Nirmala (novel)

Nirmala (The Second wife)

Nirmala novel cover
Author	Munshi Premchand
Original title	Nirmala (निर्मला)
Translator	Alok Rai and David Rubin
Cover artist	Orient Paperbacks (Alok Rai) and Oxford India Paperbacks (David Rubin)
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Genre	Fiction
Published	January 1927
ISBN	(translated version by Oxford India)

Nirmala (Hindi: निर्मला (virtuous or pure) or The Second Wife ) is a Hindi fiction novel written in Hindi and Urdu writer Munshi Premchand. The melodramatic novel is centered on Nirmala, a young girl who was forced to marry a widower of her father's age. The plot unfolds to reveal her husband’s suspicion of a relationship between her and his eldest son, a suspicion that leads to the son’s death.

A poignant novel first published in 1927, Nirmala's reformist agenda is transparent in its theme which deals with the question of dowry, and consequently mismatched marriages and related issues. The story uses fiction to highlight an era of much needed social reform in 1920s Indian society. Nirmala was serialized in 1928 in Chand, a women’s magazine in which the novel’s feminist character was represented. Nirmala is somewhat like Godaan (published in 1936) in that it deals with the exploitation of the village poor, and was translated by multiple scholarly translators. It was first translated in 1988 as The Second Wife by David Rubin, and in 1999 as Nirmala by Alok Rai, Premchand's grandson.

Udayabhanu Lal, a lawyer by profession, arranged to marry off his 15-years-old daughter Nirmala to Bhuvanmohan Sinha, son of Bhalchadra Sinha. Lal was later murdered by his rival Mathayi, who was once tried in court by Lal and sentenced to jail. The death of Lal caused Bhuvanmohan and Bhalchadra to withdraw from the arranged marriage since there was no longer a large dowry as anticipated prior to Lal's death. Financial hardship forced Nirmala's mother, Kalyani, to marry her off to Totaram, a lawyer 20 years her senior. Totaram tried his best to seduce his beautiful young wife but to no avail. She had no feelings for him other than respect and a sense of duty, which fell short of the love he expected to receive from his wife.

Totaram had 3 sons from his first marriage. His eldest son Mansaram was only a year older than Nirmala. It wasn't long before Totaram grew suspicious of Nirmala and her relationship with his son Mansaram. Jealousy and suspicion caused him to send Mansaram away to live in a hostel, a decision they all soon came to regret. Mansaram's health soon deteriorated in the hostel environment. It was Bhuvanmohan who treated Mansaram at the hospital. When Bhuvanmohan learned about Nirmala, he arranged for his brother to marry Nirmala's sister, Krishna, as penance. Bhuvanmohan was haunted by his thoughts of Nirmala and her distress. Mansaram eventually died of tuberculosis. Totaram was heartbroken and guilt ridden over his role in his son's death. It wasn't long thereafter when his second son Jiyaram absconded with Nirmala's jewels and fled from Totaram's house. He later committed suicide. Totaram's third son Siyaram also fled, having been lured away by a false saint. Depressed over the loss of his sons, Totaram set off on a mission to find his only living son, Siyaram.