Feminist Vision Or 'Treason Against Men'?: Kashibai Kanitkar and the Engendering of Marathi Literature 8178242168, 9788178242163

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Feminist Vision or 'Treason Against Men'?

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Feminist Vision or en'? Kashibai Kanitkar and the Engendering of Marathi Literature

Translated and edited by MEERA KOSAMBI

Published by PERMANENT BLACK

'Himalayana', Mall Road, Ranikhct Cantt, Ranikhct 263645 [email protected]

Distributed by ORIENT LONGMAN PRIVATE LTD

Bangalore Bhopal Bhubancshwar Chandigarh Chcnnai Ernakulam Guwahati Hyderabad Jaipur Kolkata Lucknow Mumbai New Delhi Patna www.oricndongman.com Copyright © 2008

MEERA KOSAMBI

ISBN 81-7824-216-8

Typeset in Agaramond by Guru Typograph Technology, Dwarka, New Delhi 110075 Printed and bound by Pauls Press, New Delhi 110020

For my friends

pAREEN,

ABAN AND ANAHITA

women of three generations who have given me warm, unstinting support and encouragement over the years

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Contents

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Preface and Aclmowledgnnmts

1X

1

Introduction The Backdrop Kashibai's Life Kashibai's Literary Trajectory The Two Novels Nationalism and Feminism Kashibai's Literary Legacy 1 My Education (undated)

5 11 18 22 36 39 I

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2 Extracts from The Lift ofthe late Dr Mrs Anandibai ]oshee

Oune 1889)

58

3 Review of Pandita Ramabai's The Peoples ofthe Uni~d Stlltes (December 1889)

67

4 Rllngarao (1887-1903; abridged translation)

83

5 The Progress of Women's Education under Imperial Rule (1911)

221

6 The Palanquin Tassel (1889-1928; abridged translation)

235 335

Preface and Acknowledgements

hen I first encountered Kashibai's phrase 'treason against men' (purusha-droha), I was stunned. She had coined it in 1889, as a parallel to 'treason' in the usual sense of betrayal ofone's sovereign (raja-droha). The Sanskrit terms droha and vidroha have been commonly used in Marathi, the former in the sense of a severe opposition, challenge, or betrayal, and the latter to indicate strong protest or rebellion-the Dalit literature that emerged in the 1960s has usually been described as vidrohi, for example. But to capture the sense ofwomen's domestic colonization in such a compact and powerful phrase showed an insight into the patriarchal family structure that I had not expected from a woman writer of the late nineteenth century, and one who had, moreover, been generally obscured. (But then neither had I expected the feminist militancy of The High-Caste Hindu m,,nan [1887] by Kashibai's illustrious contemporary, Pandita Ramabai, who was also little more than a name in Maharashtra and elsewhere when I started writing about her in the late 1980s.) Even more star,gering was the discovery that Kashibai's Pallthicha Gonda, or The Pala111Juin Tassel (included in translation in this volume), was actually an attempt at formulating a utopia-the first of its kind in Marathi literature a genre which has not been welcome in that arena. Maharashtra's feminist literary inheritance was apparently stronger than I had imagined and was crying out to be heard. When I shared a draft of my essay 'Feminist Utopian Visions: Kashibai Kanitkar's Creative Writing' (later published in my Crossing Thresholds: Feminist Essays in Social History, Delhi: Permanent Black, 2007) with my Australian friends Margaret Allen, Susan Magarey, and Sue Sheridan, they showed great interest in Kashibai's utopia-an early-twentieth-century Marathi feminist utopia that I had 'up my sleeve'. That it was only a partial utopia did not diminish its attraction.

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Preface and Aclmowkdgemmts

This tempted me to translate it into English, to share it with my nonMarathi-speaking friends-and other interested readers as part of my proud but neglected feminist literary heritage. The translation went fast and was completed within a month during which I had an unusual amount of free time. But it would have made at best a slim book, especially after omitting the novel's repetitive, redundant, and digressive chapters. This then suggested the idea of translating Kashibai's other novel, Rangarao. That project dragged on for a year on account of more urgent work, travels within and outside India, and moving house. It was finally completed recently, only because a translation can be done piecemeal and does not require long spells of concentrated work. By the time Rangarao was finished I had formed the idea of a book that presented a comprehensive picture of Kashibai's life and writings. Thus I also added in translation some extracts from Kashibai's biography of Dr Anandibai Joshee India's first woman doctor; two of her pieces in Marathi periodicals; and a chapter from her autobiography (with permission from the late Sarojini Vaidya, who had edited it for publication). Suddenly the present book had practically written itself; I seemed to have completed it without really being aware of it. (I am tempted to use that muchmaligned phrase, 'in a fit of absentmindcdness', except that it was a very conscious decision.) The Introduction still remained to be written, of course. But the problem was partly solved when I decided to use some of the material from 'Feminist Utopian Visions' and obtained willing permission from Permanent Black to do so. Additional inputs came from a paper I wrote on Kashibai as representing the literature of gendered subalterns for the international seminar 'Literary View from Below: Fakir Mohan Senapati's Six Acres and a Third', organized in Delhi in January 2007 by Manoranjan Mohanty and others. In addition to being a stimulating exchange of ideas and information with scholars based in India and abroad, the seminar gave me an opportunity to place in perspective the evolution of the Marathi novel. While writing this paper I realized that Scnapati's highly acclaimed novel, described as 'a foundational text in Indian literary history', was published in 1902, just a year before the publication of Kashibai's much interrupted first novel R.angarao (started in 1886). I do not know when women

Preface and Aclmowledgemmts

•

X1

writers in Orissa stancd publishing, but a comparative study of women's fiction in various Indian regions should make a fascinating • pro,-cc~t. Several friends and colleagues have helped my research on Kashibai. During my visit to the USA in 2004, Anne Fddhaus (Arizona State University), Nancy Falk (UniversityofWestern Michigan), Brett de Bary (Cornell University), and Indrani Chatter:ji and Sumit Guba (Rutgers University), among others, invited me to deliver lectures at their universities and offered me library facilities. I was also able to consult the Barr Smith Library of the University ofAdelaide, and the library of Stockholm University. Thus a great deal of the relevant literature, especially on woman-authored utopias in the West, became available. Closer home I consulted the resources of the following institutions: in Mumbai, the Documentation Centre ofthe Research Centre for Women's Studies at SNOT Women's University, and Mumbai Marathi Grantha-sangrahalaya; and in Pune, Shasakiya Granthalaya {Ytshrambag-wada), Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad, as well as the libraries of the Kcsari-Mahratta Trusts and the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. Sarojinibai Vaidya-who made a tremendous contribution by rettieving Kashibai's episodic autobiography from her family papers, and publishing it together with her own supplementary biography of Kashibai-was a great help in providing frequent and rich discussions, information, and photographs. S.R. Chunekar assisted with useful rcfcrenccs to and materials on Marathi literature. Sujalarai Nitsurc took an active interest in my work on K.ashibai and introduced me to some of Kashibai's dcscendants-Devadatta Vaman Kanitkar (Kashibai's grandson), Nandinitai Gadgil (Kashibai's great-granddaughter, and incidentally also Justice K.T. Telang's grcat-granddaugher), and Shantabai Shintre (Kashibai's brother-in-law's granddaughter),-who gladly shared some memories and family lore with me. Ram Bapat made helpful comments on 'Feminist Utopian Visions' which were also useful here. Parccn Lalkaka, Aban Mukherji, and Zia Karim, my old and close friends in Mumbai and Pune, sat willingly through readings of my translations and offered useful stylistic suggestions; Aban also helped to track down some references. The idea of this book received a gratifying response from publishers and Rukun Advani of

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Xll

Preface and Aclmowledgemmts

Permanent Black was the first to commit himself to its publication. I am grateful to all these individuals and institutions for their help. In the texts and the Introduction I have transliterated long Marathi words or book titles and broken them up into hyphenated words in order to make them comprehensible; I have also provided translations of these. Place names currently in use in Maharashtra are retained throughout (e.g. Mumbai instead of Bombay, Pune instead of Poona). A note on the translations: The short pieces have been translated without deletions or omissions. The two novels have, however, been abridged-in the interest partly ofsaving space, but more to enhance readability-by dropping some digressive and repetitive chapters and paragraphs which are not strictly relevant to the storyline or the argument. The Palanquin Tassel has been reduced to about halfits original length and Rangarao to less than ba1£ The chapter rubrics have been retained, except where material from two chapters had to be compressed • • • • into one, nccess1tat1ng new capuons. Finally, the.index: I have included the two novels while indexing, treating them as social documents. Marathi has changed enormously since the late nineteenth century, when Kashibai wrote her novels (although The Palanquin Tassel was published much later, in 1928), reflecting the degree ofsocial change. Many of the words she uses-for household and ritual articles or pieces ofjewellery-no longer exist in our vocabulary and are absent even from the writings ofwomen authors ofthe literary generation following hers, i.e. from about 1930. In all the translations, especially the short pieces, I have sought to achieve a perhaps too ambitious blend-of readability for the contemporary reader alongside a flavour of what was once Maharashtrian and Marathi. We, especially the educated women of Maharashtra, owe a heavy debt to Kashibai and other active, articulate, home-educated women ofher generation who paved the way for us to dream, like her, ofgender equality. I hope too that Kashibai would have been made happy by the shape of this new interest in her writings.

