RASSUNDARI DEVI- AMAR JIBAN (1876)

LITERARY MOVEMENTS –
There were a number of literary movements that emerged in India during the late 19th century, each with its own unique characteristics and themes. Some of the most significant literary movements of this time period include:

1.The Bengal Renaissance: This was a period of cultural and intellectual awakening that took place in the region of Bengal in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Bengal Renaissance was marked by a flowering of literature, art, and ideas, and it
was led by a number of influential writers and intellectuals. The movement was influenced by a range of factors, including the influence of western ideas and education, the growth of the Bengali middle class, and the emergence of a nationalistic
movement.

2.The Brahmo Samaj: This was a Hindu reform movement that was founded in the mid-19th century by Ram Mohan Roy. The Brahmo Samaj sought to modernize and reform Hinduism by stressing the importance of monotheism and the rejection of
idol worship. The movement had a significant impact on the literary and cultural life of India, and it influenced a number of writers and intellectuals.

3.The Young Bengal Movement: This was a group of intellectuals and reformers who emerged in the late 19th century and were influenced by the ideas of the European Enlightenment. The Young Bengal Movement was characterized by a commitment
to rationalism, secularism, and social reform, and it had a significant impact on the development of literature and culture in India.

4.The Indian National Congress: This was a political organization that was founded in 1885 and played a key role in the Indian independence movement. The Indian National Congress was a forum for debate and discussion about the future of India, and it
attracted a number of writers and intellectuals who were interested in issues of social and political reform.

DOCUMENTATION OF PATRIARCHIAL DOMINATION OVER WOMEN IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

During the 19th and early 20th century, upper caste Hindu as well as Muslim women were living a life similar to that of prisoners, while living under the veil (purdah). We find the description of the pathetic situation of women in the novels of
Rabindranath Tagore and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. But the description is even more powerful in “Amar Jiban”. She had to work with her ghoonghat (veil) even in her kitchen. Her voice had to be lowered while talking to maidservants so that no
male servant or family member could hear her voice. Even the voice of a woman was imprisoned in the cage of the veil.

“Amar Jiban” is a document that tells us how purdah (veil) was a part of the culture of Bengal. Centuries of patriarchal domination had normalised women into living under such practices and they considered it their rightful duty to remain in this jail. She
writes about an incident when she was 25 and her son was learning horse riding; “There was a horse Jay Hari in our house. One day it was brought in front of the woman’s courtyard so that I could watch my son ride. I heard someone saying that it
was the horse of my husband. It struck me suddenly that I couldn’t go in front of this horse. It would have been shameful if my husband’s horse saw me, so I hid inside the house.”

Women, in those times, considered it their duty to hide even from a horse belonging to their husbands. We can just imagine how they would have behaved in front of a man. Purdah (veil) was rooted in the psychology of Bengali women. They could not
imagine a world without it. “Amar Jiban” also helps us understand how normalisation of purdah (veil) kept women away from education. It was a tool to exclude them from society.

Rassundari Devi’s story is around one and a half century old. Circumstances have changed and women can now come out and pursue education. But we should not forget that it was the sacrifices and actions of such strong women that paved the way for
later generations of women. Such inspirational figures are the strength behind the present feminist and women’s rights movements.

