Sugar") or Mullah Qurban

Ali in "Dard-i-dil-i-Mullah Qurban Ali" ; all are 'type' characters belonging to

a specific class called Shaykh or Akhund. The writer does not require any

development in these 'characters' and focuses himself on the 'plot' and the

'action' of the story. When Jamalzadeh presents these type 'characters' in his ,

he deals in a critical way, criticizing them for their moral corruptions, religious

dogma, snobbery and pompousness.

When Jamalzadeh speaks of lower rung of the society through his

'characters', he involves the reader and attracts his attention. In the story "Dusti­

yi-Khala-Khirsa" ("The Friendship of Aunt bear") the 'character' despite being

poor cafe waiter proves to be an epitome of sacrifice when he lends his coat to

the wounded soldier and is ready to face the chilling blizzard. In "Vilan-ud­

Daula" ("The Vagrant") the main 'character' is a poor vagrant who goes on

helping others selflessly. He cannot manage for himself even the basic

necessities of life but the people cannot see his misery and continue his

exploitation. The theme is to portray a society where privileged class simply

exploits the poor and deprive them of their due. In some of the stories

Jamalzadeh tries to portray the society through "character". This sophisticated

skill of Jamalzadeh can be seen in the story "Aqd-i-Tamhidj" ("Facilitative

Marriage"). In the new kind of marriage narrated by Kaab-ul-Akhbar under a

separate plot, a facilitative marriage is undertaken by a youth to facilitate his

own interests. In the story Faramarz is a well built, smart and handsome young

man married to Farida. Faramarz has all the attributes of bringing woman down

to her knees and utilize her for his own means. He is an idle and irresponsible

kind of a person. He thinks the fools earn money by their hard work, whereas

smart people have many ways to earn money without hard work. One day

Faramarz conspires a trick to acquire the wealth of an aged lady named Qudratus

Saltanah, who is among the renowned and influential ladies of the city. In the

trick, his wife is an active partner. Through, his tricks and chicanery Faramarz

entraps the lady into his false love. No sooner did the old woman marry him, on

a silly pretext Farmarz brings his wife into the scene. Gradually both of them

92

make the life of the aged woman a hell and she dies heart-broken. Faramarz

becomes legal master of the property and later abandons Farida too, and starts

looking for another woman. Apparently, the story appears restricted to the main

hero, but actually it symbolizes the moral corruption and exploitation of women

through 'marriage' for material gains.

The portrayal of contemporary society at micro or macro level through

'character' is the hallmark of a good writer. It is the individual in the 'character'

who gains experience from the society or people around them, so whatever

comes out of him in the form of thought or action could be the reflection of the

society around him. In "Farsi Shikar Ast" ("Persian is Sugar") the story moves

through the linguist conflicts among the four 'character's, including him.

Jamalzadeh successfully handles the 'character's and their speeches. Similarly,

'Dilak' the European bath attendant in the story "Bila Dig Bila Chuqandar"

("Everyman to his deserts") presents a section of Iranian society,but adventure

was the medium for such a portrayal .

In Jamalzadeh's story we also across 'static character'. In the above

story the hero visited Iran, travelled the country extensively, and worked in

various Iranian government ministries as an assistant to an Iranian minister who

brought him to Iran. After going through many ups and downs, he returns to his

home country with all his wealth lost and with some bitter experience in Iran. In

the end He is the same bath attendant and thus remains a static 'character'. In

"Rojul Siyasi" ("The Politician") we find 'dynamic character'. The hero is a

menial cotton beater who wants to progress in life and make some money. He

chooses his neighbour as his ideal and tries to emulate him. Through some

comedy of errors relating to rejecting the bribe offered to him, he turns into a

typical politician and learns the nitty- gritty of the profession, including

accepting bribe from people. Therefore, we see that an ordinary cotton beater

transforms into a cunning politician and thus, represents a dynamic 'character'.

93

Jamalzadeh stresses more on 'plot' and 'action' rather than on

'character'. Having spent most of life outside Iran, his 'characters' either

emanate from his child memories or intermittent brief stay in Iran during his life

time. There is a dearth of wide range of 'characters', but surely his observations

and experiences of being in European country is an added advantage to him. He

is able to present various pathos of a European educated Iranian youth returning

homeland more interestingly than his contemporaries and no doubt, a master in

this art. In contrary to the stories of Premchand, 'character's appears directly in

drama-style in stories of Jamalzadeh.

The stories of Premchand are be character- dominated, which means the

whole plot of the story revolves round the 'character' and every action is linked

to the 'character' tightly; this is the reason why Premchand gives much

importance and the required time in the development of 'character'. The calm

and composed development of 'character' by Premchand creates an

unforgettable impression on the reader. Sometimes, the story may be forgotten

but the 'character's remains in the mind. In his story "Mantra" the hero an old

man known as Bhagat carries his sick child to Dr. Chaddha for treatment. The

child's condition is serious. When Bhagat reaches the doctor's house after a long

walk, the doctor is getting ready for his sports, as his timing for seeing patients

is over. The poor old man implores hard to get his son checked but all went in

vain, the poor boy dies. The life of the old man is ruined by the death of his only

son. After a few years, he hears one day that the son of the same doctor is bitten

by a snake. The old man had the ability to cure snack-bite by super natural

powers of hymn. Leaving his vengeance and anger at the doctor, he rushes to

doctor's house and brings the doctor's almost dead son, back to life by his

powers of hymn.

The portrayal of the character 'Pandit Vanshidhar' in "Namak ka

Daroga" ("The Salt Inspector") is very lively and touching when Pandit

Alopideen offers the highest bid to the principled and duti-bound Salt Inspector

Pandit Vanshidhar to avoid his arrest, but the hero declines the offer. Here, the

94

writer is portraying an ideal inspector who performs his duty sincerely and

honestly and never compromises his principles. Whenever, he is in difficult

situation he listens to the voice of conscience. The character creates an indelible

impression on reader's mind. It is a psychological truth when a person is

determined that no one can buy his principles or his 'inner self, he is invincible.