Pune December 2007

MEERA KosAMBI

Introduction

Kashibai Kanitkar (1861 - 1948). (Photo courtesy Dr Sarojini Vaidya.)

2

Feminist Vision or 'Treason Against Men?

ne fine morning in early May 1881 Kashibai Kanitkar saw her first words in print. She was all of twenty at the time and already a mother of two, besides being burdened with the domestic c;luties of an old-fashioned, extended family. Her Marathi essay, 'Women: Past and Present', had just appeared in Subodha Patrika, the organ of the Prarthana Samaj. 1 At her reformer-husband's behest, Kashibai had been clandestinely attending the Samaj's Sunday afternoon meetings where women were encouraged to speak and write on topics ofcurrent interest; and, quite unknown to her, this essay had been selected for publication. Given the rarity of women's published texts at a time of negligible female literacy, this creation of a new literary space should have been an occasion for jubilation. But it was an instant disaster. With a sinking heart Kashibai anticipated the retribution that was, indeed, swiftly meted out to her by the women in her family, livid at having to harbour an educated woman in their illiterate midst. Like the wives of other young reformers, Kashibai became a 'site' where social reform struggles were waged; and the backlash against her, chiefly in the form of a boycott, was severe enough to drive her to repeated thoughts of suicide. 2 Women's education could thus literally be a matter of life and death in late-nineteenth-century Maharashtra. On the other hand, it also gave life a new meaning by enabling some women's entry into a world of knowledge and intellectual enrichment. Naturally, then, women's education and ultimate emancipation formed the meridian along which were plotted all of Kashibai's writings. The Kanitkar family's opposition to women's education was not limited to its older women. One of the most outspoken champions of the social conservatives in Maharashtra was Kashibai's uncle-in-law, Narayan Bapuji Kanitkar, who shortly thereafter authored the popular parody Taruni-shikshana-natika (A Short Play about Young Women's Education, 1886).3 Citing with approval short passages from the B.G. 1ilak group's &sari and Tht Mahratta, N.B. Kanitkar sketched in his preface a breathlessly long list of the ominous effects of women's education-and ultimate emancipation, or 'freedom': Society can be said to be thoroughly ruined when [women] start wearing glasses for short sight caused by studies, when their cheekbones begin to protrude, when they become weak and their

Introduction

3

progeny short-lived, when.their religious restrictions arc loosened, when they deride the ~du religion and harbour a wish to accept an alien religion or become atheists, when their pure and simple Maharashtrian speech becomes adulterated with a mixture of English words, when they get access to vulgar books like Reynold and Boccacio which turn their naturally tender minds wayward, when they develop contempt for Hindu customs and caste practices and feel like imitating the foreigners, customs and manners in their entirety, when they drink alcohol to their hearts' content along with men and devdop a ~tc for forbidden foods, when they desire to indulge in English ballroom dancing, when they start to insult their parents-in-law, husbands and other kith and kin at every step, when they begin to like love marriages, when they enter courts of law to break the~. marriage bonds because their husbands are stupid, igno~t, illiterate, poor, and therefore unlovable, when they abandon their homes to act on the stage, when they begin to·believe that love is blind and the path·of elopement swcct! 4 Caught as she was between her reformcr-husband,s insistence on her being educated-at home and mostly through her own effortsand strong opposition from the rest of her _extended family, Kashibai was compelled to walk a tightrope for many years, as she describes in her characteristic, balanced prose in 'My Education' (~dated; included in this volume), with no rancour or resentment. Continuing with the same theme, she says in her overview, 'The Progress ofWomen's Education' (1911; also included in this volume): 'If anybody said that such-and~such a woman can read, they considered it a very shameful and dishonourable thing. If a girl took up a piece of paper and wrote the Marathi alphabet, it was regarded as very offensive, and the poor thing was certainly not spared a suitable "reward". It is not as if the present writer is describing hear-say; she has had many such experiences hersclfl' Kashibai's most anguished words of experience, evocative of her struggles, had burst forth years earlier in her review ( 1889; included in this volume) ofPandita Ramabai's The Peopks ofthe UnitedStates: 'If a woman picks up a paper, our elders feel offended, as though she has committed a very shameful.deed.... If a woman's name app~ in a newspaper, if her essay is published . . . she is certain to be slapped with the gigantic charge of having tarnished the family,s honour!' 5 In

4

Feminist Vision or 'T~ason Against Mm?

fact, this was the only time her effort to maintain calm had snappedthe only time she had 'othercd' men, sq11arely contested patriarchal control, and openly chafed at the constraints placed on women's literary activity and the stigma attached even to their basic literacy. Pandita Ramabai's book valori'ZCS American women's educational and other achievements, which Kashibai candidly acknowledges as a source of natural envy among Indian women: 'It would be hardly surprising if every one ofour countrywomen who reads this book mutters dejectedly that such a golden day will never dawn for us. However, we will have to swallow these words hastily before they reach anyone's cars for fear of committing "treason against men", just as our men are afraid of committing treason when they discuss the [British] Government.' In this newly-coined phrase, 'treason against men', Kashibai neatly and presciently captures the trope of women's domestic colonization that gained currency in feminist circles a century later. Her writings thus become expressions of upper-c.ast:e women's subaltern consciousness, ofbcing subjected to the most coercive patriarchal norms and practices. Notwithstanding her indictment of the patriarchal marriage and family institutions, Kashibai continues to subscribe in her novels to another and opposing trope-that of the devoted wife perhaps as the inevitable consequence of internalized notions of gender construction. A keen awareness ofwomen's marital oppression thus sits uneasily with her concept of a 'modern pativrata '. Contributing to this conflicted feminism is the appreciation of education as one of the 'benefits' of 'domestic colonization'. Kashibai's acknowledgeme~t of her heavy debt to her husband for the 'gift' of education may sound exaggerated and obsequious to us today. But it was education that had offset domestic drudgery and, to use the words of the liberal reformer R. G. Bhandarkar, opened a 'window in the prison-house' of the family and social systems.6 It had moreover enabled her partial escape from the 'prison-house', through creative writing, to reach out into the sphere of social reform. This Introduction attempts to unravel at least part ofthe complexity that pervades the writings of this pioneering woman writer who sculpted a new paradigm in Marathi literature who in fact engendered Marathi literature.

Introduction

5

The Backdrop Although far ahead ofher rimes in some ways, Kashibai was embedded in the prevailing literary ethos. Her writings, in common with those ofher male contemporaries, arc suffused with a Brahmin ambicncercftccting the longstanding Brahmin hegemony in Maharashtra. The Brahmin Pcshwas of Punc were technically the prime ministers of the Chhattapatis of Satara, but acned de facto power dynastically from about 1720 to 1817, and headed the powerful Maratha Confederacy. Their rit11ally superior status was further reinforced by political-military and economic dominance. Even after the last Pcshwa was defeated and exiled by the English East India Company in 1818, the pre-eminence of Brahmins in learning and literature, and their socio-cultural leadership, continued almost until the mid-twentieth century.. Kashibai's life (1861-1948) straddled the most eventful period in Maharashtra's modem social and political history. She was born when Pcshwa rule was still a living memory; in fact her paternal grandfather wodced for the last Pcshwa, and then for the British. Kashibai died in Pune in independent India, on 30 January 1948, at five in the evening-almost exactly the rime that Mahatma Gandhi was as'iassinatcd .m Delhi.7 The formative period ofKashibai's life, the late nineteenth century, was a time ofsocial and religious ferment. Social reform had developed along two clearly separate axcs----the movement against caste inequality was led by 'Mahatma' Jotirao Phule (the only low-cast:e social reformer ofthe time), while measures to redress gender injustice preoccupied Brahmin leaders from 'Lokahitavadi' Gopal Hari Deshmukh to Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, Dr R.G. Bhandarkar, 'Lokamanya Bal Gaogadhar Ttlak, Principal Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, and others. (In fact, the Brahmin focus on gender issues hardly ever wavered, although Phule broadened his own scope to include gender questions.) This preoccupation stemmed from the fact that Brahmin women were the site for the enactment of the narrow, patriarchal norms that constructed women solely as wives and mothers. The result was their subjection to strict and coercive marriage-related customs, such as mandatory pre-pubertal marriage and immediate post-pubertal consummation

6

Feminist Vision or 'Treason Against Men?