Rassunadri had been a social critic, she raised genuine questions on the prevalent customs but tried to be subtle and soft in her approach. She criticised the custom of child marriage but superficially reading it appears to be an innocent description of
child marriage and its consequences. It lamented the state of girl separated from her mother by the institution of marriage entrapping her for a lifetime in a caged household by snatching all her freedom. The period when Rassundari Devi wrote, was a
period of women writing with reticence but Rassundari Devi’s autobiography was exceptional in this regard as the entire narrative was a reflective journey of the self. The relationship of Rassundari Devi with her husband, children and other members of
the family got only mechanical and perfunctory mention in the narrative. The time when women were completely restricted to the household duties and not allowed to have a self-opinion, she not only brought forth her relentless efforts to learn to write
and read against the prevalent social norms but also discussed many intimate matters like the physical and mental changes after puberty, experiences of childbirth etc. These details were expressed, but very dignifiedly with a strategic silence which
allowed the readers to frame their opinion and understand the sad plight of a woman in the hands of male dominated society. This was the same silence that had helped her in preventing the distortion of her pious image and brought a great appeal
towards the autobiography. She adopted the same calculative and strategic way in her narration of the most intimate relation of her life i.e. with her husband. He had been showcased as man of great potential and dignity but there had been ample
places where she had hinted about his behavior as the cause of her misery. Out of few oblique references the noteworthy was when she mentioned that it was the supreme duty of the wife to care and look after every aspect of her husband’s well being.
She mentions:“Actually the man who was my master happened to be a likable person. But it is difficult to ignore or reject accepted customs and practices. That is why I had to undergo all that misery” . In another incident, by giving the same
reference she adds: “I used to get up before the children woke up in order to do all the work around the house. I even started cooking before they were up. After feeding the children I finished whatever else was left to be done. Then I had to make my
offerings to the family deity and get ready to prepare the meals for the rest of the family. I had to cook quite a lot about twelve seers of rice for each meal. The master of the house had to eat his meal if rice just after he had bathed in the morning.
He would not eat anything else. So I had to cook specially for him first.”
Rassundari Devi had to make her autobiography acceptable in the nationalists’ dominated public sphere of the nineteenth century. For this she maintained a pious housewifely image in detailing everything. In all her expressions she maintained to
overshadow the caustic effects from her criticism of the indigenous customs that could hamper her image yet very strategically she put forth her thoughts and left the readers to judge and discuss. It should be noted that this was an autobiography by a
woman in her seventies who lived her life but there were tinges of dissatisfaction here and there. She had been a penchant critique of the customs of the society framed by the patriarchs.

19TH CENTURY CRITIC

Rassundari Devi’s life was a series of actions and decisions that are serious departures from the patriarchal social norms of her time and are, therefore, ‘transgressions’ punishable by the society. Rassundari Devi learned to read and write amidst the
popular belief in those days that women who gained literacy brought disaster upon their families and were punished by God with widowhood. Not only did she learn to read, but she also decided to record the events and details of her everyday domestic
life in a book and got it published. She had the audacity to disclose her life in print and make it public to the people. By doing this, she entered the public sphere which was strictly forbidden to upper class Hindu women. A published work no longer
remains a private act of writing but enters the public domain where it is open and available for perusal and interrogation by anyone. So there are three major “transgressions” that Rassundari Devi commits according to patriarchy: reading, writing
entering the public sphere.

Rassundari also made a notable departure from the common patriarchal belief that female worship can only be expressed in the form of rituals like vrats (fasts), penance, and cooking bhoga (food for god). Rassundari rejected these conventional,
ritualistic forms of woman’s devotion that served in maintaining the patriarchal social structures, and established an intellectual relationship with her God by learning to read Chaitanya Bhagavata. She chose to engage in a kind of worship where she is
an active participant (like her husband and other men), not a passive devotee.

Many Bengali male authors and poets who came after Rassundari Devi wrote about the greatness of a housewife by positing her as ‘grihalakshmi’ or the domesticated goddess. Patriarchy has always presented the figure of a grihalakshmi as an ideal
woman whose salvation and satisfaction lay in her endless servitude,and whose happiness lies in the happiness of her husband (master) and children. Rassundari Devi, in her writing, demystifies the figure of the grihalakshmi by presenting her domestic
duties as labour which is tiresome, repetitive, unrecognised, and far from emotionally fulfilling. Instead of viewing labour in an aesthetic and romanticized way as male writers like Tagore tended to do, Rassundari deconstructs the iconic figure of the
housewife in “Amar Jiban.” She also demystifies the nurturing maternal figure by describing her work of feeding and looking after children as physically laborious. In this manner, Rassundari’slifewriting contests the male representation of women in
literature. Rassundari Devi’s life writing (autobiography) is a testimony of the odds against education of women of her generation. Rassundari describes her child marriage and the agony of separation from her mother thus: “People put birds in cages
for their own amusement. Well, I was like a caged bird. And I would have to remain in this cage for life. I would never be freed.” In fact, the metaphor of a bird being caged is quite dominant in Rassundari’s autobiography. She saw herself as a prisoner
of marriage from where she wished to break free and transcend her worldly duties as a wife, mother, and daughter-in-law to meet her God.

