Report Memoirs of an Indian Woman - Book Report/Review Example

? Book Report: Memoirs of an Indian Woman Shudha Mazumdar’s philosophy was to explore the individual potential for effecting social changes which in turn would help the individual’s personal transformation rather than facilitate his pursuit of religious conventions. This paper demonstrates how she came out of the confines of her house and worked for a number of social issues in the outside world. During the beginning of the 20th century (1900-1930), India was still under the British rule. At that time, Calcutta was home to a conservative society, majority of whom believed that the ideal place for women was within the four walls of the house. Considering this, Shudha Mazumdar’s efforts can be regarded as a huge achievement for a woman operating in such a socio-political background. I speak about how she wanted to attain enlightenment through serving humanity instead of following a religious path to salvation. Shudha Mazumdar had spent the formative years of her life growing up in Kolkata where her mother made her follow various Hindu rituals. However, these religious rituals did not exert a discernable influence on her adult years. Instead, her life’s philosophy was influenced by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of India and other contemporary spiritual leaders. She wanted to establish herself as a responsible citizen who was capable of making a positive contribution to society. She believed that these experiences would enrich her life and transform of her personality leading towards the greater goal of human life. Instead of following the religious path to salvation, she desired to attain enlightenment through serving humanity. She believed that a life dedicated to human service could be elevated to the higher plane of salvation through the positive effects of the action of service. Her efforts towards social service bear testimony to her philosophy of life. Mazumdar had lent her support to various social causes during the early period of the 20th century. Most notable among these, was her contribution to improve the condition of women prisoners confined in captivity. In 1951, Mazumdar was invited to attend the Geneva conference of the “International Labor Organization” (ILO) because previously in 1939, the ILO had appointed her as a “Member of the Correspondence Committee on Women’s Work” of the organization. While in Europe, Mazumdar was selected as a “Non-official Visitor” to the female prisons to examine the condition of women prisoners in that country. After returning to India, she wrote her observations about the state of women detainees in Europe, in articles called “Women in Prison at Home and Abroad” which were published in the local newspapers in 1957. After examining the scenario in some of the European countries, Mazumdar realized that the living conditions of the female detainees in Indian prisons needed to change. She also understood that such a transformation of the system conditions was possible through a series of consistent efforts and she gradually started working on these lines. The women prisoners used to perform many piece works in the Indian prisons; Mazumdar introduced a structured wage system for them and also suggested the appointment of a lady officer for supervising their work. She opened nursery classes in jails for the children of the imprisoned women and also arranged for the orphaned children to be taken care at suitable orphanages. Mazumdar also arranged for a separate building for housing the mentally unstable female detainees who were perhaps not guilty of any crime but had been kept under confinement. She ensured that the prisoners were visited by an increasing number of unofficial guests and also arranged for the supply of some basic amenities to the imprisoned women. Since she herself had been made to observe many religious rituals during her growing years, Mazumdar organized devotional services to be held in the prisons and in the All Bengal Women’s Union. She had also helped many female prisoners to be reinstated in society after their release from the prisons. Therefore, Shudha Mazumdar made an immense contribution in improving the condition of the female detainees in India. This was her way of accomplishing her duties towards society which had also helped to enrich her personality and develop her character for achieving the higher goal of human life. (Forbes, 1995, p. 221) Shudha Mazumdar’s mother had been her observe a variety of Hindu customs and traditions called “vratas” in her childhood. These usually comprised of adhering to a set of strict religious rules. On the auspicious day, she was required to wake up early in the morning, take a bath and wear a particular form of attire. This was usually a “saree”, the traditional Indian dress. Then she would be required to attend the rituals of worship conducted in her house, only after which she was allowed to have food and drink water. Sometimes she was also required to offer some clothing or food to a Sage as a form of offering or “sacrifice” associated with the religious custom. After these rituals, she was allowed to pursue her daily activities. However, the account of her later life does not give an impression of any significant influence of these religious rituals on her life and philosophies. Instead, being endowed with rational and strong intellectual capabilities, she tried to relate her experiences of life to a personal level and imbibe significant insights from them. In 1930, when India was witnessing the reactions to Mahatma Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience Act, Mazumdar and her husband were posted at Basirhat in Bengal. One of her experiences at this place had a profound impact on her life. The couple’s residence was situated by the side of the river Asrumati. The rear portion of the bungalow had a large pool, surrounded by high banks which served as an ideal place for Shudha to learn swimming. Incidentally, the pool also had deep waters at some places and Shudha was cautioned never to enter the water alone since she was yet to become an expert swimmer. Two individuals had already perished in the deep waters before that. One day, Shudha forgot about the warning and ventured into the pool all by herself. Unexpected rains had left the steps leading to the pool, wet and slimy and had swelled the waters up to the edges. Shudha missed her footing at one of the steps and fell into the high waters. She was being swept away, when the gardener of the house noticed her plight and immediately jumped into the pool to rescue her. Her life was saved from meeting with an untimely death. Some days after this incident, Shudha experienced a strange feeling of being detached from her own physical body. As she looked at herself in the mirror she realized that her physical body would have ceased to exist had fate not intervened and saved her on that tumultuous day. According to the Hindu tradition, the physical body and soul (spirit) of an individual are two separate entities. The soul assumes a physical form to be born on this earth to fulfill its “karmic” obligations and seeks its path to salvation which will ultimately lead it to unite with the Supreme Creator. Shudha was also familiar with this philosophy; but this experience had awakened her to the separate existence of her body and spirit. Based on this, Shudha had a profound realization: the existence