of marriage; early and repeated pregnancies; and the marginalization of widows (through a ritual shaving of their heads and an austere lifestyle) for having outlived their utility. Brahmin women were also denied an education, and even literacy-despite Brahmins being the traditional literati-to underscore their inferior status and to avert the freedom of communication it would bestow upon them. Thus the gender-related issues for social reform were women's education, the abolition of child marriage, postponement of the age of consent, and the reinstatement of widows as 11seful members in family and society. The first (male) mobilization for all-sided social reform had occurred in a small way in 1848 through the clandestine and relatively shonlived Paramahansa Sabha of Mumbai, and was followed by the Prarthana Samaj (1867) as well as Phule's Satyashodhak Samaj (1873). 8 The passage of the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856, allowing the legal option of remarriage to upper-caste widows who were debarred by religious custom from remarrying-resulted in a few sporadic and much opposed widow remarriages, and in 1865 in the establishment of the Punarvivahottejak Mandali, a society for the promotion of widow remarriage. Associated with this society were many eminent reformers, including 'Lokahitavadi' Deshmukh, M.G. Ranade, Vtshnushastti Pandit, K. T. Telang, B.M. Wagle, and N .M. Paramanand.9 Schools were opened for low-caste girls by Phule in about 1850, and privately run schools for upper-caste girlsi-to supplement missionary and government schools-soon followed suit. The late l 880s resounded with the 'age of consent' controversy, around a bill which sought to set the age limit of 12 years (instead of the existing 10 years) for cohabitation with girls within or outside marriage; and which made cohabitation with a girl below this age, with or without her consent, an offence of rapc. 10 Despite this preoccupation with gender issues, when Brahmin reformers aimed to 'uplift' women they did so by constructing them soldy as passive victims of coercive customs. Thus they discouraged, or even opposed, women's panicipation in the reform effort. When Pandita Ramabai established her Arya Mahila Samaj in 1882 (on the rudimentary foundations ofthe women's Sunday meetings at the Prarthana Samaj, which Kashibai describes in 'My Education') to mobilize women for the reforms that would impact their lives most deeply,

lntroducti.on

7

Kesari warned her in no uncertain terms that social reform was the province ofmen. Women should continue to remain mute and passive spectators and beneficiaries of reform, 'In reality, it is the task ·o f men to eradicate the evil customs in our society. Women will not be able to interfere in it for many years to come, no matter if they are great Panditas and have reached the ultimate stage of reform. Our women will have to submit to male control for a long time to come.' 11 Kashibai was closely associated with the social reform movement, first through Pandita Ramabai's Arya Mahila Samaj, and later through her Sharada Sadan, a residential school for women, mainly widows. In fact, 'Mrs Kashibai, wife of Rao Saheb Govind Vasudev Kanitkar', was invited to preside at the opening of the Sharada Sadan in Mumbai in March 1889, reported Indu-Prakash, adding that 'This was the first ocas~on when a Native woman presided over such an important event.' 12 In 1891 Kashibai was involved in the Arya Mahila Samaj's signature campaign in support of the Age of Consent Bill. 13 She had also felt strongly enough about the issue of premature cohabitation to touch upon it in her biography of Anandibai Joshee (1889). 14 As a public gesture of their reformist orientation, Kashibai and Govindrao participated in a widow remarriage (and, in fact, gave away the bride) in the early 1880s, against the express wishes of both their natal families. The orthodox faction within the Kanitkar family would usually retaliate at these ~rebels' whenever possible. In support of the Age of Consent Bill, the younger Kanitlcars had signed a resolution not to give or receive a bride below 12 years of age. But their son's marriage was arranged in 1896 by Govi11clrao's uncle, then the head of the family, who according to convention deliberately chose a very young girl. The younger Kanitkars were unable to prevent the match and were shamed in reformist circles. 15 (Significantly, Kashibai's oldest daughter was married the same year at the age of 13.1 6) Many ofthese reform issues found their way into Kashibai's creative writing. In &lngarao she deals with the theme of postponing the age at marriage for girls, as wdl as with educating them. In Pallthicha Gonlkl (henceforth The Palanquin Tassel, 1928) she again promotes education for women especially oppressed or deserted wivcs--with the wider objective of ensuring their economic self-reliance. 17 The problem ofrehabilitating this neglected segn1ent-rather than widows,

8

Feminist Vision or 'Treason Against Mm?

who attracted a more instinctive sympathy--occupies centrestage. As will be seen, Pandita Ramabai's influence can be detected as an invisible presence here.

If the social reform movement refused to accommodate women, the political reform movement contested women's entry even more strongly, as Kashibai herself discovered. The establishment of the Indian National Congress in 1885 was followed by a split among reformers. One group, that of 'political reformers' (or 'anti-reformers' bca11sc of their opposition to social reform), prioritized political reform over-and often to the exclusion of-social reform, demanded political rights militantly, and was known as Ttlak's faction of Extremists. The other group, 'social reformers', gave equal weight to both, preferred cooperation with the British rather than conflict, and was identified as the Moderates led by M.G. Ranade. This latter was the faction to which Govindrao belonged. But despite the ideological divergence, male and Brahmin---dominancc characterized both factions. This became apparent when Charles Bradlaugh, a visiting British member of parliament, tried to persuade Indian leaders to induct women into the political movement. Ranade refused to allow his wife to attend the Congress meetings, to be held in Mumbai in December 1889.18 Yet Kashibai did form part ofthe small, four-women ddcgation from the Bombay Presidency, headed by Pandita Ramabai. 19 A few weeks before the event, Kashibai spoke on the subject ofthe forthcoming Congress meetings at a public library in Dahanu (near Maharashtra's current border with Gujarat, where Govindrao was then posted), and was immcdiatdycritiqued by Kesari. The paper supponed any woman 'who livts in the shadow of her husband, and docs not transgrca the boundary of the world that is appropriate for the female community, to offer a few words of advice to others in the light of her own understanding.' But no woman was to emerge from the 'shadow of her husband' into the light and enter the public sphere. 'We think that Mrs Kashibai should not pounce on political topics just yet. It would be mor~ beneficial ifshe speaks a few words about women's education, domestic conditions, the interaction between men and women, etc. '20 It is to Kashibai's credit that she was able to transcend, in both thought

Introduction

9

and deed, these mechanisms ofexclusion from social as well as political reform. In fact she was sanguine about women's political prospects in independent India, and wrote towards the end of her life: 'We have now attained independence, and our generation has already facilitated women's participation in Parliament.... Women will now have a chance to win elections if they contest. How effectively their path has been cleared! Their reach has extended right up to the [Legislative] Council.' 21

The intersection of reform, journalism, and literature developed two broad factions in the late nineteenth century. The liberal line was followed by Lokahitavadi's Marathi weekly Dnyan-Praltash (1849) in Pune; the Anglo-Marathi Jndu-Praltash in Mumbai (1862) with which M.G. Ranade was associated; the Prarthana Samaj's AngloMarathi s,J,odha Patrilta (1873); and the Anglo-Marathi Sudharalt (1888), stancd by G.G. Agarkar after his split from the increasingly anti-social-reform &sari. Social conservatism and militant nationalism were espoused by V.N. Mandlik's Anglo-Marathi Native Opinion (1864); Vishnushastri Chiplunkar's Nibandha-mala (A Series of Essays) in the 1870s; and followed in spirit by B.G. Ttlak's Kesari (Marathi) as well as The Mahratta (English) from 1881. All these papers, mostly weeklies, prided themselves on presenting a specific ideology in addition to reporting news. There were also family-oriented periodicals, such as Vividha fnana Vist4ra--describcd as a 'Monthly Magazine of Marathi Literature for Ladies and Gentlemen'-and the shon-livcd ManoranjananiNibandha-chandrilta produced byGovindrao Kanitkar (to both of which Kashibai contributed the occasional book review or article, or chapters from her serialized first novel). Many social reform themes were thus carried over into the literary sphere. It was in this reformistically charged atmosphere that Kashibai sculpted a literary spac.c for herselfin the mid- l 880s, as its first 'modem' woman writer. In so doing she created the paradigm ofwoman-authored literary articulations of women's experiences that carried greater authenticity than male expressions no matter how empathetic-of

10

Feminist Vision or 'Treason Against Men?

women's experiences. IfPandita Ramabai was the first woman to storm the citadel of male-dominated reform endeavours, Kashibai was her first counterpart in the equally male-dominated sphere of creative writing. Her only female predecessor in fiction writing had been Salubai Tambwekar, the first Marathi woman novelist, whose Chandraprabhaviraha-varnana (An Account of Chandraprabhas Separation Pangs, 1873) was situated within a pre-realism literary paradigm of fantasy, magic, romance, and eroticism, and narrated in an archaic style, with only a few typically feminine touches. 22 Kashibai opted for the novel of realism and social critique that had been launched in 1857 with Baba Padmanji's Yamuna-paryatana (The Wanderings of Yamuna Bai),23 and followed most ably by Hari Narayan Apte from the mid1880s. (It is significant that both Padmanji and Tambwekar, though non-Brahmins themselves, set their novels within the Brahmin community.) That Kashibai started writing her first novd Rangarao in 1884 was perhaps due to the encouragement ofher husband, who privately projected her as the George Eliot of Marathi. But she abandoned her effon, daunted and dejected by the superior quality of H.N. Apte's maiden novel which was being serialized in a Marathi periodical in 1885 (and which is now generally seen as the not-so-successful first effort ofa classic Marathi novelist). 24 Apte himselfthen, _at Govindrao's behest, began to boost her morale through a series ofletters, displaying great empathy for a woman's effon at creative writing: We [men] are required to do nothing other than reading and writing, clay and night; we need harbour no fear or shyness, and need never care, or even dream of wondering, what this or that person might say if he sees us reading. Even so, we are hardy able to put in two consecutive hours a day for study. And you [women] are always breaking your backs cooking and cleaning, and cricking your necks sweeping and mopping; and if you succeed in snatching a few moments to read, how stealthy you are required to be! Who knows what Mother-in-law will say? And what will Brother-in-law and Fatherin-law say? And Sister-in-law? There is fear ofeveryone. Then, every visitor has to be offered hospitality. Do you enjoy even a moment's leisure? Even under such conditions, you have written .a novel.25

