Talking of power : early writings of Bengali women

‘Around the middle of the nineteenth century, a social category was born in Bengal, along with a new word that named it: lekhika or the female author.’―Tanika Sarkar, Foreword These writings, translated for the first time from Bengali, form a path-breaking collection of issues that aimed at the empowerment of women and thus remain alive today. The women were the first to receive a ‘modern’ education, and became members of the reading and writing public that hitherto was entirely male. The writers came from urban elite backgrounds, most from Brahmo Samaj families, many comparatively unknown today like Bamasundari Devi or Kumudini Mitra as well as more famous ones from the Tagore family―Swarnakumari Devi and her daughters. Some were Hindus like Kailashbasini Devi and Krishnabhabini Das, among others. There are also two Muslim women writers―the brilliant Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain and the social reformer Khairunnissa Khatun. The articles cover a whole range of social issues: social powerlessness, domestic management, the Swadeshi movement, what to wear outside the house when leaving seclusion, and financial independence. Writing for the new journals that came up as vernacular print media was expanding. Making their way into the literary world, the women opened up new roles for themselves and their successors. "'Around the middle of the nineteenth century, a social category was born in Bengal, along with a new word that named it: lekhika or the female author'. - Tanika Sarkar, Foreword These writings, translated for the first time from Bengali, form a path-breaking collection of issues that aimed at the empowerment of women and thus remain alive today. The women were the first to receive a 'modern' education and became members of the reading and writing public that hitherto was entirely male. The writers came from urban elite backgrounds, most from Brahmo Samaj families, many comparatively unknown today like Bamasundari Devi or Kumudini Mitra as well as more famous ones from the Tagore family, Swarnakumari Devi and her daughters. Some were Hindus like Kailashbasini Devi and Krishnabhabini Das, among others. Two Muslim women writers are present: the brilliant Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain and the social reformer Khairunnisa Khatun. The articles cover a whole range of social issues: social powerlessness, domestic management, the Swadeshi movement, what to wear outside the house when leaving seclusion, and financial independence. Writing for the new journals that came up as vernacular print media was expanding, making their way into the literary world, the women opened up new roles for themselves and their successors"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Contents 10 Foreword 12 Acknowledgements 18 Introduction 20 1 Bamasundari Devi 37 2 Kailashbasini Devi 46 3 Kusumkumari Devi 74 4 Saratkumari Chaudhurani 78 5 Girindramohini Dasi 92 6 Krishnabhabini Das 100 7 Anindita Devi 107 8 Hemantakumari Chaudhuri 111 9 Kumudini Mitra 117 10 Kamini Roy 123 11 Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain 128 12 Hiranmoyee Devi 140 13 Khairunnissa Khatun 150 14 Jagadishwari Devi 156 15 Swarnakumari Devi 159 16 Sarala Devi Chaudhurani 179 Index 194 About the Editors and the Translators 198 This book examines Bengal's cultural history and the impact of women's education as seen in their writings.