Rassundari Devi has described her experiences of pregnancy and childbirth in a very detailed and frank manner at a time when they were considered taboo topics for women to speak. Writing about her pregnancy and sharing it with the public by
publishing is certainly a very feminist thing to do. Rassundari Devi, while writing about the hardships she had to face as a child bride and the risks she had to take to gain literacy, rejoices in the fact that the times are changing and some parents have
started educating their daughters. Rassundari Devi is definitely an advocate of women’s right to education, though she doesn’t mention it explicitly in her autobiography. Rassundari Devi’s life story is an inspiration and a testimony of a woman’s will
power to fight all odds in order to gain education and liberation.

PIECE OF FEMINIST WRITING

Amar Jiban was written and published in two parts. The first consisted of sixteen rachanas or compositions. The second part came out in the year 1906, consisting of fifteen rachanas or compositions. Every composition is preceded by a devotional poem
dedicated to her Dayamadhav, the Vaishnav godhead whom Rassundari Devi had chosen. Written in chaste Bangla, Amar Jiban narrates the life story of a nineteenth century woman’s struggle for literacy. It portrays the changing world of rural Bengal
and situates women there. Rassundari has narrated her life story in two ways. On one hand, she writes that God’s mercy and benevolence towards her has made it possible for her to achieve literacy. On the other hand, she also shows how she has made
her own decisions in life by learning to read despite the fear of family disapproval and social ostracism. She praises God’s leela, but also recounts all the hard work and self-determination she has put in to learn reading.

Scholars like Tanika Sarkar and Meenakshi Malhotra have observed that Rassundari Devi creates the persona of a “bhakt” (devotee) for herself, and presents all the small and big events of her life as exemplars of God’s mercy or leela, including her access
to the written word. Thus her transgressive act of learning to read becomes an instance of godly intervention, a divine purpose, a consequence of God’s will and mercy. Rassundari Devi has written Amar Jiban in retrospection. The struggle to learn to
read is being described when she has already mastered the art of writing. She describes the past in terms of vivid immediacy of feelings, she ignores dates, time, and other factual details, and focuses on descriptions of her every day household life. And
yet sentimentality is not something Rassundari would indulge in while writing. Amar Jiban is written in a dispassionate, objective style. Rassundari Devi’s life is a series of actions and decisions that are serious departures from the patriarchal social norms
of her time and are, therefore, ‘transgressions’ punishable by the society.

Rassundari Devi learned to read and write amidst the popular belief in those days that women who gained? Literacy brought disaster upon their families and were punished by God with widowhood. Not only did she learn to read, but she also decided to
record the events and details of her everyday domestic life in a book and got it published. She had the audacity to disclose her life in print. By doing this, she entered the public sphere which was strictly forbidden to upper class Hindu women. A published
work no longer remains a private act of writing but enters the public domain where it is open and available for perusal and interrogation by anyone. So there are three major ‘transgressions’ that Rassundari Devi commits according to patriarchy reading,
writing and entering the public sphere.
Rassundari also made a notable departure from the common patriarchal belief that female worship can only be expressed in the form of rituals like vrats (fasts), penance, and cooking bhoga (food for god). Rassundari rejected these conventional,
ritualistic forms of woman’s devotion that served in maintaining the patriarchal social structures, and established an intellectual relationship with her God by learning to read Chaitanya Bhagavata. She chose to engage in a kind of worship where she is
an active participant (like her husband and other men), not a passive devotee.