Introduction

11

Kashibai had first met Apte when he helped Govindrao in the latter,s Marathi translation of Hamid-, she was occasionally invited to attend their discussions to judge the naturalness of the women characters' dialogues.26 Now, his profuse epistolary encouragement to her literary efforts led to a steady correspondence. He confessed to Govindrao his excitement at receiving 'the first letter written by the first lady novelist and learned woman in our Maharashtra, if not in India ... not only would-be but sure-to-be, [the] George Fliot or Jane Austen of Maharashtra.,27 Conceding later that George Eliot, being a philosopher, was hard to emulate, Apte urged Kashibai to model herselfinstead on Jane Austen, who had made the most ofher limited education and experience by drawing accurate ponraits of middle-class characters, with a touch of humour, in what seemed an appropriately sweet and simple style (which he also detected in Kashibai's writing).28 Kashibai,s later exposure to the world of ideas and to Marathi and English literary classics came chiefly through the numerous disc11ssions the Kanitkars had .with Apte over their almost daily meetings in Pune. When the Kanitkarswerc posted outside Pune, Aptewas their occasional ho••sc-guest. He stayed with them at Nevase for a couple of months; and their regular and frequently nighdong discussions ranged over English writers from Mill, Spencer, Huxley, and Shakespeare to Burke, Carlyle, and Gibbon; the heroes ofMaratha history; and Marathi saint poets. With Kashibai, Apte read Kalidasa'~ Shakuntalam in the Sanskrit original and urged her to learn English (which she mastered enough to read at least some Jane Austen). 29

Kashibai's Life Kashibai's life was itself a narrative of social reform that spanned the intense socio-political transition of the Brahmin community-from a lingering, residual orthodoxy of the Peshwa period to the full aniculation of colonial modernity at India's independence. , Born as Kashi Bapat, she traced her lineage to a sati, an immolated widow whom she mentions with faint admiration in her autobiography. 30This widow's orphaned son was Kashi's paternal grandfather. Her father served as a mamlatdar (officer in charge of government land) during a long career that straddled the stirring uprising of 1857.

12

Feminist Vision or 'Treason Against Mm?

Compelled to shift his residence on account of his transferable job, Kashi's father relinquished the entire family wealth and property to his stepmother, and left his ancestral home along with his two wives and children. The wives were given equal treatment, were on friendly terms, and followed an efficient division oflabour: Kashi's stepmother (whom she referred to as 'elder mother') looked after all the children, while her biological mother managed household affairs. The contented, united, and affluent family moved from place to place throughout Maharashtra and spent many years at the holy town of Pandharpur. The undesirability ofdaughters in the Bapat family, as in most other families, was so obvious that its awareness was etched into the child. ren's earliest memories. (Kashibai's comments on this prejudice, in her biography of Ananclibai Joshec, have an unfortunate resonance today.) Kashibai records that her own birth caused no joy to her family, and their dejection was aggr~vatcd partly by the inauspiciousness of the moment but mainly by the fact that her three·older siblings were also girls. History seemed to have repeated itself, for Kashi's paternal grandmother had been in a state of despair after producing three girls; she feared the family line would end. When she finally gave birth to a son she was so overjoyed that she went into a delirium that ended her life. This son, Kashi's father, was thoroughly spoilt and became overbearing. Kashibai later remarked: 'in my childhood, girls were universally despised, much more than they are today' (in the early twentieth ccntury).31 Her father shared this attitude, as did the two Brahmins living under the family's patronage. All three gave vent to uncontrollable rage at news of a daughter born to any family of their • acqua•ntancc. The gender code was not easy to instil in tomboyish Kashi's mind. Her closest friend and playmate was a stepbrother her own age. His early death left her bereft because she had no interest in her sisters' games, preferring ball games, horse-riding, and boys' activities in general. But the painful process of gender socialization was inevitable. Every girl's mind had to be imbued with a sense of her own inferiority and of gender role differences in order to compel her to accept her subordinate status vis-a-vis her brothers and prepare her for her future role as wife, housewife, and mother. Although Kashi's father had suggested sending her to the neighbowhood school along with her brothers,

..

Introduction

13

'both her mothers' who were literate and semi-educated themselves, were adamant in their rcfi1sal. To Kashibai's deep and lasting regret, her father did not exert his usual authority in this matter. However, she managed to learn most of the alphabet through teacher-pupil games with her younger brothers. Kashi's older sisters had been married at the ages ofseven, eight, and five, rcspcctivdy. Her own marriage was arranged at the 'late' age of nine, when everybody in the family was reduced to a state of r,car despair and was openly disc11s.cing the 'problem' in unflattering terms. Kashi's husband, the 16-ycar-old Govindrao Kanitkar, had a similar f.amily background, including service to the Peshwas and a sati in the &mily. He was at the time firmly launched on a bright educational career that later earned him a B.A from Mumbai's famous Elphinstone College in 1877, an Ll.B. from Bombay University in 1880, and awards for his writings. In 1882 he joined government service as a temporary sub-judge and rose in his cirt!Cr, through several transfers, until 1909 when he took premature retirement in protest against having been denied the post ofa First Class Judge to which he claimed a moral right.

Kashi started her married life in 1870 as Mrs Satyabhama Kanitkar, her first name also having been changed during the wedding ceremony according to the (still prevalent) Maharashtrian custom, although she continued to be known by her maiden personal name. It was not a happy swt. The match had been arranged by the 'patriarch' of the family-Govindrao's autocratic grandfather-in the time-honoured manner, but was disliked by the other family members because of Kashi's darkskinned plain looks. The handsome and fairskinned Govindrao harboured an additional resentment against his illiterate bride, having harboured Western romantic ideas and secret dreams of a beautiful and educated companion. In later years Govindrao openly recounted to his &iends his frustration at this match, in unflattering terms:

My grandfather was irascibility personified! ... His very name would make us tremble.... This gentleman arranged my marriage.

14

Feminist Vision or 'Treason Against Men'? ,

I had no idea whether the girl was dark or fairskinned, tall or shon, fat or slim, sensible or foolish, pretty or ugly. The marriage was fixed; the date for the wedding was set. I knew nothing about the girl with whom I was to spend the rest of my life; of course, there was no question at all of seeing her. I was very angry; I fretted and fumed, silently cursed the old man, and felt like running away! But to no avail! I had to quietly submit to the old man's wishes. When the final verses of the wedding ceremony were being chanted, I prayed to God to save me from the calamity. But perhaps even God was afraid of the old man! He did not save me. That was that. The auspicious moment arrived, the chanting ofthe verses was completed, rice confetti was showered on us, there was clapping [to indicate completion of the wedding ceremony], the cloth that was held_ between the two of us was removed-and so was my uncenainty! This iguana fell upon my neck [i.e. fell to my lot]~ and my garland fell around her neck! I will never forget the occasion.32 Mortified at her husband's initial rejection, Kashibai overheard his remark to a friend that he could share his life only with an educated wife and she therefore started learning to read and write in a clandestine fashion. 33 Initially, her brother helped her with books and lessons when she visited her parents, though even here a Brahmin living under the family's patronage would fly into a rage at the sight of her reading a book and would hit her hard on the head. 34 In her marital home, her method of doing her lessons was to hide her textbook under a wooden board (it had very short legs, was placed on the floor, and was used as a seat at mealtimes) upon which rice and lentils were cleaned, and memorize the text while doing the work. If there were family members about, she would lock herself in the pantry for greater security so that she could turn the pages and read some more. Someone or the other would often peep through a gap in the door, and expose and taunt her in front of the others-as she describes in 'My Education'. Sometimes her husband thawed and gave her Marathi and English lessons. But his method of teaching was not always helpful. While reading an English book he would ask her to read out a pas.~ge he himselfhad enjoyed. Often she was unable to decipher it, which made him

Introduction

15

lose his temper, snatch back the book, and swear that 'a stone was incapable of understanding anything.' Ignorant of the rules of spelling, she would attempt to write an English pas§agr.; but its poor quality would anger him so much that he would tear up the notebook, throw it away, and stomp out of the room. 35 Her Marathi studies, however, progr~d well and ultimately led her into creative writing. That Govinclrao then claimed credit for having educated her should cause no surprise: ~ the education she can boast of has been impaned by me in various ways. And I think I may take credit for that. She, never in her life, attended a school. All the schooling she has had is homeschooling and my society. ' 36 Kashibai's dilemma was shared by most reformers' wives-in Maharashtra and elsewhere-caught as they were between their husbands' expectations that they should be educated and attend public functions, and their families' insistence that they should respect convention, remain illiterate, and be confined to the home. 37 Govindrao wanted Kashibai to attend women's gatherings at the Prarthana Samaj (though they were not members), held every Sunday afternoon. But no woman could step out of the house without permission from the elders in the family who were, in this case, entirely opposed to the idea. Sneaking out ofthe house while they were resting was one hurdle, smuggling out her shawl and traditional-style shoes-both essential items of her outdoor apparel-was another. These items had to be hidden carefully in the folds of the sari while going out, and, upon return, thrown into the horse stables adjoining the street to be recovered later at ap. opportune time, as Kashibai describes it in 'My Education. ' 38 But despite these precautions Kashibai had the misfortune of being exposed when her essay was published in Subodha Patrilur. the 'severe crime' was punish. . eel by the older women in the family. They forced her to do all the difficult and laborious tasks in the house and would not talk to her for days on end. Her unhappiness was so intense that, as remarked earlier, she repeatedly contemplated suicide during this period. Modem ideas espoused by young men often fuelled a similar clash oficlcas in other families. Kashibai records the conflict revolving around Apte's expectation of companionship from his wife, and his family me1nbcrs' opposition to this seemingly revolutionary idea. In the

