Merf. Thinking is Hard.

Jha can has random thoughtz about tapirs, kitties, comics, pretty people, social justice, things in general.

vintagesareeblouse:

Some years ago, when I was in Bombay, I used to go to school. When people saw me going with my books in my hands, they had the goodness to put their heads out of the window just to have a look at me. Some stopped their carriages for the purpose, others walking in the street stood laughing, and crying out, so that I could hear:
“What is this? Who is this lady who is going to school with boots and stockings on?”(p85)
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In her own country, she had worn a “divided” saree. The shawl passing between the legs produced the effect of Turkish trousers. As this would not have been suitable for our climate an ancient form of the Mahratta dress was found, which could be worn over warm underclothing. As soon she left Calcutta, Anandibai assumed a “union suit” of cotton, then a skirt of flannel, one or two white skirts and a dress made with a plain round waist, coat sleeves, and full skirt. This latter article was for protection; the waist of it took the place of a queer little jacket which covered the chest, and sustained the breasts, in her native country. Her saree, which draped her entire figure, covered the skirt (pg 102).
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She insists on wearing her native dress, and although she wore three necklaces, three pairs of earrings, her nose-ring as a brooch, six pairs of bangles, and a saree of crimson and gold at the reception held for her by Dr. Bodley, she was so plainly dressed tonight that she would have attracted no attention in the street, provided she had worn a bonnet (p115).

The first clutch of women doctors in India - Kadambini Ganguly, Bidhumukhi Bose, Dora Chatterjee - were often from the more liberal Brahmo or Christian families of the 19th century. Anandibai Joshi however came from an orthodox Hindu milieu and among the very many prejudices and difficulties she faced, a minor one was what she would wear when abroad. Eventually she wore a kind of “nivi” saree though Healey Dall in “The Life of Anandabai Joshee: a kinsowman of the Pundita Ramabai” indicates that she was accustomed to the nine-yard divided saree in India. Her biography details the many odds she overcame to become a doctor before dying tragically young.
The sari seems to be a woollen one (the book states that she wore saris of camel hair embroidered with gold thread). And as the excerpt indicates, Anandibai was quite adept at improvisations like new uses for her nose-ring.

Some years ago, when I was in Bombay, I used to go to school. When people saw me going with my books in my hands, they had the goodness to put their heads out of the window just to have a look at me. Some stopped their carriages for the purpose, others walking in the street stood laughing, and crying out, so that I could hear:

“What is this? Who is this lady who is going to school with boots and stockings on?”(p85)

_*_

In her own country, she had worn a “divided” saree. The shawl passing between the legs produced the effect of Turkish trousers. As this would not have been suitable for our climate an ancient form of the Mahratta dress was found, which could be worn over warm underclothing. As soon she left Calcutta, Anandibai assumed a “union suit” of cotton, then a skirt of flannel, one or two white skirts and a dress made with a plain round waist, coat sleeves, and full skirt. This latter article was for protection; the waist of it took the place of a queer little jacket which covered the chest, and sustained the breasts, in her native country. Her saree, which draped her entire figure, covered the skirt (pg 102).

_*_

She insists on wearing her native dress, and although she wore three necklaces, three pairs of earrings, her nose-ring as a brooch, six pairs of bangles, and a saree of crimson and gold at the reception held for her by Dr. Bodley, she was so plainly dressed tonight that she would have attracted no attention in the street, provided she had worn a bonnet (p115).

The first clutch of women doctors in India - Kadambini Ganguly, Bidhumukhi Bose, Dora Chatterjee - were often from the more liberal Brahmo or Christian families of the 19th century. Anandibai Joshi however came from an orthodox Hindu milieu and among the very many prejudices and difficulties she faced, a minor one was what she would wear when abroad. Eventually she wore a kind of “nivi” saree though Healey Dall in “The Life of Anandabai Joshee: a kinsowman of the Pundita Ramabai” indicates that she was accustomed to the nine-yard divided saree in India. Her biography details the many odds she overcame to become a doctor before dying tragically young.

The sari seems to be a woollen one (the book states that she wore saris of camel hair embroidered with gold thread). And as the excerpt indicates, Anandibai was quite adept at improvisations like new uses for her nose-ring.