Many Bengali male authors and poets who came after Rassundari Devi wrote about the greatness of a housewife by positing her as ‘grihalakshmi‘ or the domesticated goddess. Patriarchy has always presented the figure of a grihalakshmi as an ideal
woman whose salvation and satisfaction lay in her servitude, and whose happiness lies in the happiness of her husband and children. Rassundari Devi, in her writing, demystifies the figure of the grihalakshmi by presenting her domestic duties as labour
which is tiresome, repetitive, unrecognised, and far from emotionally fulfilling. Her assertion that “I did everything in a spirit of duty” is indicative of her emotional detachment] from the household work. “Instead of viewing labour in an aesthetic and
romanticized way as male writers like Tagore tended to do, Rassundari deconstructs the iconic figure of the housewife in Amar Jiban.” She also demystifies the nurturing maternal figure by describing her work of feeding and looking after children as
physically laborious. In this manner, Rassundari’s life writing contests the male representation of women in literature.

Rassundari Devi’s life writing is a testimony of the odds against education of women of her generation. After describing all the steps she took to gain literacy including the stealing of sheets and palm leaves, she writes: “Wasn’t it a matter to be
regretted, that I had to go through all this humiliation just because I was a woman? Shut up like a thief, even trying to learn was considered an offence. It is such a pleasure to see the women today enjoying so much freedom. These days parents of
single girl child take so much care to educate her. But we had to struggle so much just for that.”

In the words of Debarati Sen, “Child marriage and the deep scar that it left on its young victims had probably never had a better spokesperson than Rassundari. She exposes the shallow motives behind this evil practice which were the fear of female
sexuality and the anxiety to control it.”

Rassundari describes her child marriage and the agony of separation from her mother thus: “If I am asked to describe my state of mind, I would say it was very much like the sacrificial goat being dragged to the altar, the same hopeless situation, the
same agonized screams.” She adds, “People put birds in cages for their own amusement. Well, I was like a caged bird. And I would have to remain in this cage for life. I would never be freed.”

In fact, the metaphor of a bird being caged is quite dominant in Rassundari’s autobiography. She saw herself as a prisoner of marriage from where she wished to break free and transcend her worldly duties as a wife, mother, and daughter-in-law to meet
her God.

Rassundari Devi has described her experiences of pregnancy and child birth in a very detailed and frank manner at a time when they were considered taboo topics for women to speak. Writing about her pregnancy and sharing it with the public by
publishing is certainly a very feminist thing to do. Moreover, “she recalls with great wonder how her body flowered and bore fruits through divine intervention, which could be also a veiled reference to her satisfied sex life.”

Rassundari Devi, while writing about the hardships she had to face as a child bride and the risks she had to take to gain literacy, rejoices in the fact that the times are changing and some parents have started educating their daughters. Rassundari Devi is
definitely an advocate of women’s right to education though she doesn’t mention it explicitly in her autobiography. Rassundari Devi’s life story is an inspiration and a testimony of a woman’s will power to fight all odds in order to gain education and
liberation.

AMAR JIBAN AS AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A GOD FEARING WOMAN

Rassundari Devi, due to her great effort, became the first modern autobiographer in Bengali language. Her transformation from an illiterate unknown housewife to a writer of an important genre of literature is thus praiseworthy. Most importantly when
she started her autobiography she was already a widow who had attained the age of sixty. The fact that she completed the first part of her autobiography as early as 1868 is a matter of significance because barring a few Indian women in general never
had privilege to get a formal education so that they could aspire to become a writer. Rassundari later added a second part to her autobiography which combinedly came out with a title Amar Jiban in 1897 when she was eighty-eight. The preface to the
book was written by Jyotindranath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore’s elder brother who praised for its “excellence” and recommended that every household in Bengal should have a copy of it.

Dinesh Chandra Sen wrote an introduction to the book Reviewing the life and writing of Rassundari Sen emphasized the significance of the autobiography saying, “an entire chapter of Bengali literature would have remained incomplete” (p.11) had this
book not been written. He went to an extent suggesting that Amar Jiban was not merely “the account of Rassundari but a story of all Hindu women of her time.”

