In modern terms, this 1935 story from Premchand would be called a dark comedy. It follows father and son Chamars (one of the Dalit or “untouchable” sub-castes) as they go to buy a funeral shroud for the son’s deceased wife. The lazy but likeable pair will do anything to shirk work, and end up spending the donated shroud money on a boozy night in town. The story satirizes the caste system by pointing out that those who can never rise above their low birth position have no incentive in life other than survival.
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