Ep 10 - 'Bade Bhai Sahab' by Munshi Premchand

Suno Kahani

Voices: Vipul Jaiswal as Narrator and Mudit Singhal as 'Bade Bhai Sahab' Sound Design: Gaurav Puri Story Review: Bade Bhai Sahab, one of Premchand’s most notable short stories was published in 1910, shortly after he dropped his name Dhanpat Rai and adopted the pseudonym Premchand. The early 1900s were important and interesting times for the Indian freedom movement and its consciousness as a nation. This was the time when nationalism was finally taking firm shape in India with literature both shaping the discourse and responding to it. In fact, in the first instance, it is a merry story about relationship between the narrator and his brother, five years his senior in age and their divergent approaches to studying in school. If one looks closer it is an excellent critique of colonial educational system and its impact on Indians. This was the time when a concerted effort was made to move away from Sanskrit and Muslim education to teaching primarily a Western curriculum with English as the medium of instruction. The ultimate purpose was to make Indians more amenable to British rule and institutions, who could serve as useful intermediaries in imperial expansion. The story cleverly undercuts the superiority of the British when 'Bade Bhai Sahab' scolds his brother on his supposed arrogance, taking interestingly a very Indian example of Raavan and how he fell due to his hauteur. He compares the mighty empire of Raavan with the British Empire, hinting at their fallibility. He then hilariously demonstrates the pointlessness and the absurdity of the English education for the vast majority of Indians and the remoteness of the context when he speaks about remembering the names of dozens of ‘Williams’ and ‘James’ and ‘Henrys’ and how the lack of new names necessitated annoying addition of generational suffixes. A large part of bhai sahab’s critique of the education system is valid even today. https://thewire.in/books/revisiting-bade-bhai-sahab-premchands-endearing-short-story

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