The moral conflict between 'sense of duty' and 'wealth' ends with the victory of

'sense of duty' over wealth. The writer who is an observer says "Sense of duty

has trampled 'wealth' under its feet".

Through the 'character' of "Alopideen" Premchand intends to impart the

reader, that there is always a scope for reformation in one's life. On realizing

that he has met a noble man, Vanshidhar offers the post of permanent manager

of his whole estate, giving no place for revenge Both the 'characters' Pandit

Vanshidhar and Aloopideen represent the two ideologies; one is the idealist and

the other a realist, respectively. At the end of the story the realist succumbs to

the idealist. This transformation from realism to idealism is the crux of the social

dynamism.

Like the 'characters' m the Jamalzadeh's stories, Premchand's

'characters' are also sometimes 'type'. In "Sadgati" ("Good Treatment")

'Dukhi' represents outcastes and 'Pandit Ghasiram' represents upper-caste

Brahmin. Since the 'characters' are 'type' they do require much introduction. In

"Sawa Ser Gehun" 'Vipraji' represents a money lender and 'Shankar' a poor

farmer. Premchand has also used animal as 'characters' in his stories. In "Do

Bailon ki Katha" ("The story of two Oxens"), two oxen Hira and Moti are the

main 'characters'. The plot, character and action, are in unison and make the

story charming. The main 'character' in 'Idgah' is a five year old boy; who is an

epitome of sacrifice. The dialogue among the kids when they are returning from

'Idgah' is instrumental in the movement of the story. The handling of the

situation with five children 'characters' keeping in mind about the scene and

their arguments is praiseworthy. The writer displays immense grasp over

children's behavioral pattern and their psychology. The 'character' is developed

95

in such a skillful manner that a reader is likely to gradually forget the chain of

events in the story but the characters put deep impression on memory of the

reader. If we analyse the story minutely, we would see that a plot has been

woven from a psychological complication arising in the child's mind is.

Through the 'character' of Ameena relevant setting or scene is created.

In the story "Bade Bhai Sahab" ("The Elder Brother") the portrayal of

an elder brother and a younger brother is apt. The seriousness and sincerity in

studies is due to the elder brother, whereas the younger brother is rightly

youthful and filled with mischief and pranks. A conflict always persists in both

the 'characters'. It is related to the hours put in and 'result obtained'. It is

unfortunate that the one who works hard but yields less result. The conflict turns

into a psychological crisis as the elder has too assert supremacy over the

younger, when he goes on failing in same class. He resorts to the sage remark

saying:

" .. one day you may become my class fellow or even move to a

higher class, but the difference of 5 years which is between us, neither

you nor God can undo. I am five years older to you and shall remain

forever. You can never equal my experience of life "48

We come across numerous 'characters' in our everyday life, although,

we do not tend to remember each and every 'character'. The 'character' which

impresses our mind and is generally out of stock, attracts us. In the same

manner, Premchand takes the 'character' from a slice of life and develops in

such a way that it becomes unique. This uniqueness in 'character' is brought out

by giving him or her actions which is very near to a psychological truth or tries

to resolve some psychological complications. Premchand says,

"The best short story is one, which is based on a psychological truth.

An honest father when sees his moral degradation in his son, he feels

upset; it is a psychological truth. The emotions and sentiments appearing

48 "Bade Bhai Sahab", Mansarovar, vol.l, Prakaskan Sansthan, New Delhi, 2004, p.56

96

in father's heart and mind with reactions thereof, if portrayed, could

make the short story full of attraction. A bad man is never completely

bad, somewhere there is an angel in him, and this is also a psychological

truth. The job of a successful short story writer is to arouse the dormant

angel in a bad person and bring it in the fore-front. "49

It has been seen that Premchand adheres to the models of short story

writing, accordingly to which, before discussing the plot the 'characters' must be

introduced well. Majority of Premchand' s stories start with the introduction of

'character's for example in "Bade Ghar ki Beti" ("Daughter of High Class

Family") the main 'character's 'Srikant', 'Aanandi' and 'Lalbihari' have been

introduced and developed with utmost care and the introduction of 'character's

and the main events are very coherent which facilitates smooth flow of story,

unlike Jamalzadeh where 'character's if introduced, sometimes appear to be

disjoint from the main plot. This hampers the flow of the story. Premchand

disliked the idea of writing story without proper introduction in the beginning.

He says;

"Nowadays a story finds its beginning in a number of new ways.

Somewhere it starts as a friendly chat or sometime starts with 'a page

from police report'. The introduction of 'characters' comes late. This is

the copying of writing style in British stories. By this there arises

unnecessary complications and the story becomes difficult. "50

In the stories of Premchand, the 'characters' are mostly static i.e. status

of the 'character' remains the same till the end. In the theme oriented story,

Premchand by dint of choosing some 'type' 'characters' weaves the story where

actions play an important part of the story and the 'character' is developed

through its action and the reader starts justifying the action of the story. In

49 Premchand ke Numainda Afsane,Qamar Rais,Educational Book House,Aiigarh,2001,p.9

so lbid,p.7

97

"Thakur ka Kuan" ("Thakurs well") 'type'; needs no introduction but the reader

attaches himself with the 'character' for the 'denouement' of the 'crisis'.

Premchand successfully handles every class of 'characters', be they rich

or poor, lower or upper class or casts, outcastes, labourers, farmers, children,

young or old, women or widows. He has used wide variety of 'characters' in his

short stories which shows his versatility of knowledge and expertise in dealing

with emotions of various 'characters'. His penmanship of painting 'character'

can be seen in story "Samar Yatra" where a seventy five year old widow inspires

the village locals to fight for the cause of freedom struggle. The hero 'Nohri'

becomes the centre of attraction in the story.