16

Feminist Vuion or 'Treason Against Mm?

process, 'the daughter-in-law would receive slaps from both sides, like a drum.'39 But outside the orbit of the extended family the Kanitlcars achieved these Western ideals of companionate marriage and nuclear family life, flouting social pressures prohibiting men and women from interacting in daytime activities. This rare and impressive companionship, overtly intellectual and romantic in private, 40 was a dream come true for Apte who commemorated it-with changed names,___in his novel Ganpamzo. 41 Apte had been a frequent wim~ to this companionship and nuclear family living. At Nevase, Kashibai and Govindrao often went horse-riding in the mornings after the children had gone to school; on school holidays the children also went along. They would all go to the riverside temple, and the children would sing to the accompaniment of the violin that had been carried along. As Aptc could not ride, the family walked to the river during his long visit. 42 The general public was sca,,daliir,d by such outlandish behaviour. Kashibai records an interesting experience on her very first clay at Dahanu, where her husband had been transferred. The couple and their two children started out in the dim:tion ofthe sea and inadvertently disrupted a wedding feast beause all the hundred-odd guests at the feast rushed out to watch the spectacle of an entire family walking together. The sensational character of these family walks lasted almost six months, during which shopkeepers would routindy leave their customers and hasten outside to gape.43 Significantly, it was Govindrao's transferable job and the resultant nuclear family living that enabled Kashibai's creative writing by providing her the req11isitc f,cc:dom and leisure. This would not have been possible in an extended family.44

. -◄

,

Ultimatdy, Kashibai's educational efforts were crowned with success in ample 111cas1JtC and resulted in an intdlcct,,al companionship with her husband. This was unheard ofin Maharashtra. V1Sitors, especially writers, have testified to the fact that Govindrao would invite Kashibai to join their discussions in the drawing room,45 and the fraternal

Introduction

17

relationship that soon devdoped between Apte and Kashibai became legendary. The Kanitkars came into contact with all the leading personalities of the time, including Dr R.G. Bhandarkar, Justice M.G. Ranade, B.G. Ttlak, Justice K.T. Tdang, Justice N.G. Chandavarkar, and even Swami Vivckananda of Bengal. Govindrao was a friend of the Parsi social reformer B.M. Malabari and temporarily edited the latter's Indian SpeetlltOr. Hewasalsowcllacq11aintcdwith~bari'srcformerassociate Dayaram Gidumal. In her own right, Kashibai was in frequent personal contact with Ramabai Ranade, Pandita Ramabai, and (the future Dr) Rakhmabai. She was actively associated with Pandita Ramabai's Arya Mahila Samaj and Sharada Sada", and later with Ramabai Ranadc's Seva Sadan (1909), having served as its vice--president until 1920. As authors, the two Kanitkars were prolific. In 1884 Kashibai start-ed writing R4nga1¥l0, but completed it only in 1903, after a long hiatus. In 1889 she published her biography of Anandibai Joshce. It was fol~ lowed several years later by a collection of previously published shon stories (1921) and her much--interrupted second novd, The Palanquin Tassel (written mostly in 1897, but published in its entirety in 1928). During the same period Govindrao published his Marathi translations ofJ.S. Mill's On the Subjection ofWomm, Spencer's &lucation, Shakcspc:are's H11mlet, and Tagore's Gitanjali; and also wrote romantic poetry. Following their association with the PrarthanaSamaj, the Karutkars came under the influence offhcosophy. Strangely, Govindrao did not join the Theosophical Society but made Kashibai a member. She translated into Marathi J. Krishnamurti's At the Feet ofthe Mllltn' in about 1912. The Kanitkan;' son Madhavrao (born in 1877 and the oldest ofsix children) also came under this influence: after the prcma-turc death of his wife, Madhavrao practically renounced family life in early adulthood, became a staunch Theosophist, and settled down in Banaras as a high school and college teacher. This last event prejudiced Govindrao against Theosophy to the extent ofalienating him from his son, and even from Kashibai, during the last years of his life. Govindrao did not hesitate to air their difference of opinion in public. In 1915-16 Kashibai was invited to speak on Theosophy in Pune's annual V2sa!lta Vyakhyana--mala (Spring Lecture Series). After the talk

18

Feminist Vision or 'Treason Against Men?

Govinclrao posed a sarcastic question-to Kashibai and the audienceabout the meaning of 'occult' in Theosophy, eliciting the expected laughter. Later Kashibai retaliated publicly, declaring her husband to be an atheist in a talk about religion that was described as a 'fighting speech.'46 The modd 'happy couple' had devdoped a serious dissonance. The possibility ofspousal rivalry as a contributing factor cannot be ruled out. Kashibai's fame as a writer was not matched by Govindrao's, whose early literary efforts had been promising. Ironically, the illiterate, self-educated wife had far outpaced the formally educated, awardwinning, college-graduate husband. The alienation unfortunately assumed severe proportions. In 1914 the Kanitkar estate was divided among the brothers, and Govindrao inherited a plot of land on which his sons decided to build a twostoreyed house. But soon World War I broke out, work was delayed, and the expeAses mounted. Govindrao began to oppose the idea, and finally refused to move in with his family in 1917, preferring to stay behind in the old house. He had to be brought over for his meals every day. Unable to cope with the intense aggravation of the situation and the public scandal about the famous couple's 'separation',47 Kashibai went to visit Madhavrao in Banaras; but she was compelled by Govindrao's illness to return after a few months. At last an ailing Govindrao had to be brought to the new house and died there in June 1918. His sons later named the house 'Govind-kunj'. 48 After Govindrao's death, Kashibai spent a few years at Banaras, and briefly also taught Marathi at the Benares Hindu University. She then divided her time visiting her children in different parts of Maharashtra until her own death at the ripe age of eighty-seven in independent India in 1948. ·

Kashibai's Literary Trajectory Scatting from unbelievably discouraging-or at best, mixed educational experiences, Kashibai went on to essay several forms ofliteraturc, ranging from biography and an episodic, informal autobiography, to book reviews, journal anicles, and translations, in addition to shon stories and especially the novels that she became best known for. But such was the iconicity ofeducation for her life it had given her access to the trcas•1re-ho•1sc ofknowledge and inspired the dream ofwomen's

Introduction

19

advancement towards gender equality-that education fQrms almost

the creed that informs them all.

'My Education': Kashibais Autobiographical Narrative

Kashibai did not write an autobiography, but she did note down, and sometimes dictate (from about 1921 to 1948), episodes from her eventful life at the insistence of young relatives who wanted her oral accounts to be preserved. Her evocative account of her educational struggles, 'My Education', effectively sketches the social milieu of the l 870s and 1880s, especially the general opposition to women's education. Unfortunately, she mentions her subsequent literary achievements only in passing and writes relatively little about her social work and substantial contribution to institutions like the Seva Sadan. Nor docs she ever reveal any details of her personal life. The untitled biography was retrieved from the Kanitkar family papers and published posthumously in 1980 by Sarojini Vaidya, who supplemented it with a biography of Kashibai._ . This narrative has joined the ranks of the Marathi autobiographies · of Kashibai's five women contemporaries, who together formed a cohon born in the 1860s (an interesting coincidence): Ramabai, wife of Justice M.G. Ranade; Yashodabai, wife of Sir Moropant Joshi; Anandibai (Baya), wife of 'Maharshi' D.K. Karve; Anandibai's sister Parvatibai Athavale; and Lakshmibai, wife of the Reverend N. V. Ttlak. 49 The motivation forwritingautobiographies differs substantially in all these cases. Ramabai and Yashodabai tend chiefly to valorize their husbands; in fact Ramabai's autobiography is more a biography-or even hagiography-ofher husband. Parvatibai was persuaded to write about herself as a source of inspiration for other widows to enter the field of education and social service, and Baya wrote largely because both her husband and her sister had written their lives. Lakshmibai stancd writing because her son asked her to jot down her memories as a source material for lilak's biography that he had planned; these jottings were so interesting in themselves as to merit publication (while his proposed biography ofTilak was never written) .. Yashodabai's memoirs paralleled Kashibai's in that they were also undertaken at the insistence of relatives who had heard her recount

20

Feminist Vision or 'Treason Against Mm?

interesting anecdotes of her life, and were published posthumously. Most of the other autobiographies are normatively intended to be instrumental, and thus exhibit low self-worth; even Parvatibai hardly assumes a subject position or makes a show ofher agency. They all share an orality of style that contrasts with the better composed autobiographies of their formally educated male contemporaries. 50

