Amar Jiban

by Rassundari Devi, Enakshi Chatterjee (Translator)

The complete, unabridged translation of the Bengali text, with the original introductions by Jyotirindranath Tagore and Dinesh Chandra Sen.

Sen remarks, “The account of this life can hardly be ignored as merely personal. It is a factual document of the life of an old Hindu woman… The book Amar Jiban is thus not merely the account of Rassundari but a story of all Hindu women of her time. We do not have a second book of this kind in our Bengali literature where the situation of women is so exactly and frankly drawn. Come to think of it – if this book had not been written, an entire chapter of Bengali literature would have remained incomplete.”

Genres: Autobiography, Nonfiction, Biography, Feminism

128 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1876

About the author

Rassundari Devi (Bengali: রাসসুন্দরী দেবী) was a Bengali writer who is identified as the author of first full-fledged autobiography in modern Bengali literature. She is among the earliest woman writers in Bengali literature.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Jasmine Binte Jalal · Rating 3 out of 5]

"এই গ্রন্থখানি একজন রমণীর লেখা,শুধু তাহা নহে,৮৮ বৎসরের একজন বর্ষীয়সী প্রাচীন রমণীর লেখা।তাই বিশেষ কৌতূহলী হইয়া আমি এই গ্রন্থপাঠে প্রবৃত্ত হই।"

কথাগুলো আমার বলা না, কিন্তু যেন আমারই।বইটির ভূমিকা থেকে নেয়া।শ্রীমতি রাসসুন্দরী'র এই বই প্রকাশিত হয়েছিল ১৮৭৬ সালে,এটি প্রথম ভারতীয় বাঙালি মহিলার লেখা আত্মজীবনী।তখনকার সময়ের নারীদের অবস্থান বোঝার জন্য বইটি একটা প্রতিবিম্ব হতে পারে।যদিও সাধু ভাষায় লিখিত,এরপরেও গতানুগতিক সাধুভাষায় রচিত বইয়ের মতো এতটাও কঠিন নয়।এক বসাতেই পড়ে ফেলা সম্ভব।

[Ritu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A devotional woman, who taught herself to read and write in the prejudiced late 19th century, Bengal, writes about her life of 88 years.
Although I've given this a 3 star rating, in all honesty, I cannot judge such a book. This woman talks of her life, experiences, follies, fears, vulnerabilities, loss and her love for Madanagopala. Married at the age of 12, when from her accounts it seems that she suffers from anxiety. Although, I am very well aware of the many customs in my country, for a while I read the book through completely detached eyes. I could not even fathom how such customs came into place and how they continued to be practiced all around the country.
Rassundari Devi taught herself to read and write and penned down an account of her life. That's badass for me.

[Pritha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The narrative style is very tangible and easy. Written with such pure emotions, this book can be read in one sitting. I have never been a fan of autobiographies, which remains intact. The thing that really irked me was how it was heavily and repeatedly said the same things over and over again, and in some way, the Second Part was pretty much an exaggerated part of the first one.

[Soumitro Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The autobiography of an 88 year old Bengali woman who lived through an period of pre-independent Bengal, India, where in spite of huge social reforms the attitude towards women rights were extremely conservative. The book is a pioneering work as it was written by a woman who grew through this age, took all the rules and laws of society silently, lived a devoted household and yet self-educated herself and wrote the first autobiography in Bengali. The themes of Devotion to God, Household Duty, Women Rights and Feminism are center of this book.

However certain lines and paragraphs are repeated time and again in the book. And the second part of the book deals and repeats mostly the theme of ‘Devotion to God’ and makes it a kind of boring read. But we readers should not forget the time, place and situation in which the book was written. It was written by an 88 year old woman who set a separated definition of feminism at a time when no one can think of it in that Bengal society. And considering this, the book holds a great value. It’s definitely a necessary read.

[Tithi Roy]

As the work of a woman who had been entirely uneducated for the first twenty years of her life, it is highly commendable on Rassundari Devi's part to create such beautiful compositions for her Dayamadhav. Her autobiography not only sheds light on her life alone but also holds up a picture of the then 19th century Bengal and the suppression and oppression the women had to face. Giving birth to 12 children, taking care of a blind mother-in-law, cooking for the household deity, and the large family all alone tell us the condition of women in those days. They were a mere slave and a birth-machine.

However, the book has several repetitions. It might be a part of Rassundari Devi's strategic tools that she had used to create her book in a revealing yet non-sarcastic manner, but that has made the book a lot lengthier than required and towards the end, one might feel bored and irritated by the same lines again and again.

[Kadbury]

Read excerpts from this.

I think I will be able to comment more on this after analyzing it,but so far this paints a sad but realistic portrait of how women had to sneak around and try to educate themselves.

