A Great Life

Summary

“A Great Life” is a richly detailed biographical essay on Shet Premchand Roychand, a Shvetambar Jain merchant whose career left a lasting mark on nineteenth-century Bombay. The author begins by reflecting on the value of studying heroic lives; contact with great individuals awakens dormant virtues and gives form to our ideals. Communities with a lineage of high‑souled ancestors need not despair; they can draw strength from the examples set by figures like Premchand Roychand, who died on 30 August after a long and chequered life. Born to a poor Jain family in Surat, Premchand received education at Bombay’s Elphinstone Institute. The piece stresses that the relationship between teacher and pupil, built on reverence, humility and sincere care, plays a formative role in developing character. In those days the atmosphere of public schools in Bombay offered little inspiration. Yet even a short association with the Institute broadened young Premchand’s outlook and imbued him with catholicity and wide views that later helped him navigate the age of Western commercialism. The essay then surveys the historical context of Indian commerce. Before British rule, internal trade relied on decaying ports, poor roads and insecure conditions; caravans charged exorbitant rates and commerce was limited. The advent of British administration, with its new roads, postal service and telegraph, created opportunities for ambitious men. Premchand seized those openings with remarkable energy and foresight. As a merchant he engaged in the reclamation of Bombay’s Back Bay and various ventures, rising to become master of the city’s market. The “King of the Share Bazaar” could make or mar the fortunes of hundreds of merchants; he was once worth nine crores of rupees and is compared to Carnegie in his plutocratic wealth. Yet his career also included dramatic failure. During the American Civil War he speculated heavily in cotton, believing the conflict would last and prices would quadruple. When the war ended abruptly and American cotton flooded the market, he was ruined. The narrative uses this episode to meditate on the dangers of greed and the insatiable nature of desire. Despite bankruptcy, Premchand recovered calmly and continued to work with indomitable energy. His philanthropic benefactions were greater than his commercial exploits. He endowed the Rajabai Tower and Library at the University of Bombay, funded scholarships at Calcutta University, gave huge sums to training colleges and hospitals and quietly donated sixty thousand rupees to the Frere Fletcher School. His charity crossed caste boundaries; he was a devout Jain but a broad‑minded Indian who sought the best for his country. The essay concludes by noting that Premchand’s life embodied high principles that future generations should study and emulate.