Biography ofAnandibai ]oshee The Lift ofthe Late Dr Mrs Anandibai ]oshee (1889) was a pioneering work for many reasons it was the first Marathi biography authored by a woman, and it was the first Marathi biography ofa contemporary woman (rather than a historical figure). It was born out of Kashibai's feminist commitment, as she explains in . the Preface, to do justice to Indias first woman doctor. Kashibai's strategy is to project Anandibai as a role model in two ways ~ a feminist who wanted to help her ailing sisters and who would appeal to social reformers for that reason, and as a nationalist who would be acceptable to political reformers. But despite all the information that Kashibai presents, her lack of experience and of perspective as well as her ambivalence result in a failure to portray a cohesive personality. 51 IfAnandibai comes alive for readers, it is thanks mostly to the letters that Kashibai reproduces, in the Marathi original as well as in translation. And this is perhaps her greatest contribution. The abridged second edition, The Lift and Letters ofthe Lllte Dr MrsAnandibai]oshee (1912), was published soon after the death of Anandibai's husband Gopalrao, and preserves the letters while pruning much of Kashibai's text. This biography contains a unique, dual personal narrative Anandibai's personal narrative through her letters, and Kashibai's through her copious comments on events in Anandibai's life, the latter revealing Kashibai's views about social reform. 52 In the present volume, I have extracted Kashibai's views. At times, she presents her own view$ disg,1iscd as expressions ofGopalrao's liberal perspective, thus making him a role m9(ld as well. This forms part ofher agenda to move her readers-who were mostly male, given the low levels of female literacy-towards reform. Kashibai's dialogic relationship with her readers reveals a typical feminine style. It is pcrs11asive and non-confrontational (as illustrated

Introduction

21

by the extracts included in this volume). She coaxes and cajoles male readers to see the situation from her point ofview and tries to persuade them to improve the condition of women: for example, by arousing sympathy for the girl bride's plight in her marital home, and for women's hunger for education. She also pre-empts objections by assuring them that educated wives would neither be remiss in their household duties, nor try to compete with men for jobs, but would be an asset to society and the nation.

Book Review Another pioneering achievement was Kashibai's review of Pandita Ramabai's account of the USA-Kashibai was among the first women reviewers of Marathi books. 53 Coincidentally, her book review was preceded just by a few months by Pandita Ramabai's review of her biography of Anandibai, published in the readers' correspondence in 1""'4-Praluuh.54 Kashibai seems to wholeheartedly share Ramabai's enthusiasm at her discovery ofthe progressive American society. Understandably, she focuses mostly on the chapter on the conditions ofwomen. Given that American women had made suidcs unimaginable to Indians, a blend of admiration and envy lends a sharp edge to Kashibai's review. It is remarkable that almost nowhere else in her writings docs this spirit of rebellion surface. Equally rare is the impassioned tone of this piece, prompted by the deep divide between Kashibai's broadly sketched picture of the situation of Indian women as against what must have seemed to her the utopian stage that American women had reached. The contrast ofthe two in her review is powerful even for readers today. Kashibai repeatedly draws a parallel between Indian women's status vis-a-vis men and the status of colonized Indians vis-a-vis their colonial masters. This argument of the 'colonization' of women, probably the first of its kind in Marathi, is strategically brilliant as well as prescient; its effectiveness has already been touched upon.

The Progress ofWomm's Education Here again Kashibai's impassioned tone surfaces, after more than two decades, in her nostalgic construction ofa 'glorious past' when Indian women could put their intelligence, ability, and education to good use,

22

Feminist Vision or 'Treason Against Mm?

and in her dismay at women,s current degradation. Here she also joins the feminist battle against the Manusmriti's overt, androcentric bias that articulate women among her contemporaries had been waging. Noticeable in her argument is a pervasive sarcasm-a weapon of the weak that James Scott,s armoury could be supplemented with. This work by Kashibai is a useful overview ofthe growth ofwomen,s education in western Maharashtra by one who had an insider perspective and was exposed to the conservative as well as reformist viewpoints on the matter. As such, it possesses interest as historical source material. Here, women's education also becomes an unacknowledged site for the struggle between nationalism and feminism: it is ei:itirely to colonial influence that Kashibai attributes the advent-or revival-ofwomen,s education in India. The tradition of Dalit critiques of nationalism associated with Phule andAmbedka.r is in some meas,1re supplemented by Kashibai, as will be discussed later.

The Two Novels It is remarkable that Kashibai took at once to the new novel of social realism and critique that was gaining popularity, and used her ample powers ofobservation to sketch both plots and characters. As she says in &lngarao (in a digressive chapter omitted in the present translation): Every family, every home, contains a novd; it only needs an observer to view it as one. Anyone who observes it from that perspective will be able to discern it. That is what impels us novelists to embark upon a novel.... We observe the novel ofdomestic life and transfer it on to paper, and others do not. People find it interesting to read the novel on paper, but are not accustomed to observing it themselves. Therein lies the greamess of novels and their authors! 55 Kashibai's contemporary Mirza Mohammed Hadi Ruswa, author of Umrao Jan Ada, was to voice a very similar sentiment: 'We should not give ourselves unnecessary trouble by trying to base our novels upon the lives of persons about whom we cannot know anything in detail. In our own circle of friends and relations there arc bound to be many whose experiences arc truly strange and fascinating.' 56

Introduction

•

23

In keeping with her view of fiction, the lifestyle and home milieu in both of Kashibai's novels obviously reflect her own domestic environment. Some of her characters arc also conspicuously drawn from real life. Rangarao, for example, has been fondly modelled on her younger brother Sadashivrao Bapat (1864 1945), who was the first Brahmin soldier from Maharashtra to enlist in the British army and was known as 'Risaldar Bapat.'57 A loyal watchman named Harisingh and a maidservant named Bhimi, prototypes for the eponymous characters in R.angarao, in fact served the Bapat household. 58 Both Yadavrao Apte and Manu's father seem to have been modelled largdy on Kashibai's ownfatherwho,asa mam/atdar,wasrcsponsiblefortownimprovement and public works and who toured the districts as pan of his job.59 The family histories in R.angarao and The Pala111Juin Tassel probably reflect the Bapat and Kanitlcar family backgrounds. And the cameos ofwomen oppressed by their marital families must have had numerous models among Kashibai's family members and friends. It is the Chitpavan Brahmin lifestyle that Kashibai projects in her novcls--with the wada (the modular construction with rooms placed around a central courtyard) as the favoured dwelling, the gendersegregated and ritually pure or impure spaces within the wada, and intense preoccupation with the daily worship ritual and generally with ritual purity. 60 The caste background is nowhere mentioned, but unselfconsciously assumed, and indicated only through family namcs~Aptc, Karandikar, Sahasrabuddhe, Sane which immediatdy identify the characters as Chitpavans, the subcaste of Brahmins that rose to prominence with the Peshwas. Mainstream Marathi literature was to remain the mouthpiece ofthe hegemonic Chitpavans even beyond the mid-twentieth century.

Rangarao The novel began to be published serially in 1886 in a monthly magazine (staned by Govindrao Kanitlcar and friends), but was disrupted by the magazine's untimely end in 1892.61 It was finally completed in 1898, and published as a book only in 1903. It was out of print for several years, and a second edition (basically a reprint) was published in 1931. This, the only extant edition, has been used for translation.

24

Feminist Vision or 'Treason Against Men?

The novel,s protagonist, Rangarao Apte, 62 is the scion of an aristocratic Brahmin family whose ancestors had earlier received the small town ofShrinagar as an inam (hereditary estate) for meritorious military service to the Shindes of Gwalior. The town is prosperous, having been spared the depredations of the 'leech-like British rule, that has already laid claim to the surrounding area. The Apte family utilizes its political and financial autonomy to develop the town and improve the condition of the townspeople. Rangarao is nurtured since boyhood on stories of Maratha power, laced with strong anti-colonialism, and ocaasionally exposed personally to instances of unjust British policies. He grows to manhood harbouring strong resentment at the lack of opportunity to display military valour in the manner of his forefathers. Paradoxically, he resolves the problem by interrupting his college education to join the British army-only to complain ofthe discriminatory treatment meted out to Indian soldiers. After serving at an unnamed location (later identified in passing as Egypt), he is invited by a British officer to go to England with him. He seizes the opportunity, informing his father only by post. While in England he arranges for his younger brother to join him to study law, and also to see the country, which is well worth a visit. The two brothers later return home to a heroes' welcome. Meanwhile, Rangarao's ideas about marriage have been shaped by English romantic novels, his ideal marriage being that of Elizabeth Bennet and William Darcy in Jane Austen's Pride and Prtjudice, because the two are well acquainted with each other before they fall in love and marry. He contrasts this with the ideal of Indian marriage, which rests on 'having a great deal ofwealth, a pretty wife who absolutely humbles herselfbefore her husband, and a lot of children., Ultimately, after returning home from England, the chivalrous Rangarao falls for a pretty damsel in emotional distress-who turns out to be his close friend Prabhakar's sister. Reformist Prabhakar has refused to marry off his two younger sisters Sakhu and Thaku (now 17 and 15 years of age, respectively) in childhood, despite social opposition and harassment, and has educated them. He now hopes that Rangarao and his younger brother Vyankatrao will marry them. Providentially, Rangarao falls in love with the older girl, Sakhu, at first sight, achieving what we might term 'arranged love'-the perfect combination of an arranged

