बैठे-ठाले

By Harishankar Parsai There is a photograph of Premchand in front of me, he has posed with his wife. Atop his head sits a cap made of some coarse cloth. He is clad in a kurta and dhoti. His temples are sunken, his cheek-bones jut out, but his lush moustache lends a full look to his face. He is wearing canvas shoes and its laces are tied haphazardly. When used carelessly, the metal lace-ends come off and it   becomes difficult to insert the laces in the lace-holes. Then, laces are tied any which way. The right shoe is okay but there is a large hole in the left shoe, out of which a toe has emerged. My sight is transfixed on this shoe. If this is his attire while posing for a photograph, how must he be dressing otherwise? I wonder. No, this is not a man who has a range of clothes, he does not possess the knack of changing clothes. The image in the photograph depicts how he really is. I look towards his face. Are you aware, my literary forbear, that you...