Festival of Eid By Munshi Premchand
Summary Festival of Eid
Festival of Eid
A somewhat naive, but still movingly sweet story, written in a wonderful manner which manages to pass the moral of the story without making it sound like moralizing. Paperback Premchand is a literary mogul of Hindi.
The man needs no introduction.
His writing comprise of morals, life lessons, friendship and honesty.
Festival of Eid unfolds a tale of a generous and intelligent boy who presents his grandma a gift that she expected the least.
Short and crisp. This story hits in the head. The dead parents of the child serve as a sorrowful backdrop to the story. Abhavo ki zindagi pyar se bhar di jae toh kisi daulat me kya dum hai.
The mark of a genius, no qualms this one leaves us, readers, mesmerized even decades after.
In giving you receive they say; they are right. Paperback Sharing a story which gave you goosebumps as a kid is often a difficult task cause we tend to talk about it more than what we went through. The same thing will happen if anybody writes a review of Munshi Premchand's book. It's been more than a decade I read his book but still, the magical realm he has created makes me talk about his book till now. Eidgah, the festival of Eid, is a very simple book with the most powerful message. A young teenage boy, Hamid, suffering from poverty having only his grandmother to be looked after by with fake stories to cover the absence of his parents and not even a pair of shoes to go to offer his morning Namaz has really broken me down then. Eyes were filled with glitters reading how Hamid bought a tong with all little money he had for his grandmother whose hand used to get burnt each time she made roti. I read this book in my school and I could never score great marks in this subject nonetheless I accrued plenty of immeasurable lessons from his stories. Reading this book again will bring back a lot of good memories but I might not like to live it again as Munshi Premchand will once again make me numb and give me deep thoughts for days to come! Paperback
Eidgah
‘यह चिमटा कहॉं था?’
‘मैंने मोल लिया है।
‘कै पैसे में?
‘तीन पैसे दिये।‘
अमीना ने छाती पीट ली। यह कैसा बेसमझ लड़का है कि दोपहर हुआ, कुछ खाया न पिया। लाया क्या, चिमटा! ‘सारे मेले में तुझे और कोई चीज न मिली, जो यह लोहे का चिमटा उठा लाया?’
हामिद ने अपराधी-भाव से कहा—तुम्हारी उँगलियॉँ तवे से जल जाती थीं, इसलिए मैने इसे लिया।
I think its one of the best literary works by Premchand. Written in pre-independence era Premchand brings out the innocence and love of a child,Hamid, for his grandmother Ameena .Even though Hamid is orphan and poverty stricken ,oblivious to all this he cares for his grandmother and instead of enjoying Eid and getting himself a present gets his grandma a pair of tongs.
Though the story is very simple but it touches the heart of the reader.
और अब एक बड़ी विचित्र बात हुई। हामिद कें इस चिमटे से भी विचित्र। बच्चे हामिद ने बूढ़े हामिद का पार्ट खेला था। बुढ़िया अमीना बालिका अमीना बन गई। वह रोने लगी। दामन फैलाकर हामिद को दुआऍं देती जाती थी और आँसूं की बड़ी-बड़ी बूंदे गिराती जाती थी। हामिद इसका रहस्य क्या समझता! Paperback Absolutely beautiful. Munshi Premchand shakes you to the very core! Paperback
Quite possibly the best short story by the best Hindi author of short stories. Paperback Munshi Premchand’s Idgah is a short story that plays out over the course of a few hours, on the day of Eid. A group of villagers, all dressed in their festive best, walk three kos to the nearest idgah to offer namaaz, to celebrate the festival—and, importantly for the younger and more materialistic of the lot, to revel in the joys that the local mela, set up for the occasion, has to offer. Among those who have gone to the idgah and from there to the fair is Haamid, an orphan between four and five years old. Haamid, who lives with his very poor old Dadi, living a hand-to-mouth existence. Even as Haamid clutches the three paise Dadi has been able to give him to spend today, he watches his friends Mohsin, Mehmood, Nooray and Sammi enjoying themselves, going on the Ferris wheel, buying toys, stuffing themselves with sweets… What will Haamid buy with his precious three paise?
I loved this story. It is a classic example of why Premchand is regarded as one of India’s greatest writers. A short, poignant, empathetic little tale of what it is like to be poor, but not a pathetic tale: never tragic and depressing (on the contrary, it is, in its depiction of the children and their toys, delightfully humorous). Haamid comes across as a very believable child, naïve but also wise in the way children can sometimes be. His interactions with his friends, and the character sketches that emerge from those interactions, are very true of children: rivals one moment, brutally teasing and badgering each other moment, yet swiftly doing an about turn and being caring, loving, best friends the next.
A wonderful little story about love and understanding. As a story almost completely about children, and with children as the main characters, this is a memorable one. Plus, of course, Premchand’s writing is impeccable, his descriptions vivid and unforgettable: “लाखों सिर एक साथ सिजदे में झुक जाते हैं और एक साथ घुटनों के बल बैठ जाते हैं। कई बार यही क्रिया होती है, जैसे बिजली की लाखों बतियां एक साथ प्रदीप्त हों और एक साथ बुझ जाएँ, और यही क्रम चलता रहा।…” Paperback Possibly the best short story for kids by any writer of the world. Its a heart touching story of a small muslim boy Hamid and his Grandmother Ameena. His parents are dead due to disease. On the day of Eid, he is all set to visit the idgah to offer special prayers. Orphaned as he is, his only centre of love is his grandmother. Oblivious to the suffering around him, his misfortune of being parent-less, Hamid is innocence personified.
Despite the grinding poverty he lives in, he sees the beauty around: the smiling fields, the sun-kissed earth, his grand mom’s warm lap in which he so lovingly cuddled himself…
His unfortunate grandmother is worried that her little grandson will not be able to enjoy his Eid the way other boys will. She bemoans her lot for being without a support; her miserable existence but Hamid couldn’t care less.
Hamid with his small Idi goes with the other boys to the village fair. While all the other boys buy themselves toys, sweets, knick knacks, Hamid picks up a tong. A chimka for his grandmother… whose finger get burnt every time he turns the roti.
The beauty of the story lay in its simplicity, in its dignity, its humanity and its innocence. Idgah alongwith kafan is, and will remain one of the most widely read stories of Premchand, contributing, yet again, towards making him one of the greatest writers of all times. Paperback Well, it's not among the greatest stories by Munshiji, but it did touch the nerve of rural India and had a huge impact on me when I was a child. Even today when I read it, I remember my upbringing in a lower middle class family in a rural environment. It's freakishly beautiful, no matter how idealistic it is. But it can not become an equal to the likes of 'Kafan' and 'Poos ki raat', which instead of leaving us covered in nostalgia, shake us to the core by being true to the harsh reality they portray. Paperback Possibly one of the most heart-wrenching story I have ever read. This is one tale I'll forever carry with me. Paperback