It would not be an exaggeration, if it is said that Premchand had the

umque ability; he could paint society through a 'character'. Reflection of a

society in a 'character' is a herculean task for a short story writer. In "Poos ki

Raat" ("January Night") the hero Haiku says to his wife in the beginning of

story,

"Sahna has come, let me give the money which is kept safely, in any

way we must get rid of him. "51

If one tries to understand the psychological complications going on in

the mind of the poor farmer who has to part away with the petty sum of money

he had saved to buy a blanket to protect him from the biting cold .. There are lots

of question which arises in the reader's mind, for example; why it took him long

to save such a small amount? Why he does not have even a single blanket to

ward off cold? Why did he take money from the moneylender? What kind of a

person is the money lender and, why it becomes necessary to get rid of him by

clearing his payment? The answer to all these questions reflects his society and

people around him. Thus, a journey through the short stories of Premchand gives

51 "Poos Ki Raat", Mansarovar, vol.l, Sumitra Prakaskan, Allahabad, 1997, p.94

98

us the knowledge that a 'character' could be the interpretation of a particular

social set up.

The scene or setting and behavior of a 'character' depend on their

environment quite as much as on the personal dynamic with which the author

endows him. In some, environment determines the 'character' so it of overriding

importance. The entire action of novel or story is frequently determined by the

full length presentation of scene or setting as it is done in novels is not possible,

yet the 'setting' is an important aspect which cannot be neglected. In the stories

of J amalzadeh we find much care is taken to describe the scene or setting as in

"Dusti-yi-Khala Khirsa" ("Friendship of aunt bear"), "Bila Dig Bila Chuqandar"

("The Fire under the Ashes"), "Namak-i-Gandideh" ("The Rotten Salt") or

"Aqd-i-Tamhidi" ("The facilitative marriage").

In "Atash Zir-i-Khakastar" ('The Fire under the Ashes"), the description

of scene or setting is elaborate which loses the interest of the reader. The great

task of a short story author is too present the scene in a compact way. In some of

the stories of Jamalzadeh as in "Hoomza wa Loomza" the setting is too elaborate

and one starts feeling uneasy to carry it through. The presentation of scene must

not compromise the brevity of the short story and the forward movement of the

story.

In the stories of Premchand the "scene" or setting plays an important

role. The story "Thakur ka Kuan" is very short but the entire locale in which the

plot is set is crystal clear. In "Shatranj ke Khiladi" ("The Chess Players") the

exact bearing of the incident can be visualized as per the 'scene' described in the

story. It sometimes happens that the main locale of a novel or a short assumes an

importance in the reader's imagination comparable to that of 'character' and yet

somehow separable from them. The title of story "Idgah" comes from a 'scene',

which is of more importance in the story. Premchand knew that if the reader

failed to understand the scene of Idgah or at least visualize "Idgah" the reader

would not be involved in the story. Therefore, he deals the 'setting' of the story

with great care. The importance of 'scene' or setting' in the story can also be

99

understood from the fact that Premchand starts his story by describing the details

pertaining to the locale of the story; a deviation from his own style of

introducing his 'character's first in the story . When Premchand deals with some

real life family problem or conflict he does so at the back drop of developing the

apt family set up required for the story. In the stories like 'Shanti' ("Peace"),

"Bade Ghar ki Beti" ("Daughter of High Class family"), "Sujan Bhagat" he

gives due emphasis to the development of proper locale of the story.While

describing a 'scene', or 'setting' Premchand describes it only to some extent and

then leaves it to reader to develop it according to his own perception. This is in

fact the hallmark of an outstanding story writer, who tends to involve the reader

some way or the other, as for example the 'scene' building in the story "Kafan"

(Shroud") is not elaborate but the reader makes up the complete picture of the

locale in his mind.

Jamalzadeh mostly uses 'satire mixed with humour' as his style. He is a

master in this art form. His satire is directed towards the ruling class, cleric,

businessmen, and politicians. In 'Farsi Shikar Ast' ("Parsian is Sugar") he mixes .

humour with satire in a very beautiful manner. At a place the hero of the story

says:

" ... upon catching up, he handed me a handkerchief full of sweets

and whispered, 'Excuse the straight talk, sir, but I believe that their

madness has affected you as well. Otherwise why would you want to

travel with that lot! Whenever you find you do not understand them, help

yourself to these sweets and remember me. "52

One can find the biting sense of humour in stories like "Kabab-i-Ghaz"

("Roast Goose"), "Palang" (Leopard) and "Nau Parast" ("Modernist'). The

stories exhibit the freshness, vigour and pathos that characterize his early

writings.

52 "Farsi Shikar Ast", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p.32

100

D. ANALYSIS OF COMPARISON

Jamalzadeh brought about renaissance in Persian letters; he is one of the

innovators of the modern literary language and was the first to introduce the

use of colloquial language in literary pieces. This he termed as 'literary

democracy'. His first story in his first collection of short stories deals with the

linguistic intricacies of the spoken Persian language. He uses simple Persian as

the main language of the story. He portrays simple Persian as the true bond

between the diversified sections of the Iranian people. It can act as a real

communicator lest there would be a great confusion in understanding each other.

The peace of mind and solace which the hero of the story, "Farsi Shikar Ast"

("Persian is Sugar") received after hearing simple Persian has been nicely

portrayed by the writer. The hero says:

"when he saw that I spoke Persian, more importantly when he

realized that we 5poke the same language, he grabbed my hand and

repeatedly kissed it. His delight knew no end, as if he had been given the

world. He said, may I be sacrificed for your wards. You must be an

angel sent from above to rescue me ..... "53

Describing the linguistic features of Jamalzadeh's writing related to use

of language, Jan Rypka says;

" .. his means of expression, his style and dictions are consistently

modern. They are brought into closer conformity with the spoken

language often enlivened with expressive vulgarisms. "54

The present day writers of Iran are equipped with a settled brand of

modern Persian and disseminate their thoughts, ideas, and experiences to the

common masses through it. He made the clarion call for literary democracy by

53 "Farsi Shikar Ast", Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958, p.30 54 History of Iranian Literature, Jan Rypka,D.Reidel Publishing Co.,Holland, p.389

101

which he meant that the language of the literature must be changed from the

style of writing ornate and decorative to the spoken language of the common

masses viz. the colloquial language. In this manner, he tried to break the

shackles of old tradition by reforming the language. His 'Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud'

was although new in form and content, but was strikingly Persian. In the preface

of a book, which served as a kind of manifesto of a new literature, the author

recommends a simplification of literary language and invited others to write in a

style closer to colloquial speech with copious use of everyday expressions. He

appended to his collection of stories a short glossary of popular idioms that are

not found in ordinary dictionaries.