[puchi likes to read · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was in our syllabus. our professor, on the first day of the lecture said, "theres this book. written by a self taught bengali housemaker. in the age of 18th century. when she was 88 years old. i need you to think about this sentence for a while before we continue with our class.(she said this when we were in our 2nd sem, whereas the book comes in when we will be in our 5th sem) i havent stopped thinking about those sentences, since last year. now ive finished reading the book, had time to contemplate about the characters and everything and i still have not stopped thinking about it. if i ever start talking about it im afraid ill never finish because there is so much to talk about. all i will say is im grateful to have read this, that too in my mother tongue.
and another note which had first bothered me while attending our class was when our professor said how religious this woman was. every right and wrong in her life and she related back to god. but after reading the full book, i think its a very strong force of faith she had in mankind. not just god. she called it god for the lack of anything better and because she did not have traditional literacy. but i strongly believe she was one of the strongest both mentally and physically woman in bengal. what a woman.

[Suvankar GRC · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most easy and fluent reads I have come across in recent times. Save the historical significance of the autobiography, the book communicates on 3 levels. First, with the readers of this narrative; second and most importantly, with the entity of Dayamadhav. The more the book progresses, the readers fade into the background, and the author's interaction with Dayamadhav gradually increases, and engulfs all the other events. On a third layer, the author communicates with her own mind – reprimanding it for wasting its days on earth, engaged more in trivial events than worshipping Dayamadhav.

The narrative is a wonderful fusion of simple prose and poetry. The author says what she intends, hands down.

[Disha Singh ;) · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a story of a Bengali women named Rassundari Devi.

She narrates her 4 ashrams of life. From being 12 year-old leaving her home after marriage treated as a new bride for 6 yrs to the age of 88 appreciating the Ocean of Kindness. Admiring Dayamadhav since childhood to Chaitanya during her end.

[Naga Pranay · Rating 3 out of 5]

still have to read

[Debashis Bandyopadhyay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique and rare autobiography focused on tough lives of Hindu women in 19th century Bengal...also a proper example of winning with hard work.

[Vaidhyanarwahi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two people separated by two centuries, immaculately relating to each other's temperaments, beliefs, fortuity....yeah well that's how it went. Won't deny that the repetitiveness was somewhat odd.

[IPSHITA♡︎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.9stars

[Blix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really inspiring!

[Ramyani Das · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very heartfelt composition, which may have been a little lost on me due to the literalness of translations. The only thing that bugged me was the compactness of the directly executed sentences which can very well be excused for a person who learned to read in her youth and to write far more later. This piece of literature deserves more than 5 stars, for it's not just a narration but it's a composition rendered out of seer emotions.
It's not a feminist text as a lot of critics may have acclaimed but a display of truth, it's an example of an individual that runs far deeper than a criticism of society.

[Brandon J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amar Jiban is a remarkable work of autobiography. Rassundari Devi provides us with a longitudinal glimpse into an entire culture from the perspective of one Bengali woman; for that, it is enlightening, entertaining, and disconcerting all at once. The simple title of the book is appropriate, for what we should expect is precisely what is given — a life.

At times, there's a detachment between the reader and the experience being described to them, usually due to interference from a precociously forward editor, or translator, or transcriber. Devi closes that distance for us, telling us her story without the romance and tragedy often expected of biographical retelling of one's life. When she tells us about her experiences as a child reared in Bengal, it is just that: the account of a child in Bengal.

What I experienced was a work of great sincerity, with an author that was more concerned about providing the reader with the truth about her life and allowing them to pronounce their own judgments on the manner. For some, it may read as the tragedy of a girl robbed of her childhood; for another, it may be a dramatic adventure involving the difficulties that lie between adolescence and adulthood; for another, it may be a piece of inspiration for all those finding themselves in the same situation as Devi.

Despite how unfortunate the reader may find her circumstances (especially those unfamiliar with the culture of the region), those circumstances are very much the norm from her perspective, and are treated as a familiar thing.

Devi's life story is extraordinary precisely because it is ordinary. It is an insight into what it means to be a woman in Bengal, whose experiences are entirely expected, and placed upon so many in the Bengali region (perhaps even the Indian subcontinent as a whole) from the age they are eligible as marital candidates.

A word on the the writing itself: it has a rather direct approach in its narrative structure. If I had to describe it in a few words, I would call it "story-telling", for that is precisely what it feels like as you progress through the life of Rassundari Devi. It is direct, casual, and full of the little digressions and reflections that commonly occur when we are recalling important or interesting events in our lives and feel the need to put them into words for those worthy of being listeners. It lacks the refinements of, say, a presidential memoir — but there's no reason to believe that it needs them.

[Palak Bhandari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to read Amar Jiban for class, and I’m glad I did. Imagine living in a time when women weren’t even allowed to learn to read, and then secretly teaching yourself anyway that’s what Rassundari Devi did. It’s simple in style, but that simplicity makes it even more powerful. Reading it felt like hearing history directly from someone who lived it.

[Rakesh]

The first autobiography written by an Indian woman.

Imagine a mother of 12 children who feels agitated at the very sight of paper and a book. Someone who aspires to be literate in order to read religious books and recite hymns. In her autobiography, Rassundari Devi (1810-?) writes that she used to curse herself for having such evil desires since women from ‘cultured’ households did not learn to read. Literate women were considered bad in the society.

— Saquib Salim: https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2016/11/...