Introduction

25

marriage and a love match. In a radical move, he gives her a lettera 'pledge of marriage'-during an all-too-brief, stolen meeting. 63 At Rangarao's instigation, Vyankatrao sees and approves ofThaku. The youngest brother is 'shown' the adopted daughter of his sister as a match and agrees to marry her. The important and radical clement here is that the three marriages arc arranged directly with the brothers' approval, without the customary and mandatory mediation ofthe family dders. Vtsions of romance envelop the weddings of Rangarao and his two younger brothers, and also their subsequent happiness born ofshared interests-or rather, with the grateful brides learning to share their husbands' interests. The young 'educated' brides conform to the conventional ideal of devoted wives, and they all live happily ever after. Even Rangarao's sister Venubai-who is believed to have been killed by her wicked mother-in-law-is found to have been magically saved and is reunited with her husband (who was also supposed to have died). Shrewish women~ tamed by adverse circumstances; evil men and women come by their just deserts, and goodness triumphs. The most impressive feature of this relatively well-crafted debut novd is how well it conforms to the prevailing conventions ofMarathi fiction. The essentially romantic and somewhat complex plot is interwoveni-with an dement of attempted mystery-with serious and tragic subplots that all come together in the end. These arc embroidered with purple patches, direct authorial interventions, long discussions, didactic observations, and even the mandatory song or ballad.64 There is some atte111pt to explore the psyches of the characters. The whole is held together with ideological strands ofnationalism, anti-colonialism, liberal social reform, and feminism, though with a fair degree ofambivalence. Amazingly, the seemingly housebound author takes her readers to many places from the fictitious town of Shrinagar to the real cities of Pune, Mumbai, and Satara-that she was familiar with, and to EJlora and Daulatabad (obviously making the most of her travel opportunities);65 but, more impressively, also to a military camp in an unknown country. England, understandably, figures only as background. Kashibai's fonc is her observation of interpersonal relationships and of detail, as well as dialogue. Her characterization, especially of

26

Feminist Vision or 'Treason Against Mm?

women, is nuanced. Rangarao's mother, Radhabai, is a kind.hearted conventional woman of the older generation, a devoted wife and mother, hardworking despite her wealth, equally affectionate towards her daughters and daughter-in-law, unobtrusively generous to the poor and the needy, but unable to appreciate the need for women's education.66 Rangarao's older brother's wife, Sundara, is a pretty but shallow young woman, narcissistic and harmless as long as her motherin-law is alive. But she becomes increas~ngly autocratic when exercising power over servants and controlling household finances, and is driven by her childlessness to superstitious practices-to the point.of folly. A poor cousin, Rangutai, oq,haned and widowed in childhood, is devoted to the family and works hard for them but is harassed mercilessly by Sundara at the instigation of a self-serving older woman friend. There are other sketches and cameos that ring true to life. Kashibai's dialogues immediately suggest the speaker's casre and gender status as well as educational level. (It is impossible to retain these distinct styles of speech in translation, and I have made no attempt to do so.) She is also adept at vivid descriptions ofindividuals in a crowded marketplace or a throng outside a temple, with details of their dress, actions, and • conversanons. The moment Kashibai leaves the familiar terrain of women's lives, she is on slippery ground. The male characters reveal her limited exposure to the outside world and to men,s activities. Rangarao comes alive as a restless youth and adult caught between his dreams of valour and helplessness as a colonial subject (though technically his estate lies outside direct colonial control). But later his character is enveloped in ambiguity and inconsistency. His sudden decision to serve the muchresented colonial government as a soldier is followed by near silence about his life in Egypt and England. When he returns to India, his vow never to marry and inflict the uncertainties of his military life on his wife dissolves at the sight of the first damsel in distress. That this is chivalry rather than love (as painted by his and Kashibai's favourite author Jane Austen) is shown by the temporary shift of his interest to the young woman's sister, who seems to be in even more dire distress. Some inconsistencies in character sketching are obtrusive. Rangarao's 'softer-than-butter' heart melts at the sight ofpretty young Sakhu shedding tears in the temple, but remains impervious to his cousin

Introduction

27

Rangutai's sorrow caused by acute harassment in his own home. Vyankatrao~who has first studied at the School of Art in Mumbai, then completed his B.A. degree in Pune, and later studied law in England-harbours naive and unrealistic ideas about the freedom of thought and action that an average person like Prabhakar can exercise. The hiatus in the plot between the painful realism oflived experience and the romanticism ofwishful thinking is bridged by long disc11ssions of social reform issues. These issues, the novd's dominant subtext, ironically revolve around the' ideal' set by British society, the 'significant other'. On the topic ofgender discrimination and double standards of morality, Rangarao compares Indian society unfavourably with the British, elaborating upon women's oppression. Child marriage, as the foreniust issue of social reform, is under consistent attack from Prabhakar. Having violated the custom in relation to his own sisters, he is faced with the problem of unmarried adult girls who arc shunned by society and suspected of immoral behaviour. (Unfortunatdy, the girls themsdves seem uninterested in the benefits ofeducation, and pine for a husband-:any husband at all-which seems to go counter to the spirit of the intended reform.) Another reformist idea is that of male and female me111bcrs ofthe traditionally gcndcr-scg1cgatcd family spending time together and exchanging ideas about social issues. Prabhakar is shown engaging his mother and sisters, and on occasion Rangarao's sisters, in such disr11ssions. Discrepancies abound, as Kashibai acknowledges apologetically and disarmingly in the Preface. The most conspicuous onCj rdatcs to Rangarao's sister Venubai, who is pushed into a well and presumed dead. She swfaccs in the novel a few years later and panicipates in a long disa1ssion with her sister, her brother, and brother's friends about Brahmin marriage customs. She reappears after another few years to tell her sister of old, unhappy events, as if the meeting and disc11ssion in the interim never took place. There arc also minor inconsistencies: for example, the Uma-Mahcshwar temple suddenly becomes the Gauri-Shankar temple. (This and some other minor inconsistencies have been correct~ in this translation, as also many of the careless mistakes that Kashibai could easily have avoided, had she only reread the man11script before publishing it. Those that could not be corrected will be obvious to readers.)

28

Feminist Vision or 'Trrason Against Men?

Kashibai's eye for detail is at once an asset and a weakness. She describes houses, gardens, street scenes, and forests with a loving interest. 67 But while adding a vivid, visual quality to her prose, the compulsive detail can also clutter it unnecessarily. After a few ofthese descriptions, one tends to lose the thread of the main story. What one is offered is a series of miniature paintings where a landscape in broad strokes would have been more appropriate. Kashibai's feminism tries to negotiate between progressive thinking and conventional action. On the one hand she repeatedly critiques the patriarchal underpinning of even the male reformers' arguments. During a disc11ssion of ideal wives, for example, Rangarao's sister says to his friends: 'Who wouldn't want a wife who is the image of beauty and virtue? All men do. But I find it amusing that you men never imagine, even in your dreams, that a particular woman should have a particular type of husband. It is enough that you are happy yourselves. This is your usual selfishness. You never consider a woman's likes and dislikes.' On the other hand Kashibai is unable to overcome the idea of women's subordinate status and perpetual indebtedness to men for all mercies. Rangarao marries for love, but his wife expresses her happiness by falling at his feet in gratitude. The seemingly perfect marriage is, after all, not a union of equals.

The Palanquin Tassel Far more interesting than Rangarao is Kashibai's The Palanquin Tassel, a novel of feminist concerns that is transmuted into a gender-egalitarian utopia. The novel was completed in 1897 by Kashibai's own admission (in the Preface), but began to be serially published in the magazine Navayug in 1913, and was interrupted when the magazine closed down. Kashibai completed it after years ofpersonal vicissitudes, including her husband's death in 1918; and it was finally published as --a book in 1928. "fhe title derives from the tassel suspended by a cord from the centre of the arched pole of the palanquin carried on their shoulders by bearers on either side. This tassel could be held by passengers to keep their balance against the palanquin's swaying motion. (Sec the sketch at the beginning of The Palanquin Tassel in this volume.) This tas.scl

