English, asked by RutviSolanki, 1 year ago

Essay on human greed in God lives in the panch by munshi premchand

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Answered by shaileshsharma607
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God lives in the Panch
by Munshi Premchand
The story ………………
Jumman Shaikh and Algu Chowdhury were very good friends living in the same village. Even, minute discord nor rancour ever blemished their friendship. When one went out of the village, the other looked after the family of the absent friend. The villagers admired the friendship between the two, and loved them for it.
Jumman had an old lonely aunt with no one in her family. Fortunately, she was lucky to have some property in her name. For her upkeep in her dotage, she suggested to her nephew Jumman that she would bequeath her property to him in exchange of shelter and food in his household till her death. Jumman agreed, and the deal was struck. The old aunt moved to Jumman’s house, where she was accepted with warmth and welcome. She had hoped that she would see through her dotage with dignity and love in the foster home. The responsibility of looking after the old lady fell on Jammun’s wife.
As days went by, the wife’s love for the old lady began to wane. She felt the old lady to be an unnecessary burden on her means and energy. Predictably, her dislike for the Aunt reflected in her behaviour towards her. The Aunt found the cold and frosty behaviour of Jummman’s wife quite discomforting and hurtful. She protested at times, but could do little to make the young lady mend her manners. Even the frugal meals she ate were hard to come. The old lady resented such neglect and bitterly argued her case with the wife of Jumman resulting in angry exchanges. Taunts flew back and forth. The frequent tiffs led to a full-blown crisis as the Aunt couldn’t take the indignity and neglect any longer.
The Aunt spoke to Jumman about the unbearable behaviour meted out to her by his wife. Jumman could offer no remedy and remained silent. Aggrieved further by her nephew’s indifference, she asked for a small monthly dole so that she could cook her own meals. This plea, too was turned down by the husband-wife duo. The hapless old lady’s misery continued.

The Aunt decided to approach the Panch for seeking redress to the injustice she was battling in Jumman’s household. She approached the villagers to narrate her owes and seek intervention of the Panch. Some gave her a patient and sympathetic hearing, a few mocked her, while some advised her to make it up with NJjumman’s wife, her real tormentor. She drew little solace from such advice.

Finally, the Panch, the adjudicating authority of the village, was convened. On the appointed day, the villagers congregated under a tree to conduct the proceedings. Jumman, the defendant, was given the option to propose one among the villagers as the Panch (the headman for the session). He proposed the name of Algu, his dear friend. Algu occupied the august chair that called for strict neutrality, and fair-play. Algu heard out the two versions, one of the complainant, and the other of his dear friend Jumman.

Caught in a difficult situation, Algu (as the Panch) had to contend with two conflicting positions — the call of duty as the Panch, and the urge to side with his dearest friend. He chose to heed the call of his conscience. After much soul-searching, Algu gave his verdict –Either Jumman gave his old Aunt a monthly allowance or he returned her property.

Jumman was very angry at his dear friend’s stance, not realizing that Algu had only done his duty as a fair, and just Panch.

The fall-out of the Panch verdict made their relationship bitter. Their relationship was frayed beyond repair. Jumman’s heart burned with a desire to avenge Algu’s ‘indiscretion’ of siding with his Aunt. Jumman’s resentful mind blinded his inner vision.

Some days later, misfortune befell Algu. One of his bullocks died. He was forced to sell off the other bullock to a cart owner. The buyer had one month time to pay the cost of the bullock. Sadly, the bullock died before the one-month period ended. Quite understandably, he refused to pay the cost of the bullock to Algu. Much acrimonious
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