of the individual’s physical body was only temporary. The human souls had taken refuge in the physical form to engage in the experiences of life and would be compelled to leave it once their lifetime on this earth is over. This was the ultimate truth. However, during the major period of its earthly existence, the soul is immersed in the illusions of “maya” and remains oblivious to its true identity and mission on this earth. This was reality. Therefore, Shudha was not greatly influenced by the religious customs that she was made to follow during her early life. Instead, she derived her philosophies and understandings from her experiences of life. (Mazumdar, 1995, pp. 208-209; Burghart 1978) During the early years of the 20th century, India was in a state of political turmoil. After being ruled by the British for nearly one and a half centuries, the Indians were determined to gain independence from the foreign rule. Mahatma Gandhi had emerged as a capable leader of the masses and he initiated a non-violent struggle against the British rule for securing India’s independence. Though all Indian citizens were not directly involved in the nation’s freedom struggle, the different nationalist movements implemented by the Indian leaders influenced the entire population throughout the country. In its 1929, December session the Indian Congress launched the Civil Disobedience Movement which urged the citizens of the country to adopt a policy of complete disregard and disobedience towards British orders. The British Government endeavored to suppress the movement and when the Indians protested against this, the former killed thousands of national citizens and arrested many others. 1930 was another significant year in Indian politics. The British Government decided to impose a tax on salt, which was an essential item for the livelihood of millions of Indians. As a protest to this, Mahatma Gandhi launched the Salt Satyagraha Movement. On March 12, 1930 Gandhiji accompanied by seventy-nine of his followers embarked on the “Dandi March” to Darsana, a village near the Sabarmati River. They traveled 200 miles on foot and reached their destination on 5th April and prepared salt from the sea water. In this way, they violated the British order of levying salt tax. Both these movements had a profound influence on Shudha Mazumdar and she has described the contemporary scenario of India in her own book. She has described that in 1930, Indian citizens submitted a petition to the then Viceroy. In addition to various measures, the petition requested the elimination of the salt tax, the imposition of a protective tariff on the imports of foreign clothing and so on. India had a long coastline bordering three oceans and salt could abundantly be produced from these sea waters. The Indian citizens felt that similar to the other natural resources like air and water, salt too was a part of their property and the British Government was encroaching on their natural rights by levying a tax on the essential good. Mazumdar has given a short account of the Dandi March by Mahatma Gandhi and his followers and her writings reveal that she was fully aware of the contemporary political development of the country. She was alarmed to find Sarojini Naidu as a part of the Dandi March. Mazumdar’s political ideas were greatly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and she excitedly narrates how this national movement had created a stir among the Indian citizens. When her brother comes and narrates the news of Gandhi’s arrest and subsequent transportation to Yervada jail, her account conveys her dejection. However, when Mazumdar learnt of the message that the great leader had advocated to his countrymen, she felt redeemed. Gandhi had advised the Indian citizens and his colleagues not to lose hope at his arrest. He claimed that the Supreme Creator who resided in the heart of the Indians was actually the real leader of the country’s struggle to gain independence; he himself was only a servant of God. If people could keep their faith intact in the Almighty, He was sure to lead them to their much desired liberation from the British rule. Like millions of Indians, Shudha Mazumdar also felt inspired at Gandhi’s words. Throughout the book, it is evident, that Mazumdar’s life and philosophies have been influenced more by political, philosophical and spiritual insights rather than pure religious customs and traditions. She has been a strong believer of the fact that working for the welfare of society was the most desirable way of developing an individual’s character. Dedicating one’s life to the untiring service of the society was the noblest process of ascending to the higher aims of human existence. Though, she performed her daily routine of praying to God, she did not appear keen to practice other religious rituals which are regarded as the only means of attaining salvation in the Hindu tradition. (Mazumdar, 1995, pp. 207; Suchitra, 1995) In the book Memoirs of an Indian Woman, Shudha Mazumdar gives an account of her personal life right from her childhood to the adult years, described in the contemporary socio-political backdrop of India. Though her father was greatly influenced by western ideals, her mother was an ardent follower of eastern Hindu traditions. She made her daughter follow many religious rituals from Mazumdar’s early age. Young as she was, Mazumdar probably did not understand the significance of most of these customs. That is why, she did not carry much of the influences of these religious traditions into her adult life. Going by her account, she was taught to offer her prayers to God every day, in the morning and that was the only religious custom which remained with her throughout her life. Instead, being endowed with a logical and strong intellect, Mazumdar wanted to venture into the outside world and learn from her life’s experiences. She was a woman of actions and believed that individuals should dedicate their lives towards serving the human society. In this way, they could establish themselves as responsible citizens who could bring about a change in the age-old ways of society. In return, their lives would be enriched with various experiences from which they could imbibe philosophical understandings and insights. By engaging in fruitful actions, a person would be able to develop his personality gradually towards the higher human objective of achieving enlightenment. Mazumdar has adhered to this ideology throughout her adult life. Her beliefs are reflected in the different experiences of her life and the way she has interpreted the experiences to gain insights about human life. Therefore, Shudha Mazumdar was an advocator of the path of doing good actions rather than the path of worship and meditation in attaining the goal of salvation and ultimate union with the Supreme Creator. References 1. Burghart, R (1978). Hierarchical Models of the Hindu Social System. New Series 13(4) 519-536, retrieved on October 20, 2011 from http://www.jstor.org/pss/2801246 2. Mazumdar, S. and Forbes, G.H. (1995) Memoirs of an Indian Woman. USA: M. E. Sharpe, Inc. 3. Sharma. A, (2002) The Hindu Tradition, retrieved on October 20, 2011 from http://www.che.org/members/ethics/docs/1264/Hindu.pdf 4. Suchitra, (1995). What Moves Masses: Dandi March as Communication Strategy. Economic and Political Weekly 30 (14) 743-746, retrieved on October 20, 2011 from http://www.jstor.org/pss/4402595 Read More