Kafan (कफ़न) by Munshi Premchand; performed by Vineet Mishra

Naatak Radio

Munshi Premchand is one of the foremost Hindi writers of the 20th century. A novel writer, story writer and dramatist, he has been referred to as the "Upanyas Samrat" ("Emperor among Novelists") by writers. And Kafan, published in 1936, is thought to be the author's best, blackest, and most powerful short story.
Set in an Indian village, the milieu of Premchand's best works, on a dark, chilly winter night, it is the story of a father, Ghisu, and his son, Madhav, who sit at the door of their hut roasting potatoes stolen from a neighbor's field. Budhiya, Madhav's young wife of one year, is inside groaning in childbirth. Neither man responds to her moans. In fact, Madhav is annoyed. His father urges him to look in on the girl, but he asks, "If she's going to die why doesn't she get it over with? What can I do by looking?"
Narrated by: Vineet Mishra

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