The style advocated by him did not become a model until later, with

Sadiq Hidayat, in whose works the new style reached perfection. It is mainly due

to the influence of Hidayat that the present generation of writers has turned

wholeheartedly to an uninhibited use of popular speech. Jan Rypka too writes:

"the differentiation of 'character', social or occupational status by

means of linguistic elements in the dialogue, which at the beginning of

the modern prose, was something quite unprecedented and later

becomes a matter of course in good prose writing. "55

Jamalzadeh's first story "Farsi Shikar Ast" is a satire on the unresolved

linguistic battle between the purists, who have fascination to use Arabic words

and the intellectuals or nouveau rich, who are obsessed to use loan words from

European languages. The writer portrays the linguistic complexity very nicely

and also very boldly shows its relation with the common man. The hero in the

story represents a common man who understands simple Persian only and

dislikes any other dialectical derivatives of the language. The uniformity and

consistency with regard to the language in his short stories indicates clearly that

he truly and sincerely stood for the cause of reformation in language of the

55 ibid, p.390

102

literature and established its viability through works, which were widely

acclaimed during his life time. He says in his preface to "Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud"

("Once upon a time") that:

"A live language is much like a runmng river: the rich and

stronger the source, the less likelihood of its contamination. As such,

even if weeds and twigs enters it the force and the energy of the water

carries them away, destroys them, or gradually assimilates them into its

own body. The real danger lies when the water becomes stagnant. Then,

soon, it loses its colour, taste and smell. It becomes malodorous and the

source of diseases. Even worse, when the source becomes dry- that will

be the end of the river, "56

Jamalzadeh's writings have many adjectives and plenty of popular

idioms and phrases along with words of every day expression. In order to

explain a point, he mostly becomes more verbose. Throwing light on some of

the critical aspects of Jamalzadeh's technique Hasan Kamshad says:

"there are Dickensian flow of words, with adjectives piled up,

numerous repetitions and popular phrases never omitted where they can

possibly be squeeze in .... He seizes every opportunity for quoting

maxims, poems, proverb and popular sayings as well as Koranic verses

and quotations from Traditions". 57

Last but not the least, the language which Jamalzadeh uses in his short

stories has the uniqueness of being consistent all the stories he has written. He

adopted a colloquial or spoken language style of writing. Therefore, with respect

to his use of language in his literatures one can safely say that he 'practiced what

he preached'.

56 Preface to Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin. 57

Modern Persian Prose Literature, Hasan Kamshad,Cambridge University Press,1966,p.lll

103

The call for the simplification of language in the literary writing in India

was given by Premchand. In the Lucknow session of "Progressive Writers

Association" in 1936, he advocated the writers to use "Hindusthani" in their

writing. The connotation means the generally spoken language of the masses

which has both Hindi and Urdu words. The connotation represents the

understandable and spoken language of the Indian populace, in wider sense. He

practiced his preaching in his short stories and novels. When we analysis his

stories, linguistically, we find that he uses simple Hindi or Urdu and wrote the

story in a language near to spoken one. Premchand was a bilingual writer and

had versatile knowledge and wide experience. He was fully aware of the trends

of short story writing prevailing in the west. At the same time he had widely

read the Urdu and Hindi literature of yesteryears. He had the incomparable

ability to blend the pathos from the eastern literature into the new form of

Western style short story writing. Unlike Jamalzadeh, he is very judicious in

words and expressions. Some times his arrangement of words appears as

symmetrical design or pattern wh~re a single asymmetrical entity would ruin the

beauty of the patter. One of the biggest challenges of short story writing is its,

brevity. For being brief, there must be economy of words.

Premchand adored the language and style of Bankim Chandra

Chatterjee's stories and novels, the topmost among prominent fiction writers in

India at that time. He was in his formative years when Bankim Chandra died in

1894. Bankim Chandra's novels were technically the most successful novel

during that time because he used clear and easily understandable language very

close to 'Hindusthani'. It could be easily translated into Urdu and Hindi. This

was the time when standard novels are very scant and the translations were

regarded as a high artistic literary skill and read by people from the educated

class. Regarding the use of words in short story, Premchand said:

"In order to maintain the integrity of passion in the story, there

should not be a single word or phrase which would appear superfluous

to the central theme of the story. It is evident from his short stories that

104

he was very much cautious about using simple language and style in the . . ,58 wrztmgs.

From the discussion it is clear that both Jamalzadeh and Premchand

advocated the use of simple language in short stories. Although Jamalzadeh

seems to be a trend- setter in using simple Persian as the language of the stories,

yet we come across the Dickensian flow of words with juxtaposed adjectives

and numerous repetitions. Popular phrases are squeezed intentionally. On the

other hand, Premchand' s language is technically apt and exemplary.

Jamalzadeh is considered as the first writer of European style modern

short stories in Persian on. His first collection of short stories 'Yaki Bud Y aki

Nabud' was published in 1921. He was the first to introduced techniques of

European style of short story writing in Iran, although the short story genre per

se gained momentum later with the short stories of Sadeq Hedayat (1903 -

1951) and others. His stories focus on plot and action rather than on 'mood' or

'character' which reminds the works of Guy De Maupassant and O.Henry.

Jamalzadeh's stories have the appeal of Persian tradition folk tales like 'qessa'

which are also plot based. Unlike Sadiq Hedayat, Jamalzadeh does not use the

literary models from realism, naturalism or surrealistic fantasy and did not

experiment with disrupted chronology and non-linear or circular plot, instead he

expresses his strong opposition to the tendency to imitate foreign models.

"We ought to remain Persian, think Persian and write for Persians.

