B.A.

Session 2021-24
ELL GE 03- MODERN INDIAN LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION

Analysis of the short story Atonement (translation of the story प्रायश्चित)

Atonement is a short story, originally written in Hindi by Bhagwaticharan Varma. The word
‘atonement’ means doing something to show that a person is sorry for a mistake or a sin he/she
has committed. The atonement is real only when a person is truly able to realize his mistake and
does something meaningful to show his regret (पछतावा). However, many priests make it only a
matter of money and superstitions. This story looks at the effect of superstitions (अंधववश्वास) on
human behavior. This story is a social satire on (व्यंग्य) different types of people who follow
superstitions.
Ramu’s wife is 14 years old. She looks after the kitchen and the household. Everyday, a ‘kabri’
(spotted) cat comes and eats milk, ghee, paneer, etc. from the kitchen. This makes Ramu’s wife
angry and disturbed. The cat does not fear her at all.
One day, Ramu’s wife cooks kheer for Ramu. She puts a bowl of kheer on a high shelf. Soon, the
cat comes and jumps on the shelf. The bowl falls and the kheer is wasted.
Ramu’s wife is very angry. She decides to kill the cat. Next morning, she puts a bowl of milk
outside her door. The cat comes and starts drinking the milk. Ramu’s wife hits the cat with a
stick. The cat falls down.
Everybody thinks that the cat is dead. The servants, Ramu’s mother and even the neighbors say
that murdering a cat is a sin. The cook runs to the priest’s house to inform him about all this.
The priest, Pandit Paramsukh, is happy. He knows that Ramu’s family will do rituals for
atonement. Pandit will get a lot of money and delicious food from that family.
Pandit Paramsukh tells Ramu’s family that killing a cat, in early morning, is a big sin. Ramu’s
wife will go to Kumbhipak hell. To save her soul, the family must do a big atonement. The
family must donate a statue of a cat, made of at least 21 tolas of gold, to Pandit Paramsukh. For
21 days, he will do a special puja. The family must pay him 21 rupees, 2 meals every day, and a
lot of rice, wheat, pulses, and ghee.
Ramu’s mother agrees to pay 11 tolas of gold and all the other things, in order to save her family
from God’s anger. The Pandit is very excited and happy.
Suddenly, the maid comes and says that the cat is alive and has run away. It means that there will
be no puja for atonement and the Pandit will not get anything.
Pandit and some other people like him are learned and have knowledge of scriptures (religious
books). They know that such superstitions are meaningless. Yet, for their own profit and income,
they force the common people to follow superstitions. They do not encourage people to
understand the true meaning of atonement. Common people are afraid of sin and punishment. So
they follow superstitions and make the priests happy.