Fragments of a Life: A Family ArchiveThis is the life story of Subbalakshmi married at 11 years of age and a mother at 14 in the early 20th century. Hers is yet another instance in the long annals of women whose aspirations, abilities, selfhood, the right to dream and to rebel have been snuffed out by patriarchy. Mythily Sivaraman, a political and social activist of thirty years standing is currently the National Vice-President of the All India Democratic Women s Association. She is the granddaughter of Subbalakshmi. |
Contents
The Natal Family | 1 |
Subbalakshmis Marriage | 17 |
Grace Samuel | 34 |
Flight to Madras | 41 |
Subbalakshmis Growing Political Awareness | 49 |
Subbalakshmi and the Charkha | 64 |
Womens Issues in the 1920s | 71 |
Connoisseur of Arts | 79 |
Gurudev | 112 |
Backwaters Again | 122 |
Pankajams Marriage | 126 |
Life after PRGs Retirement | 130 |
As Mother and Grandmother | 135 |
Subbalakshmis South African Dream | 143 |
Religious Faith | 150 |
SitaSavitri Conscience | 164 |
Some of Her Favourite Things | 93 |
Friendships Made | 107 |
The Blue Tin Trunk by Uma Chakravarti | 186 |
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Common terms and phrases
Adyar age of consent Anandhi Ananthakrishnan Annie Besant artist beauty became Bharathi's bird Brahmin British brother caste child marriage Congress Cousins daughter death Dharma Diary entry dream father feminist Gandhi gender girl Grace grandchildren grandmother Gurudev Haldar Harindranath Chattopadhyaya Hindu husband Ibid indentured India Iyer's Kamakshi Kamaladevi Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya khaddar khadi Khilafat Krishna labour Lalitha later letter lives Madras University Malabar Mappila married memory mental health mother movement Mrinalini Muslim Muthulakshmi Reddi Mythily Mythily's Nandalal Bose natal never non-cooperation non-cooperation movement painting Pandita Ramabai Pankajam perhaps person poem political PRG's puja Rabindranath Tagore Rajam Ramachandran recalls religious remember Santiniketan sari seems sense Seshan Shama'a Sister Subbalakshmi social Stri Dharma struggle Subbalakshmi Subbalakshmi's diary Swadeshamitran swamis Tagore's Tamil temple tin trunk Travancore Visva-Bharati widow wife woman writing written wrote young