The Persian writer has nothing to do with those astonishing and bizarre

schools which are called surrealism and existentialism... Persian

literature is over a thousand years old and includes in its varied corpus

all the known genres, be they 'realist', 'symbolist' or even 'surrealist'. 59

58 Premchand ke Numainda Afsane,Qamar Rais,Educational Book House,Aiigarh,p.8

59 Preface to Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud, Kaveh, Berlin, 1958.

105

In broad sense of the term short story is one of the oldest forms of

narratives in Persia, although it existed under names such as Hikayat, Qessa,

Dastan etc. Jamalzadeh brought about the modern literary movement or the

renaissance in Persian letters by showing that the popular and principally old

form of narrative about the adventures, passions and other situations of the

ordinary people could be produced in the language of the people in a written

form. Hasan Abedini in his book "Sad Saal Dastan Navisi Dar Iran" ("Hundred

years of story writing in Iran") says:

"Hasan Muqaddam(prior to Jamalzadeh) did not take story writing

seriously and spent most of his artistic skills in writing plays. But

Muhmmad Ali Jamalzadeh is the first writer in Iran who knowingly and

intentionally used the art of European story writing and also made use

of the old tradition of story-telling in Iran. He . . . developed the

characters to 'type' style in the novel, like Dehkhuda did ... "60

In India, it was Premchand who took seriously the modern short story

as a genre and used it as a means of displaying his thought and creativity.

Although, various translations of some Western fictions had appeared before

Premchand, but it was he who actually adopted and promoted it further. The

tales or stories prior to Premchand were however, dull and insipid technically.

The characters were not individualized; little effort was made to go into the

complexities of human nature or of social situations; the plots were invariably

contrived; and there was a strong tendency to exhort and sermonize.

Nevertheless, they clearly reflect the turn towards social consciousness. In

contrast to the earlier trends, we find Premchand' s stories grounded in social

reality and human psychology. The stories are by and large distinguished by the

authenticity of the author's experience and his 'idealist-realism'. The writers

who followed Premchand' s style were Vishambhamath Sharma "Kaushik" and

Sudharshan. Some story writers initially adopted Premchand's style but later

deviated from it and set new trends. They were Brindavanlal Verma, Pandey

60 Sad Sal Dastan Navisi dar Iran, Hasan Mir Abedini, Voii&II,Nashar -e- Chasme,Tehran,2005, p.95

106

Bechan Sharma 'Ugra', Jainendra and Yashpal. Premchand is essentially a

writer of Urdu. He began with Urdu and the most of what he wrote was in this

language. Later, he turned to Hindi but continued writing in Urdu, too. During

his life time, he moved from reformism to revolution, from Gandhian idealism

to Marxian realism and if his writings are studied it will be found that he was

always on the side of progress. His short stories disclose a progressive evolution

of art and thought.

Premchand' s first collection of short story "Soz-i-Watan" was published

in 1908. It consisted of a collection of five short stories. At that time it contained

new themes like patriotism and liberty, but stylistically it resembled more to the

earlier forms of fiction; the tales and anecdotes. The style of presentation of the

stories was romantic and ornate. After 'Soz-i-Watan' ("The passion for

homeland"), he wrote stories like 'Bade Ghar ki Beti' ("The daughter of High

class family"), Karishma-i-Inteqam ("The Miracle of Revenge") which

stylistically resembled with the 'modem short story'. He took the short story to

its zenith till he breathed last in 1936. He said:

"The objective of a short story is to portray the analysis of one's

psychology and the natural realities of life. In it there is less room for

imaginative thoughts and more space for experiences. In fact, the

experiences take the shape of creative thought and become interesting

aspect to fonn a story" 61

Therefore, it can be safely said that both Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh

and Premchand introduced the western style 'short story' as a literary genre in

Iran and India, respectively. They both ushered in the new era of "modem short

story" writing in their respective countries and may be regarded as a trend setter.

For Premchand, the connotation "introduction of 'short story' in India" is

61 Preface to Premchand ke Numainda Afsane,Qamar Rais,Educational Book House,Aiigarh,p.8

107

restricted to Hindi and Urdu literatures, as he was a bilingual writer who has

written many short stories and novels both in Urdu and Hindi.

With regards to similarity in selecting characters, both Jamalzadeh and

Premchand have used 'type' characters in his short stores. The 'characters'

represent a particular class or section of people, say for example in "Farsi Shikar

Ast" some social 'type' gather and discuss over an issue. In the story the

exponents of the society indirectly talk about autocracy and administrative

flaws. 'Ramazan' the hero of the story represents the poor, ignorant and general

mass, the Firangi Ma ab stands for the so-called intellectual who has returned

from a foreign country to his homeland, the 'Sheikh' symbolizes the

traditionalists. One may also find the similar 'type' characters in the story "Bila

dig Bila Chuqandar" ("To every man his deserts") where every class or group is

a representative is portrayed by his hat or headgear. The 'yellow hats' represent

the common folk living in penury and destitution, who have been exploited by

other class of people. The "White hats" represent clerics or Akhunds enjoy

respect among the masses. The "Black hats" are the lawmakers. The characters

like 'Rahmatullah' in "Atash zer-i- Khakistar" ("The Fire under the Ashes") and

'Ahmad' represent the class of Iranian youth who have acquired education in the

west and when they return to their homeland they feel anarchy and sense of

pessimism in people's mind. Jamalzadeh has mastery in portraying this 'type'

character of Europeanized youth.

Like Jamalzadeh, Premchand has also used 'type' characters in his short

stories. He uses wide range of 'characters' and is widely known for his career­

oriented stories. He gives great emphasis on development of 'characters'. In the

story "Kafan" (Shroud) the characters 'Ghisu' and 'Madhav' or 'Dukhi' in the

story "Sadgati", represents the untouchable 'outcastes' who have been exploited

since long and were destined to live in destitution and poverty. Everyone knows

that 'Haiku', the farmer in the story "Poos ki Raat" ("January Night") is a 'type'

character representing thousands of poor and distressed farmers who don't have

enough money to meet their ends. The 'character' Vipraji' in the story "Sawa

108

Ser Gehun" represents the class of moneylenders who do not stop until they

have extracted the last drop of blood from their poor debtors. By the tools of

usury they used to exploit the less privileged people. 'Anandi' represents the

'untouchables' who were not allowed to take water from the well of Upper Caste

people; which forms the theme of the story "Thakur ka Kuan" ("The Thakur's

Well").

