Dr ANANDI and her TIMES-XII

Anandi Gopal from unpublished sources - This book was published in 1997 by Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Samiti. The Samiti collected more than 100 letters written by Dr Anandi mainly to her husband Shri Gopalrao, her brother, eminent personalities like Pandita Ramabai, Mrs Carpenter who was first to respond positively to the appeal made by Anandibai for support, her friends, and the Dewan of Kolhapur.

NewsBharati    24-Jun-2023 09:00:31 AM   
Total Views |
A letter written by Anandibai on reaching America for admission to the Women's Medical College of Pa. astonishes one to the core. She stated she had 70 dollars with her and 'her husband was expected to send 20 dollars per month less the cost of sending'.
 
Anandi Times 
 
Some information about herself was given. She studied arithmetic in her language and knew the English grammar and history of England, Rome, Greece ( spelled as Greece now ), and India. Could read and speak five Indian languages besides English. ( Sanskrit, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, and Hindi) Anyone can be surprised because there was hardly any exposure available for such learning. One has to learn three different scripts to be able to read .
 
It was clearly stated that she went to America in spite of the opposition from her friends and caste. The purpose was to be able to render 'true medical aid to suffering country women' who found it difficult to consult a male physician. She was moved to 'help the many who cannot help themselves'. She had faith in God who she thought would 'lend her aid and assistance'. She asked nothing as an individual.
 
The letter was written in English.
There is a small letter written to her friend miss grace welder, who probably knew Marathi well because it is in Devnagari script. She must have been very busy with her academics and was not well, so could not respond for a long time, she apologized for it.

A letter written to Bapusaheb dated 31/10/1884 too unfolds a different facet of Anandibai. He helped her a lot, the most important gift according to her was the books he sent her.
By that time she became very busy as she used to study for 17-18 hours a day. The exams were very difficult and there were many subjects to learn, she was writing them at 10 past 12, so was tired.
 
She gave the account of the money she had, Mr. James ( a British officer who helped her a lot initially ) collected 600 dollars ( approximately 1300 RS). The money saved after the last year's expenses were 100 dollars, so she had 700 dollars for the year ahead, she wrote, spent 70 dollars to buy books, and need 20 dollars for food expenses. Thus she hoped to save 400 dollars which she could use for the return tickets, 200 dollars would be sufficient for a year she thought. She did not want him to be worried and Bapusaheb too had his family to be looked after.

The letter expresses her anguish,(she planned to stay in America for 2 more years )and her separation from Gopalrao. At the end of the letter, she conveyed that rarely she received money from people to cover her expenses.

 She urged him to write frequently as his letters were a great support to her. She signed as Yamuna.
(Even today students have to spend very carefully when they enroll in any American University.)

The correspondence between Mrs. Carpenter and Anandibai is very special. Mrs. Carpenter wrote long letters which described her family, the climate, American way of life and focused on many issues. She affectionately called her sister and gradually the address to Anandibai changed to my dear niece, it acquired a warm family tone.
In the letter written on 3/6/1880, she wrote,' if she spoke their language as well as she wrote it, then she certainly had a great amount of oratorical talent and with the right opportunities she would make a great linguist.' She cared a lot for her, at times she is philosophical too. There is a discussion on religion also. Anandibai shared her thoughts frankly on many points with her, Mrs Carpenter was one of the pillars of strength she had.

She wrote to Miss Bodley on her behalf to the College of Pennsylvania.
 
She even sent a word of caution about an Indian gentleman, and asked to keep him at a distance as he was 'capable of causing a great deal of trouble'.

There is a letter written by her on 6/12/ 1883, in which there was a discussion about the cost of a skeleton Anandibai needed.

The next write-up would be the last one. Reading the letters and writing about them helped me know Dr. Anandibai to some extent. Her courage, her willingness to work hard to fulfill the dream that both of them cherished equally, the trajectory of her progressive personality, the way her thoughts evolved along with her journey, everything appears so surreal that one can hardly believe that she really led such a life. One has to accept that facts are fancier than fiction. She was a torch bearer, let us all tread on the path with determination and faith.
Dr Anandi Gopal Dr Anandi Gopal letters Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Samiti Dr. Joshee
Prof. Vidya Deshpande

Prof. Vidya Deshpande

Professor Vidya Deshpande has had a journey of more than four decades in the field of education. Her  main expertise is in the subject of Philosophy,  and she has worked as a teacher of philosophy and logic with Nowrosjee Wadia college for 36 years. She has been associated with the Janakalyan Blood bank for last for 38 years and has also carried out the responsibility as a management committee member of Karve Stree Shikshan Sanstha for 10 years. Her special fields of interest are Philosophy of social sciences, school education, development of skills for self reliance,  and top up skills to make students profession ready,