Introduction

29

becomes Kashibai's multiple metaphor-for the wealth and status of its owner, for ambitious parents hankering after such an affiuent match for their daughters, and for the resultant suffering of the bride 'sacrificed' to such riches. If the feminist project is 'to unmake the web of oppressions and recreate the web of life', that is exactly what the novd seeks to do.68 Verisimilitude for the utopia is achieved by the author in a prologue, in which she claims to have visited the place and 'discovered' a written biographical narrative, and obtained permission to publish it. (In fact, the tide page of the book refers to Kashibai as the 'editor' of the book, not its author.) The same literary device of discovering a manuscript was earlier used effectively by H.N. Apte in his arguably most famous novd Pan Laltshyat Kon Gheto! (But Who Pays Heed!), 69 an autobiographical account purportedly written by a young widow. If Kashibai borrowed the idea from Apte, the debt was possibly mutual, for Apte himself was certainly influenced by Kashibai's feminine style of narration, as well as feminine dialogue.70 Interestingly, the initial serialization had started directly with the first chapter.71 The prologue was inserted lafer, when the book was published-perhaps after it was typeset, as evinced by its different, and larger, font size, and separate pagination. What would have remained an ordinary novel of social realism ending-rather hastily---ion an idealistic note was reinvented as a utopia through this insertion. In this subsequently inserted prologue the author ushers us into a remote and q•1aintly named princely state, 'The Palanquin Tassel', and its eponymous capital town. It is a prosperous town, modem in its industrial production as in its enlightened and gender-egalitarian laws and social structure. One of its chief attractions is the well-attended Shibika College meant only for wives desencd by their husbands, or evicted by oppressive marital families. (The word shibika means an open pala"quin, and repeats the metaphor.) The fulcrum of the reform agenda is the state's policy of passing on hereditary jobs to either the employee's son or his daughter. This has automatically promoted women's education and vocational training. A rule that disallows married pupils in schools and colleges has effectively increased the age at marriage and abolished child marriage (echoing B.M. Malabari's note on 'infant marriage' circulated in 1885). 72 The

30

. Feminist Vision or 'Treason Against Mm'?

present-day state is thus served by officials, clerks, guards, servants, and even ~riagc drivers who are both men ~d women. Highly impressed by this achievement, the author expresses her desire to know more about the former princess, the creator of this ideal society, and is handed a manuscript narrative written fifteen years previously, with permission to publish it. · It is an account ostensibly written by Manu (Manikarnika) and describes her childhood shared with her beautiful and accomplished older sister Rewa (Rewati), addressed as Rewatai, or simply Tai (older sister). The girls' mother nurtures ambitions to marry Rewa into a wealthy family possessed of pearls and palanquins, and browbeats her husband and brother into finding such a match. They finally succeed . to everyone's delight in getting as a groom the scion ofa small princely state. Their delight soon turns into dismay. At the time of the wedding they realize that they have been tricked into bdicving that the prince is a handsome and bright college student, when he is instead mentally challenged. The ever-philosophical Tai sadly resigns herself to her fate, but the unhappy parents arc prostrated by grief and guilt. They linger on for a few years during which Manu is spared marriage and is educated at home by her older brother Nana. After their parents' death, the two siblings are invited byTai's mothcrin-law, the queen regent, to her state, Sambalpur. There Nana educates Tai so as to ma.kc her capable of administering the state when her mother-in-law relinquishes her powers. Tai treats her husband with respect and affection, and with her siblings' help introduces far-reaching reforms which benefit women, especially through equal education and employment opportunities. The little state (now renamed 'The Palanquin Ta~l') is transformed into a utopian society ofwhich the hallmark is gender equality. Manu's former friends, trapped in oppressive marriages, arc invited to the state to help in various capacities, especially to run Shibika College. Having accomplished her task, Tai places a small gem-studded gold palanquin on the throne, relinquishes power to several committees composed equally ofwomen and men, and goes off with her husband and siblings in.. search of spiritual happiness. A major inconsistency in the novel is that the queen regent gets her mentally challenged son, an only child, married-against her better judgcmcnt-bccai,sc the British government docs not allow unmarried 1

Introduction

31

men to succeed to the throne and takes over their regnal rights. Yett the same government seems to allow the state to be 'ruled' by a gold palanquin and bureaucracy. Other minor inconsistencies and careless mistakes arc noticeable as well. The novel falls neatly into two parts. The prolonged first part of social realism is itself interwoven with two strands. One is an account of the everyday lives of Brahmin families and possesses an abiding ethnographic interest. It is endearingly written, ostensibly by little Manu, and the narrative style matures imperceptibly as Manu grows up. (The maturing process is indicated mainly through dialogue, which is unfortunately not amenable to translation.). The other is the dystopian lives ofwomen-uneducated, married in childhood, and ill ttcatcd by their husbands or in-laws. These scenarios are clearly drawn from Kashibai's own circle offamily, friends, and acq11aintances. Even the princely state is probably drawn from her own knowledge, considering that one of her daughters was married into one.73 Besides, the newspapers were full of reports and news items regarding the various princely states within the Bombay Presidency and elsewhere in India. (Incidentally, the novd is dedicated to the then queen regent of Gwalior state.) The novd's very short second part, though less readable, is ofgreater . b· kctehes Kashibat.,s 'eutop1a-to ·' mtcrcst eca.usc its 11sc N an Alb.inski's term for 'the good place' projected as an ideal (in contrast to 'dystopia' or the 'bad place' from which escape is sought, and as distinct from 'utopia', which refers to a literary genre). 74 It is chiefly the novd's prologue that shares all the core attributes ofthe utopian genre: it presents an ideal society, tucked away in a remote and barely accessible region, that is functional and has been in existence for a reasonable length of time (about forty years). It is 'discovered' by the author, who views it admiringly from the contrasting coign of vantage presented by her own, sadly flawed, society (although we know nothing about the 'discoverer/author' and her social background). Kashibai's eutopia is the result of radical transformation for which some sources of inspiration are easy to trace. She had, as we noted earlier, admitted to a feeling ofenvious admiration for the tremendous advances made by American women on the strength ofeducation and employment, as described by Pandita Ramabai. Ramabai's own Mukti

32

Feminist Vision or 'Treason Against Men?

Mission at Kedgaon had been successfully run as a self-sufficient 'female kingdom, from top to bottom', 75 in which women not only cooked and cleaned, learned and taught, but also wove cloth and carpets, did carpentry, and ran an oil-press as well as a printing press. Mukti Mission had also pioneered a special residential section for deserted wives (as also for sexually victimized and otherwise oppressed women). It is perhaps to this institution that Shibika College owes its existence. There is a striking similarity also between the novel's narrator, who is allowed to grow to adulthood without being forced into marriage, and Pandita Ramabai whose older sister's unhappy child marriage deterred her father from arranging an early marriage for Ramabai. The cameo appearance, in the novel, of the female doctor treating the queen regent was possibly suggested by Anandibai Joshce, who had been appointed the first lady doctor in Kolhapur state (although ill health prevented her from taking up the post). The ideology and the practical mechanism for achieving the transition from real society to the eutopia were provided by J.S. Mill's liberal feminism (Govindrao Kanitkar had translated On the Subjection ofWomm into Marathi). That the diverse elements gel so well together is credit to Kashibai's literary skill. Mainly because its actual utopian content is so brief, The Palanquin Tassel fails to impress in comparison with other feminist utopias, Indian or foreign. The first generally recognized woman-authored Indian work in this genre was Rokeya Hossain's short story 'Sultana's Dream' (1905), described as a 'witty utopian fantasy'. 76 Born into an affluent orthodox Muslim family of Bengal, Hos.~ain received some traditional education at home, but progressed much further with the help of her liberal husband who also encouraged her to write. Hossain went on to run girls' schools and wrote several essays on the rights of women. 'Sultana's Dream', first written in English and translated into Bengali by the author herself, presents the eutopia of 'Ladyland' struc.;. tured on a separatist gender role reversal-the device of the dream in which the utopia unfolds itself, heightening the sense of unreality. In the aftermath of a war, the defeated and tired men arc secluded in Murdana, or men's quarters (an exact counterpart of the Zenana, or women's quarters in Muslim houses), while the well-educated women, supported by an enlightened queen, win the war with their scientific

Introduction

33

advance and brain power. The seclusion ofmen is perpetuated in order to prevent further conflict, war, and crime. Women, now in charge, create an ideal milieu where solar power is harnessed for cooking, and a special balloon fitted with pipes floats above the cloud cover to draw the necessary amounts ofwater, allowing the country to dispense with the inconvenience of rain. Electrically operatc=d air-cars convey people speedily to their destinations, flying above land carpeted with moss and flowers. Women's education is widespread, early marriage abolished, and citizens follow a religion based on Love and Truth.n In a startling array of essentials, including the name of the eutopia and some ofits attributes, Rokcya Hossain's utopia presages Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Heruznd (1915), described as 'foremother to the genre'.78 For Albinski it is 'the classic feminist utopia of an all-female nation (emphasis in the original), although it was only one of the 260 utopias authored by British and American women during the roughly hundred-year period from the 1880s to 1987.79 Heruznd is also a separatist utopia. It envisions an all-female community that reproduces parthcnogcnctically (by virgin birth) and venerates motherhood; it has rnadc trcr11cndous scientific advances, yet lives in total harmony with nature. 80 The multiple facets of this society arc unfolded through the reactions of tlucc men who 'discover' it-the sociologist narrator and his two friends. A sequel, With Her in Ouruznd (1916), further highlights the dystopian attributes of the rest of the world when the narrator and his Hcrlandcr wife make an intercontinental tour (at her insistence), only to return with relief and joy to Herland. 81 Heruznd is rooted in Gilman's exposure to contemporary sociology and women's communities, her 'cultural feminism' and the belief that 'traditionally defined feminine values arc superior to traditionally accepted masculine values', her faith in education as 'a major tool ofsocial transformation', and her view of 'fiction as a legitimate mode of discourse'. 82 J