Apart from selecting 'type' characters, Premchand has made use of

individualistic character. He develops 'characters' with utmost care, that

sometimes the character leaves an undeliable impression on readers mind and he

tends to remember the story by 'character' only, as in "Idgah" , the hero

'Hamid' and 'Bansidhar' in the story "Namak Ka Darogha" ("Salt Inspector")

and 'Bhagat' in the story "Mantra" (The Hymn). Thus, with regard to the use of

'type' characters for the social criticism in their short stories, both Muhammad

Ali Jamalzadeh and Premchand share certain commonalities with some

differences as well in their style of presenting the characters. Jamazadeh presents

characters straightforwardly and pays less attention to their development;

whereas Premchand introduces the character candidly and takes every care to

develop them.

Jamalzadeh portrays the psychological complications of Europe return

Iranian youth and deals with them aptly and with great care, but he does not go

on experimenting the psychological principles of Sigmund Freud as Sadeq

Hidayat does in his short stories and novels. There is no doubt that Jamalzadeh

makes the plot of the story from the psychological complications arising out of

one's mind.

One finds numerous stories of Premchand having their plots based on

'Psychological truth'. Premchand himself admits that:

" I don't write stories just for the sake of narrating an event,. I want

to express some philosophical and emotional truth. Unless I do not get

109

such a foundation, I do not feel like writing ... an incident. An incident

cannot be a story unless it expresses a psychological truth." 62

In fact in Premchand we find 'denouement' of the psychological

complications arising in characters mind as the basis of the plot. For example the

psychological complication in the mind of the hero of the story "Idgah" forms

the basis of the story.

The theme in most of the early stories of Jamalzadeh is predominantly

social criticism, especially his first collection of short stories, "Y eki Bud Yaki

Nabud" ("Once upon a time"). The story "Farsi Shikar Ast" ("Persian is sugar")

represents the ignorant mass of Iranians during the early years, after the

'Constitutional Movement' in Iran. The story "Rajul-i-Siyasi" ("The

Politician"), is the portrayal of the failure of Constitutional Movement and the

grabbing of the reins of the movement by the 'opportunists' from the hands of

the sincere people fighting for the cause. Jamalzadeh intends to portray the

method of the 'Revolution' which was.replaced with anarchy and lawlessness.

The story "Dard-i-Dil-i-Mullah Qurban Ali" ("The Grievances of Mullah

Qurban Ali") is a criticism of the infatuation of a religious cleric which goes

against his profession. Jamalzadeh' s robust criticism of the 'cleric' IS

incomparable. Jamalzadeh is concerned about the outmoded institutions of

marriage, rights of women, etc. He not only spoke against various social ills like

corruption, bribery, exploitation of weak and poor, shameless career hunters, but

also tries to find reason behind it. In "Namak-i-Gandidah" ("The Rotten Salt")

he puts the essential reason for corrupt morals among the poor masses in this

manner:

On the one hand, indigence, poverty and deprivation; on the other

hand, the absence of security of person and property. As long as

people's stomach remain empty, and the fear of oppression and injustice

62 Premchand ke Numainda Afsane,Qamar Rais,Educational Book House,Aiigarh

110

and lack a refuge or protection, fearing the shepherd as much as they do

the wolf, having no assurance about the next day in their lives, and not

being master of their own life or property, fighting against corruption

will be to measure water in a sieve and to collect air a wicker basket. 63

From the twenties onwards, following Jamalzadeh as an example,

Persian writers began to introduce social criticism into their short stories and

novels, but none could equal him in penetration and non-sentimentality of his

view of life. The authors began to have knowledge of Western views of society.

Even after spending a major part of his life in West, Jamalzadeh does not

hesitate to criticize the west and their social pattern. In "Atash Zir-i- Khakistar"

("The Fire under the Ashes") through the character of Mirza Ruhullah he says:

"We will not understand the meaning of democracy propounded by

America or the definition of revolution by Russia in empty stomach .....

our world is the women who has the body of her child in her hand and

her wounded hand is bleeding and trickling, drops of blood on the

earth "64

Like Jamalzadeh, Premchand too, was a staunch social critic. The

extent of his courage and valour can be estimated when his first collection of

short stories ""Soz-e-Watan" ("Passion for the nation") was published, where he

openly sought the Indian masses to fight to liberate their country from the

oppression of British rulers. He was charged with sedition, copies of "Soz-e­

Watan" ("Passion for the nation") were confiscated. This compelled him to

change his nom-de-plume, but he continued writing. Premchand knew very well

that majority of the Indian populace lived in village and there was a need to

build consciousness about the ongoing freedom struggle. He tried to awaken the

masses by his short stories and novels. Although the first story published by him

was "Ishq-:i-Duniya aur Hub be Watan" ("Love for the world and love for

63 "Namak e Gandideh", Kohne wa Nau, lntesharat e Sukhan, Tehran,2005, p.69.

64 "Atash Zer-i Khakistar", Talkh o Shirin, lntesharat e Sukhan, Tehran,2005,p.l79.

111

homeland") was in the form of a tale, yet thematically, it bore the features of

modem short story writing, that is, social criticism. In its preface Premchand

wrote:

"The literary learning of every country is the true picture of the society.

The idea which triggers the mind and emotions which fills the heart, they appear

in form of prose and verse clearly as an image on a mirror". 65

Prior to Premchand, the themes in the fictions were personal valour,

love, battles, adventure, which appeared in ornate style and written for a 'class'

to use it as their leisure. With the onset of the twentieth century, the dimension

of fiction changed and 'modem short story' appeared as an independent geme.

