Gift of a Cow

<p>Premchand is the most famous Hindi novelist and Godaan is Premchand's most celebrated novel. Economic and social conflict in a north Indian village are brilliantly captured in the story of Hori a poor farmer and his family's struggle for survival and self-respect. Hori does everything he can to fulfill his life's desire: to own a cow the peasant's measure of wealth and well-being. An engaging introduction to India before Independence Godaan is at once village ethnography moving human document and insightful colonial history. Out of print for many years this translation is regarded as a classic in itself.</p>