When you browse the internet for popular works in Hindi Literature, always Dharamvir Bharati’s Gunahon ka Devta(गुनाहों का देवता) pops up. Popularised by Instagram in the recent times, I picked up this book with the belief that this might be a wonderful love story. But, I was shocked, surprised and heartbroken by the tale. After I finished reading, it took me a while to return to the present world, away from Chandar’s moral angst about anything and everything.

Author: Dharamvir Bharati

Written in 1949, Gunahon ka Devta has become a cult classic. Although Dharamvir Bharati believed that it he was too young(23 years of age) and inexperienced when he wrote this, it is difficult to begin Hindi Sahitya without reading this monumental work. Dharamvir Bharati was the Padmashree winning Stalwart from Prayagraj(Allahabad) who wrote many impactful works like Suraj ka Satwan Ghoda, Gunahon ka Devta and Gyarah Sapno Ka Desh. He was also the editor to the popular Hindi weekly magazine Dharamyug by the Times Group from 1960 to 1987.

Plot:

Set in Allahabad, the story begins with the introduction of the two main characters Sudha Shukla and Chandrakumar Kapoor(Chandar). In the very first chapter, you as a reader is introduced to their innocent, childlike friendship. Dr. Shukla, Sudha’s father was Chandar’s PhD guide in Allahabad University. He guides Chandar like his own son and in his eyes, Sudha and Chandar share a platonic bond. As the story progresses, you see arguments, fights and long spells of silence between the two characters.

It is only towards the middle of the novel that one realises that a bond exists between Sudha and Chandar, much greater than a platonic friendship. But it is too late for the narrative or any character to change the course of this tragedy. To know what happens, I would strongly urge you to read this novel in Hindi or its English translation.

Characters:

Sudha:

Gunahon ka devta is not a novel about a man’s predicament or suffering due to rejection. It is rather a novel on how a woman’s life is dismantled so that he may continue believing that he is good or rather in this case, “God”.

Sudha is introduced as an 18 year old college student who has been living with her father in the recent years. After her mother passed away in infancy, Sudha was brought up by her aunt(father’s sister) in the village with her cousin Binti. As she grew older, her father brought her back to Allahabad to educate her.

Chandar would visit their house frequently and their friendship blossomed. Sudha was pushed into getting married by her father and she relied on Chandar’s judgment to help her out. But he agreed with her father, although he always loved her and wanted to be with her.

Sudha married Kailash but lived a life of isolation. Kailash’s presence was devoid of care, kindness or tenderness. She always found Chandar to be her intellectual and emotional anchor. Unfortunately when her marriage failed, she spiralled into her own world.

A major part of her life went in justifying her decision to Chandar, fighting his unexpected silences and convincing him that she was still the same, even after marriage.

The real tragedy of this novel isn’t Chandar’s heartbreak or loss of love but Sudha’s sacrifice for the men in her life to realise how much they wronged her.

This included her father, Chandar and her husband, Kailash. Popular culture only highlights Chandar’s predicament while poor Sudha died, gut-wrenchingly, justifying herself to the whole world, in a pitiable, distraught condition.

Chandar:

The 25 year old PhD student of Allahabad University, Chandar comes across as an idealistic and nonchalant man. He had certain principles and followed them to the T. Although he loved Sudha, he chose to remain silent when her father was looking for matches. When she left after getting married, the silence of the house gnawed at him. He tried to find comfort in Pummi and her brother Barty, but continued to miss Sudha.

But when she wrote to him regularly, he chose to withhold his friendship, gave her the “silent treatment” and told her to stop writing to him altogether. Sudha’s tragic ending woke him up and snapped him out of his pre-ordained prejudices and he decided to marry Binti.

He grows up at the cost of Sudha.

Dr Shukla:

When you first encounter Dr Shukla, you feel as if you are seeing a modern man, away from religious dogmas and caste differences, encouraging his daughter to pursue her education. Well, all of this is just performative for the world. Dr Shukla was very superstitious and orthodox within the four walls of his house; he didn’t entertain the thought of Sudha and Chandar’s marriage due to caste differences and pushed Sudha into an early marriage, compromising her education. The novel exposed the pseudo liberal garb that Dr Shukla so smoothly wore.

Binti:

Sudha’s younger cousin Binti comes across as twice as strong and opinionated as her. She was tormented her entire life by her mother for being born as a girl and thereby being a “ burden” to her uncle, Dr Shukla. Her mother kept trying to marry her off. But fate gave her the life Sudha would have had if Chandar had opened his eyes at the right time.

Pummi:

The author introduces us to the Anglo Indian community through Pummi and her brother Barty. Pummi comes across as a sexually liberated and mentally emancipated woman whom Chandar takes to. But she too crumbled and went back to her ex, for fear of isolation.

Title:

Gunahon ka Devta translates to “The God of Sins”, a phrase that initially feels contradictory, for divinity is meant to be without blemish. Chandar believes himself to be a perfect human, a “devta” in the beginning of the novel. But here in lies his mistake. Being human itself makes him fallible which he simply doesn’t accept or acknowledge.

Among other things, his inaction becomes the reason for his “sins” and he turns moral failure into martyrdom.

The title becomes an ironic commentary on his self-victimisation: a man who wishes to remain a devta even while presiding over the wreckage that his refusal to act has caused.

Themes:

Love and Sacrifice:

Possibly the very first theme that comes to mind in the novel is Love and Sacrifice. Sudha and Chandar shared a deep bond, but rather than fighting for this love, both believed in sacrifice. This could be societal conditioning or the belief during those times. It is painful to see the consequences of this decision, especially on Sudha. Gesu, Sudha’s friend, too underwent something similar, but she decided to sacrifice her love and focus on her career, a rare feat for those times. The book brings across the concept of intellectual and emotional compatibility so beautifully that you are left uncomfortable and unsettled.

Conditional Friendship:

The story very directly portrays how the nature of friendship in most real life situations turns out to be extremely conditional. Sudha expected unconditional love and friendship from Chandar even after marriage. But since this virtue is conditional, he betrayed her and didn’t let her express herself during those moments of utter despair. Likewise, Chandar began a friendship and created a close bond with Pummi only to judge her for her decisions. The critique of human nature and relationships has genuinely been shown by Dharamvir Bharati.

Patriarchy:

Considering the time the book was written in, expecting a revolutionary novel which speaks about women’s liberation is unrealistic. But this novel doesn’t show patriarchy in an obvious light; rather, it is subtly woven into threads that cut and ache once the book is over. Be it Sudha’s forceful marriage, Binti being subjugated to hate due to her gender, Pummi the so-called only “non-conformist” finally bending to the rules of society, patriarchy grows in the novel, until you cannot unsee it.

Society:

What is very loud yet invisible is “society” in the novel. It comes in the form of rules to follow, pretentious ways to behave in front of others while hiding your true self and naming it “sacrifice”, leading to fear of judgment and ostracisation. The author has written this novel as a stark mirror to society.

Conclusion:

Gunahon ka Devta is a monumental work in Hindi Sahitya and I truly wonder how the author so masterfully penned down the emotional rollercoaster the characters undergo while being in love. But a close examination of this novel brings out the tragic death of Sudha as a blot on the clear, perfect, “Godlike” slate of Chandar and that event made him “Gunahon ka Devta”.

Divya Prakash Dubey, the author of the famous “Musafir Cafe” has based the book on these two characters Sudha and Chandar. Although the story is not a sequel to this novel, it continues the character DNA borrowed from Dharamvir Bharati.