The literature started to play more positive and responsible role. Through his

stories, Premchand opposes the capitalist oppression which caused poor farming

and exploitation of labourers in the urban industries. According to him the

capitalist oppression is related to privileged class of people who may be

moneylenders. Premchand through his stories inspires the common masses to be

honest; sincere in their work thus puts stress on the individual reformation. The

reformation can occur in any phase of life, to any individual, at any place. For

social criticism he chose the style of presenting the 'types' of society through

individualistic 'character'. This helps in greater attachment of 'character' in the

fiction and the 'type' to the real world, for example the government official

serving somewhere would yearn to be like the character 'Bansidhar' in the story

"Namak Ka Darogha" ("Salt Inspector") and change himself from relinquishing

'sense of duty' or resorting to accept 'bribe'.

It can be conclusively said that both Jamalzadeh and Munshi Premchand

produced literatures which spoke of their times. By social criticism both the

writers wanted to awaken the inner- self of an individual which is always the

prelude to a massive social reformation.

65 Touqit e Premchand, Manik Tala,Maktaba Jadid,2002,p.ll

11 J

Indeed J amalzadeh' s stories bear the hallmarks of literary revolution. It

challenged the administrators, religious clerics, law makers and was by and large

critical of the regime. For Jamalzadeh, the strength of his writing is limited to

his early works before 1925, after which he refrained from literary activities for

the next twenty years. The publication of Y aki Bud Yaki Nabud" ("Once upon a

time") had caused tremendous stir and controversy among the reading public of

Persian. Regarding Iranian reaction to J amalzadeh' s first collection of short

stories "Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud" ("Once upon a time") Jan Rypka rightly says in

his "History of Iranian Literature":

"When the stories first reached Iran, they were not very favourably

received; nor were condemnatory demonstrations lacking against the

writer who had dared to criticize his compatriots, in some places the

book was actually publicly burned. All of this only serves as proof that

the stories of Jamalzadeh were in their way, a literary revolution. The

further development of prose and the role of the short story in it

confirmed such a view"66

Premchand' s first collection of stories "Soz-e-Watan" ("Passion for the

nation") published in 1908 had faced the similar situations. Premchand describes

the event himself in 'Jeevan Sar' as:

"One night I received a letter from District Collector who had

summoned me ... Saheb asked me 'have you written this book'? I accepted.

He asked me the meaning of every story and said 'your stories are filled with

sedition. You must feel fortunate that you are in British administration, if it

were Moghul administration both your hands would have been chopped

off"67

66 History of Iranian Literature, Jan Rypka,D.Rektel Publishing Co.,Holland,p.395

67 Touqit e Premchand, Manik Tala,Maktaba Jadid,New Delhi,2002, p.Sl

113

Premchand was an unrelenting antagonist of the British rule. At the call

of Mahatama Gandhi during the 'Non-Cooperation Movement' ,he gave up his

government job. He actively participated in 'Puma Swaraj', 'Satyagrah

Movement' and various other movements. Under the influence of Marxism

which had gained ground in India too, Premchand wrote stories which spoke

against the British Imperialism in the same tone and tenor as the fight between

the 'proletariats' and 'bourgeois' was described in Communist literature.

Therefore, the nature of his writings is undoubtedly revolutionary and his first

collection of short stories a genuine "literary revolution". Both Premchand's

"Soz-e-Watan" and J amalzadeh' s ""Y aki bud Y aki N a bud" was the start of the

'literary revolution' required for the intellectual leadership to fight against the

injustice done by the regime over the masses in India and Iran respectively.

Realism as a style initially appeared when some major French novelists

reacted against Romanticism in the 19th Century. They wanted the 'softer'

qualities - tenderness, idea_lism, chivalric passion, and the like - which seemed

to them to hide the stark realities of life in a dreamlike haze. However, some

extreme novelists swang to the extreme of 'realism; which makes a synonym for

unrelenting pessimism. In 20th century realism has frequently been put in the

service of a reforming design, which implies a qualified optimism. Novels about

the suffering of the oppressed, human by deg adaption needed realistic approach.

In Iran, realism found place with the works of Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh.

Discussing the influence that Jamalzadeh's first collection of stories had on

Iran's contemporary literature, Bolotnikoff, quoting K. Chaikine says:

"Only with Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud did the school and style of realism

find a beginning in Iran. And this school and style in fact laid fresh and

new foundations for the art of storytelling in Persian literature; and it is

only from the time of their inception that it is possible to discuss the

appearance of the novel, tale and romance in the thousand year old

literature of Iran .. .In brief it must be stated that Jamalzadeh is for u.s

without doubt a writer who ranks equal to the best novelists of Europe.

114

Furthermore he successfully accomplished a formidable task, in that he

introduced into the thousand-year old frame-work of Persian language

the spirit and technique of European prose "68

He chooses 'realism' as his style as his 'characters' are from the real

life and portray the picture of a slice of life from the real world. Be it "Ramazan,

Habebullah, Rahmatullah, Khanum Habebeh Sultana, Qudratus Sultaneh; all

come from real life and portray either some psychological truth hidden in one's

mind or the bare truth of real life. Life itself is a story and human beings are like

characters in it, therefore, to a reader it appears he is listening to a fellow

member of the society. It is argued that 'realism' a synonyms for unrelenting

pessimism. To some extent the shadow of pessimism can be seen in the stories

of Jamalzadeh, but overall it gives a firm base for reformation of the individual

and his society.

At the onset of the twentieth century 'realism' as a style appeared in

Hindi literature. Regarding the characteristics of realism, noted Hindi writer

Jaishankar Prasad says that stress of 'realism' is on "showing trivial aspects'

Criticising Premchand, over his style, Jai Shankar is of the view the Premchand

was the first to use 'realism' in his writings but his novels and short stories

generally racal 'Naturalism'. According to him portrayal of base picture of life

(as in Kafan "Shroud") and human weaknesses is a kind of deviation from

'realism', which is closer to 'Naturalism'. He says like French literature,

'Naturalism' sprouted first in Hindi Literature too. But according to the

description of Naturalism as given in Encyclopedia Britannica:

"It is difficult to separate the two categories, but naturalism seems

'character'ized not only by a pessimistic determinism but also by a more

through going attention to the physical and biological aspects of human

existence ... The naturalistic novel is a development out of realism, and it

68 Modern Persian Prose Literature, Hasan Kamshad,Cambridge University Press,1966,p.105

115

is again, in French that its first practitioners are to be found, with Emile

Zola leading. "69

The stories or novels of Premchand are in no way closer to the theory of

'pessimistic determinism'. There is a great emphasis on the psychological

aspects of human being in his stories too, therefore it can be conclusively said

that Premchand's short stories or novels are not naturalistic writings. Last but

not the least, both Jamalzadeh and Premchand were the first to use 'realism' in

their stores. Each did so with in their own way, but they were essentially 'realist'

writers.

Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh spent most of his life outside Iran; he lived

in Beirut, Baghdad, Luazanne, Paris, Berlin and Geneva. Out of 1 06 years of his

life, he lived altogether 13 years in Iran including his all intermittent visits. He

used to visit Iran regularly for a short duration, but was well informed about the

socio-political and all vital developments in Iran. He had great love for his

country and has spoken about it at length in various literatures he produced. A

groups of writers accused Jamalzadeh of portraying Iran as he saw in his

childhood days. Iranian scholar, Abdullah Waziri in the book "Jamalzadeh and

his Thought" compiled by Mehrdad Mehsin,speaks thus:

" .... due to his longer stay outside Iran, Jamalzadeh was unaware of

the situation in Iran, mentality, behaviour and thought process of the

Iranian people. Jamalzadeh does not know today's Iran better and

whatever he writes about it, is mere his imagination. He sees before him

the fifty years back people and cannot see except the same narrow lanes,

houses without windows, mosques, grounds, caravanserai, the

government ... like someone who suddenly goes blind and cannot see any

picture except the picture secured in his mind when he was not blind"70

69 New Encyclopedia Britannica, Macropedia,Vol.23,p.l32

70 Az Nima ta Rozgar e Ma,Yahya Aryanpur,lntesharat e Zawwar,2003,p.277

116

Jamalzadeh produced the entire bulk of his work outside Iran, yet the

striking thing about him is, that in his compositions one senses the life spirit and

atmosphere of Persian more than in those of any other writers living in that land

.He was only twelve when he left his country, but the impression left upon him

by childhood training and environment has proved indelible.

Unlike Jamalzadeh, Premchand was genuinely an Indian writer and

remained the same till his last breath. He takes the character from the rural

masses around him and speaks about the oppressed. During his time labourers,

farmers, outcastes were oppressed by the capitalists who were in the form of

moneylenders, landlords, and village esquires. Owing to his great experience of

the rural life he could paint it more accurately. Contrary to Jamalzadeh,

Premchand had first hand information of what was going around him. He

appears to be more confident, forceful, fresh, versatile and artististic in social

criticism in comparison to his Iranian counterpart, since he was more

experienced.

One of the most contrasting features of Jamalzadeh and Premchand

stories is that the former presents the picture of urban society, but the latter

portrays rural and village life. The reason being Jamalzadeh lived mostly in

cities whereas Premchand comes from a simple middle class having spent a

greater part of his life in a village. However, he lived in cities and towns of

northern India too, though for a short period. As Jamalzadeh lived mostly out of

Iran he could not associate himself with the literary and national movements of

his country, but Premchand quit his job of a teacher, on Gandhiji's call during

the 'Quit India Movement' in 1921. When Indian leaders and masses were

struggling to free the country from the British occupation, he contributed with

the power of his pen and came to be known as "Kalam Ka Sipahi" (Soldier with

a pen).

The dawn of the 201h century witnessed the appearance of two great

literary personalities in Iran and India who dared to speak for the common

117

masses at the turbulent times and in the process made significant contribution

towards the emerging new dimension of literature. It got transformed from

leisure reading to responsible caveat. Both Jamalzadeha and Premchand

displayed love for their motherland and their citizens through their literatures,

which is also a source of inspiration for the commoner to understand 'man and

his society' in a more realistic way.

There was a close similarity in their language and style of writing, social

criticism, portrayal of individual behaviour, using 'realism' as a literary genre,

setting new trends for future writers and the popular impacts of their short

stories upon the masses. Their association with the literary circles, organizations,

and their participations in various literary missions and movements definitely

prove that both Jamalzadeh and Premchand were aware of their responsibilities.

They were dedicated professionals and can be regarded as the chief contributors

to the world literature.

118

The dawn of the twentieth century witnessed the emergence of two great

literary luminaries from India & Iran. Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh from Iran

and Munshi Premchand from India were the first to speak about the common

masses, at a time when the world at large, was witnessing great political and

social upheavals. Both Jamalzadeh's "Yaki bud Yaki Nabud" and Premchand's

"Soz-i-Watan" proved to be the Magna Carta for the new generation and

served as a manifesto for the literary revolution in their respective countries.

Both Jamalzadeh and Premchand were social critics of their times ..

Their first acclaimed literatures produced, bear testimony to the fact that each

criticised the ills of the society forcefully and courageously. The first collection

of Jamalzadeh's short story" Yaki Bud Yaki Nabud" published in Iran was

critical of the social system and challenged the administrators, religious

clerics, law makers. The literature caused tremendous stir and controversy

especially among the religious clerics and the copies of the collection were

burned in Tehran.Similarly, Premchand's first collection of short stories "Soz-i

watan" had to face the wrath of the British administration. He was summoned

and given a warning by the authorities, not to write seditious literature. All the

copies of the collection were confiscated by the District Collector. Thus, the

first collection of short stories of both Jamalzadeh and Premchand proved to be

the initiation of new literary revolution; which called for a more responsible

role for the forthcoming literature.

Individual human being is the basic matrix of a complex social system,

stronger the value system in an individual, firmer the society. Therefore, poets,

writers and men of letters have always contributed to instil correct moral values

in an individual. In the writings of both Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh and

Munshi Premchand one can find the right portrayal of noble characteristics like

Sacrifice, Repentence , forgiveness, dutiboundness etc by means of their

'characters' . The two writers also tried to highlight the moral corruptions like,

greed, bribing present in an individual, who tends to become common and

corrupt the social system.

119