Did you know there was a time when there were no women doctors in India? Forget doctors, there were no women who went to high school, college or university. They were kept 'safe' at home by a patriarchal society who took great pleasure in ensuring women were neither seen nor heard nor treated as human beings. Not only in India, all around the world, the excuses for keeping women out of higher education were the same. Their traditional place in the home and their perceived intellectual inferiority.
How did all that change ? Who were the people brave enough to make that change? And what were the hurdles that society placed in their path?
Set in Calcutta of the late nineteenth century, where religious, social and political reforms are causing widespread upheaval, 'The School for Bad Girls' is the story of those first fearless girls who dared to challenge society and achieve the unthinkable. And especially of Kadambini Ganguly, who defied all odds to become the first woman to graduate as a doctor in India.
Inspiration Behind the Book:
Dr. Kadambini Ganguly
Kadambini in London
The trail started with an address on a form, led to a north London house, and culminated in a deep dive into a London directory of 1895.
In February 1893, Dr Kadambini Ganguly sailed to England for the highly coveted 'triple qualification' - the Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians (LRCP) from Edinburgh, the Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons (LRCS) from Edinburgh and the Licentiate of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons (LFPS) from Glasgow. No English woman doctor had anything approaching these laurels, neither did most of the men.
Very little is known of Kadambini's time in England, other than her obvious success. But there is a form in her own hand, her application to the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE), the veracity of which has been proved beyond doubt. Dated the 12th of April 1893, it is addressed from 35 Blomfield Road, Maida Vale, London, a swish north London suburb. The house overlooks the canal and has been turned into flats. No admission, no comforting blue plaque, no way to learn the truth.
But thank god for the internet and old uploaded directories of London. The Post Office London Directory of 1895 tells us the house belonged to one Miss Manning. And a hunt for Miss Manning throws up Elizabeth Adelaide Manning, who, along with her step-mother was a great friend of Indian students in England, Rukhmabai Raut and Cornelia Sorabji among them.
Goosebumps erupt when I join the dots and realise that between March and October 1893, Kadambini and Rukhmabai Raut and Cornelia Sorabji were all in England. All because of Miss Manning of 35 Blomfield Road, Maida Vale, London.
Characters from the book
Dwarakanath Ganguly
(1844-1898)
Firebrand reformer who fought against every injustice prevalent in society.
Bidhumukhi Ganguly
(1865-1927)
was Dwarkanath’s daughter from his first marriage.
Monomohan Ghosh (1844-1896)
Was the first Indian barrister to practice in Calcutta High Court.
Annette Akroyd,
later Beveridge
(?1842-1929)
Was a British educationist who set up the first advanced school for girls in India.
Ananda Mohan Bose (1847-1906)
Was an academic, politician and socially radical barrister.
Keshab Chandra Sen (1838-1884)
Was a social reformer influenced heavily by Unitarian theology.
Durgamohan Das
Was a practicing lawyer at Calcutta High Court and a social reformer.
Sarala Ray
(1861-1946)
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is remembered for her pioneering efforts in women’s education and social upliftment. Notable among
Abala Bose
(1865-1951)
did not complete her medical course in Madras due to ill health. She returned to Calcutta and married scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose in 1887.
Kamini Roy
(1864-1933)
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was a poet, social worker and one of the earliest feminists. She was the first woman honours graduate in British India.
Chandramukhi Bose (1860-1944)
was the first woman in the British Empire to pass the MA examination and the first principal of the Bethune College.
Alfred Woodley Croft (1841-1925)
was Director of Public Instruction in Bengal from 1877-1897.
Ashley Eden
(1831-1887)
was the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal from 1877 to 1882. Eden Hospital in Kolkata is named after him, as is the Eden (Mohila) College in Dhaka.
Augustus Rivers Thompson
(1829-1890)
was the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal from 1882-1887.
Richard Garth
(1820-1903)
was the Chief Justice of Bengal from 1875-1886, who infamously sentenced Surendranath Banerjee to imprisonment for libel.
John Martin Coates (1832-1895)
was an Irish doctor and army surgeon who served across Bengal for forty years in various appointments.
Arthur Hobhouse
(1819-1904)
was a lawyer and judge with strongly liberal beliefs. He was Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University from 1875 to1877.
William Markby
(1829-1914)
came to India as a judge of Calcutta High Court in 1866. He was Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University in 1877-78.
Alexander Arbuthnot (1822-1907)
was the Director of Public Instruction in Madras, where he was instrumental in founding/incorporating Madras University.
Raja Rammohun Roy (1772-1833)
often called the ‘Father of the Indian Renaissance’ is known for his far reaching social, educational and religious reforms.
Sivanath Sastri
(1848-1919)
was a writer, scholar and social reformer, who was in the forefront of many significant reforms of the time.
Mary Carpenter
(1807-1877)
was an English educationist, social reformer and abolitionist, who worked for women’s education and upliftment.
Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858-1937)
was a polymath, best remembered as a scientist with a special interest in plant physiology and radio microwave research, which he demonstrated before Marconi.
Satyendranath Tagore (1842-1923)
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was a writer and social reformer and the first Indian to be inducted into the Indian Civil Service in 1864.
Jnadanandini Debi (1850-1941)
was Satyendranath’s child bride, who soon transformed into a social reformer in her own right.
Surendranath Banerjee (1848-1925)
was a politician and civil servant, who co founded the Indian Association and was known as ‘Rashtraguru’.
Henry Beveridge
(1837-1929)
served extensively in nearly every corner of erstwhile Bengal from 1857 to 1893, first as civil servant, then as judge.
Revd Krishna Mohan Bannerjee (1813-1885)
was a thinker, professor and a prominent member of Derozio’s Young Bengal group, who converted to Christianity under the influence of Alexander Duff.
Monomohini Wheeler
was Revd Bannerjee’s daughter and was one of the first women to be appointed in a government.
Radharani Lahiri
was the niece of prominent Brahmo reformer and educationist Ramtanu Lahiri.
Umesh Chunder Dutt (1840-1907)
was an educationist and social reformer who founded the Bamabodhini Sabha in 1863.
Ramkumar Bhattacharya known as ‘Vidyaratna’ (1836-1901)
was a Brahmo missionary, later turned wandering mendicant.
I love how even subtle stereotypes are smashed in this beautiful story - the mother is shown having a career, a daughter-in-law is shown supporting her mother-in-law's secret desire and even encouraging it in many aspects and so many more.
-- Namrata Sadhvani
Unbelievable that this is a debut book by the author. The bond between Nini and her Minima has been portrayed so well. The book drives home the message beautifully that there is no age limit for learning and grandparents, for that matter everyone, have a life of their own.
-- Roopa Baliga
Yet another story of courage and taking ownership of oneself in the larger setting to assert one's desire, My Grandmother's Masterpiece, like Ritu Weds Chandni, also deals with a sensitive issue without watering anything down to suit the needs of children.
-- Saurabh Sharma
