Bade Ghar Ki Beti Summary: Premchand’s Story, Characters and Themes

About this novel

Bade Ghar Ki Beti (Urdu: بڑے گھر کی بیٹی, “A Daughter of a Great House”) is one of Munshi Premchand‘s early and much-loved family stories. It shows how a small quarrel can threaten to break a joint family, and how one wise woman saves it.

Summary of Bade Ghar Ki Beti

The family

Beni Madhav Singh is the head of a village family whose fortunes have declined. His elder son Shrikanth is educated and believes strongly in keeping the joint family together. His younger son Lal Bihari is strong, rough and short-tempered. Shrikanth’s wife, Anandi, comes from a wealthy and respected family, a “bade ghar ki beti”, yet she adjusts happily to the simpler life of her in-laws.

The quarrel over ghee

One day Lal Bihari brings home meat and asks Anandi to cook it. She uses most of the ghee left in the house. When Lal Bihari finds there is not enough ghee for his dal, he taunts her about her parents’ wealth. Anandi answers back, and in his anger Lal Bihari throws his wooden sandal (khadaun) at her, hurting her hand.

The family on the edge

When Shrikanth comes home and hears what happened, he is deeply hurt and declares that he can no longer live in the same house as his brother. The joint family he has always defended is about to split. Lal Bihari, ashamed, apologises and decides to leave home himself.

Anandi’s choice

Anandi, whose anger has cooled, sees that the family will break apart because of her. She stops Lal Bihari at the door, forgives him and persuades her husband to make peace. The brothers are reconciled. Beni Madhav Singh, full of pride, says that daughters of great families are just like this: they mend what others break.

Characters

• Anandi: the wise and forgiving daughter-in-law.
• Shrikanth: her husband, who believes in the joint family.
• Lal Bihari: the hot-tempered younger brother.
• Beni Madhav Singh: the father and head of the family.

Themes

• The joint family: how fragile, and how valuable, family unity can be.
• Forgiveness: Anandi’s forgiveness is stronger than anyone’s anger.
• True nobility: greatness comes from character, not wealth.

About Munshi Premchand

Premchand (1880–1936), born Dhanpat Rai Srivastava near Varanasi, is called the father of the modern Urdu and Hindi short story. He wrote hundreds of stories and several novels, first in Urdu and later in Hindi, about village life, poverty, honesty and the struggles of ordinary people.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the “bade ghar ki beti”? Anandi, who comes from a wealthy family and marries into a modest one.

What started the quarrel? Anandi used most of the ghee in the house while cooking meat, leaving none for Lal Bihari’s dal.

How does the story end? Anandi forgives Lal Bihari and stops him leaving, and the family stays together.

Read more guides in our Urdu Classics section, including Kafan by Premchand and Umrao Jaan Ada.