Learning how to read and write for Rassundari was virtually an impossible task. Getting married at the age of twelve she had heavy responsibilities of running a large household and taking care of her eleven children. Rassundari writes how it was difficult
for her to manage her household duties even if she was busy doing the work beginning from dawn till midnight. Time was not her only problem. It was believed at that time by the women in Bengal and other parts of the country that if women started
learning to read and write their husbands would die as a consequence of their violative action. Thus, female education was never encouraged in the antahpur. But Rassundari’s zeal for education was never let down by the prohibitive social system.
Rassundari informs us, how miserable she felt when her thirst for reading Chaitanya Bhagabat arose in her mind. What possible steps she would have taken to fulfill her dream is difficult for us to imagine. She is frank in the book about her stealing of a
page from her husband’s Bhagabat and hiding it under the hearth of the kitchen. Whenever she found leisure time she tried to memorize the letters, which she had come across during her childhood days, stealthily. One can now understand what a great
effort went into Rassundari Devi’s becoming literate and to write such an autobiography. Rassundari herself bestows all credit to god. That’s why perhaps, at the beginning of every Composition she invokes her God to help her in her mission. She also
openly confesses her doubts and difficulties before God asking for excuses if she went wrong. It must be mentioned here that by invoking the grace of God Rassundari did not in any way reconcile herself with the abjectness of her life calling it ‘fate’ or
god-given. Rather she advocated a kind of social policy throughout her writing making it as an agenda in what Tanika Sarkar, a historian calls succinctly, “the social making.” In other words, by writing her autobiography Rassundari was very much aware
of the fact that she was going to reveal some home-truths, such as, women’s education, problems of motherhood, status of widowhood, etc. which are all modem topics relevant for discussion even today.
Rassundari’s main critique was targeted at ‘family’ which is even today known as “a repressive and oppressive institution” especially for women. And Rassundari was justified. The situations of pre-modem Bengali family can be best known from the
descriptions of the antahpur tradition. As had been the tradition an upper caste/class family had a pure compartmentalization of dwellings i.e., the inner and the outer rooms. Men who were generally educated and in-charge of dealing with the public
were the lords of the houses. On the other hand, women were compelled to live an isolated life in the inner rooms round the clock busying themselves doing what was commonly known as women’s duties. Cooking took most of their time, Rassundari
records how three fourths of her day was spent on preparing food only. And, there were hundred and one chores to be attended to. One cannot believe how miserably they spent their lives unless and until one hears the account from one of the victims.

Living together for more than forty five years Rassundari recalls, she never talked to her husband face to face. This was a tradition of her time and she followed it meticulously. In the book she always addressed him as karla and revered him, perhaps,
next to her God. This was not unusual because the time Rassundari wrote her life-story men folk commanded more respect both inside and outside the household. The idea that they were the sole bread earners of the house, perhaps, made them to
assume extra power in the family. Women were treated as inferior and they became the immediate victims in the family. Assuming power men also controlled women’s movements. They never allowed their women to cross the boundary gates to go for
even socializing – let alone allow them to work outside and be independent economically. Earlier we have already mentioned the compartmental lifestyles of antahpur where women were confined to their inner apartments. Inheriting such tradition
Rassundari never got let down. She even never accused anybody in person for such arrangements. She, however, registered protest against the orthodox Hindu tradition which as she believed, was responsible for the low status of women in her time and
society. On the other hand, it may seem strange at this stage to quote Rassundari when she had all praises for her husband in unequivocal terms.

The tales of this book are obviously personal. But the way she portrayed her social and domestic life is nothing but a true picture of every woman Dinesh Chandra Sen rightly comments: “This biography cannot be ignored for being a personal account
only. It is an account of a typical Hindu woman. The woman, who simply told us her own tale, delineated the social picture unheeded. Amar Jiban is not only an account of Rassundari but an account of all the Hindu women of that time; there is no other
instance, in Bengali literature, of such an exact and truthful picture of women. Now it seems that a chapter of Bengali literature was never revealed unless this was written.”

Thus, Amar Jiban is a true picture of the contemporary society framed within the autobiography of a woman. Her autobiography constitutes itself as an instance of how to write about the self in relation to events and persons, and in relation to the life of
the soul, devotion to a deity, and aspiration towards the infinite. She reconnected her past to the present. Thus she represented two generations. So, Dinesh Chandra Sen rightly said: “We can gloriously disclose to the world an example of Bengali
housewife.”

