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THE IMMACULATE CHILD

-Premchand
1. Sketch the character of Gangu.
2. Justify the title of the story "The Immaculate Child".

“Premchand” was the pen name adopted by the Hindi writer “Dhanpatrai”. He
has left behind a dozen novels and nearly 250 short stories. His stories inspired many
Indians with patriotic feelings during the rst decades of the 20" century. Sevasadan,
Rangamanch, Ghaban, Nirmala and Godan are his best known novels. Besides being a
great novelist, Premchand was a social reformer and thinker. The Present story is a free
translation of his story "Balak" into English by P.C Ghai.
"If love is blind, then maybe a blind person that loves has a great understanding of
it."Intense love does not measure. It just gives."

The character of “Gangu” in Premchand's short story "The Immaculate Child" is

wonderfully drawn by him. Gangu is an illiterate Brahmin servant.Though he does not
follow the rituals of a Brahmin, he is very proud of his caste and expects others to respect
him and serve him. He never salutes the owner, the narrator of the story. He is short
tempered and he can't stand any criticism. When he goes to meet the owner one day,
then the owner asks him to tell him immediately as it is time for him to go for a walk, he
replies in a dejected tone and asks him to go for a walk. That is his nature.

Gangu is very simple and innocent. He comes to meet the owner again. He tells
the owner that he wants to resign and leave the job. He wants to marry Gomti Devi, a
woman who had married thrice but left all her husbands. He further goes on to say her
previous husbands did not love her but just wanted her body and soul. He believes rmly
that his marriage is going to be a happy one because he loves her whole heartedly.
Though Gangu is not rich, not earning much, he is very much satis ed with his family. All
his satisfaction is found a clear re ection on his face.

Gangu loves Gomti so much that he never bothers what is happening around him.
He is even so reluctant to pay heed to his master's words. So the master eagerly waits
to see the down fall of Gangu as he is willing to marry a lecherous woman Gomti, who
creates a havoc in the village Mohalla. Gangu marries Gomti ignoring everyone’s advice
and the norms of society. Gomti leaves Gangu but he does not blame Gomti of her
in delity. He tells the owner that he can’t understand what is wrong with him. That shows
his love and extraordinary character. He goes out in search of her. Gomti gives birth to a
baby boy just after six months of her marriage with Gangu and Gangu accepts that child
as if that was his own child. Gangu is very proud and happy to show this boy to his Guru,
the narrator. But the master derives a strange pleasure by diverting Gangu's mind saying
the baby is not his own esh and blood.

Eventually Gangu's Positive attitude and his unconditional love for his beloved
wife and the baby brings transformation in Bapuji. The master takes the baby into his
hands, kisses the baby and walks along the side of Gangu to see his wife who is hated
and unaccepted.So in the story, we can observe that remarriage of widows was a
general practice. The life of widow and exploitation is also mentioned in the story. The
Child is a symbol of love between Gomti and Gangu. Thus, the story “The Immaculate
Child” deals with various issues of Indian society and also the psychological aspects
of the Indian mindset.
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