Masternote
(includes feminist writing, autobiography, 19th century patriarchal dominating society)
Rassundari Devi, an illiterate housewife, defied societal norms in 1868, becoming the first modern Bengali autobiographer at the age of sixty, a feat made remarkable given the prevailing lack of formal education for Indian women. In 1897, at eighty-
eight, she added a second part to her autobiography titled "Amar Jiban," with a preface by Jyotindranath Tagore, recommending its presence in every Bengal household. Rassundari's autobiography, chronicling her struggle to learn amidst household
duties and societal restrictions, earned acclaim from Dinesh Chandra Sen, who asserted that without it, a chapter in Bengali literature would be incomplete. Her critique focused on the repressive nature of the family, shedding light on the isolated lives
of women in the antahpur tradition, emphasizing their confinement to domestic chores. Despite her portrayal of a traditional respect for her husband, Rassundari challenged the orthodox Hindu traditions responsible for women's low status. She
navigated the compartmentalized lifestyle, revealing personal tales that, according to Sen, represented the collective experience of Hindu women at the time. "Amar Jiban" transcends personal narrative, serving as a vivid portrayal of contemporary
society, offering insights into women's struggles, education, motherhood, and the oppressive family structure. Rassundari, through her autobiography, connects past and present, symbolizing two generations and exemplifying the ability to gloriously
disclose the life of a Bengali housewife to the world.

Rassundari Devi defied patriarchal norms in 19th-century Bengal, committing three significant "transgressions" according to societal expectations: learning to read and write, documenting her domestic life in a publicized book, and entering the
forbidden public sphere. She rejected traditional forms of female worship, choosing an intellectual connection with her God through reading Chaitanya Bhagavata, challenging the notion of passive devotion. Contrary to the male-authored portrayal of
women as idealized domestic goddesses, Rassundari deconstructed the grihalakshmi figure in her autobiography "Amar Jiban," revealing the tiresome, repetitive, and unrecognized nature of domestic duties. She demystified the nurturing maternal
figure, describing childcare as physically laborious, contesting the romanticized male representation of women in literature. Rassundari's life writing serves as a testimony to the challenges faced by women in her generation. Metaphorically likening
herself to a caged bird in her child marriage, she expressed a desire to break free from societal expectations and transcend her roles as a wife, mother, and daughter-in-law to connect with her God. Addressing taboo topics, Rassundari candidly detailed
her experiences of pregnancy and childbirth, presenting a feminist stance by openly discussing these matters in her published work. Despite the hardships faced as a child bride, she rejoiced in the changing times and emerging opportunities for girls'
education. Rassundari Devi's life story stands as a testament to a woman's determination to overcome obstacles for education and liberation.

Amar Jiban, authored by Rassundari Devi in two parts (1868 and 1906), depicts the 19th-century struggles of a woman seeking literacy. Rassundari, a devotee of Dayamadhav, intertwines her life story with devotional poems, showcasing her dual
perspective on literacy acquisition: as a result of God's mercy and her own determined efforts, challenging patriarchal norms. Rassundari's transgressions against societal norms include learning to read, writing her domestic life in a published book, and
entering the forbidden public sphere. She defies patriarchal beliefs by rejecting ritualistic female worship, opting for an intellectual relationship with God through reading Chaitanya Bhagavata, challenging established social structures. In "Amar Jiban,"
Rassundari presents her life retrospectively, portraying vivid household details with emotional detachment. She deconstructs the idealized housewife and nurturing maternal figures, contesting male representations in literature. Her life writing testifies
to the challenges faced by women in her generation, especially regarding education. Rassundari's poignant metaphor of being a caged bird in her child marriage reflects her desire to break free from societal expectations and transcend her roles to
connect with her God. Detailing taboo topics like pregnancy, childbirth, and the struggles of a child bride, Rassundari's feminist stance emerges as she joyfully notes societal changes favoring girls' education. Her life story stands as an inspiration,
illustrating a woman's determination to overcome obstacles for education and liberation.