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Memsahibs: British Women in Colonial India
For young Englishwomen stepping off the steamer, the sights and sounds of humid colonial India were like nothing they'd ever experienced. For many, this was the ultimate destination to find a perfect civil servant husband. For still more, however, India offered a chance to fling off the shackles of Victorian social mores. The word 'memsahib' conjures up visions of silly aristocrats, well-staffed bungalows and languorous days at the club. Yet these women had sought out the uncertainties of life in Britain's largest, busiest colony. Memsahibs introduces readers to the likes of Flora Annie Steel, Fanny Parks and Emily Eden, accompanying their husbands on expeditions, travelling solo across dangerous terrain, engaging in political questions, and recording their experiences. Yet the Raj was not all adventure. There was disease, and great risk to young women travelling alone; for colonial wives in far-flung outposts, there was little access to 'society'. Cut off from modernity and the Western world, many women suffered terrible trauma and depression. From the hill-stations to the capital, this is a sweeping, vividly written anthology of colonial women's lives across British India. Their honesty and bravery, in their actions and their writings, shine fresh light on this historical world.
- GenresIndia
438 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 30, 2022
*BOOK REVIEW*
'Memsahibs...' was a thoroughly immersive read. So well-researched, extensive and absolutely at home with its subject matter, quite unlike the book's subjects themselves— British women who were forced to travel far from their homelands struggling to adjust to a foreign land after following their husbands to India.
To these Memsahibs, nothing in the country they were duty-bound to settle in was remotely familiar— be it climate, food, culture, or language. These, when viewed under a colonial lens that deemed anything non-native as savage and inferior, made it harder for them to adapt to their new physical and cultural environment. Then, of course, there were a multitude of diseases to be wary of, dangerous wild animals and nefarious thugs along the road! No wonder the women began pining for home, all alone in an alien land, unable to share their woes with their perennially busy husbands.
Yet, Ipshita Nath makes it a point to illustrate that these British women were anything but a harmonious chorus. Quotes, memoirs, and a variety of cited instances tell us how uniquely (and resoundingly) they responded to similar situations. Some, despite every difficulty and difference, were drawn towards India while many others refused to succumb to the challenges of their new surroundings, instead choosing to fortify themselves accordingly. And so the Memsahibs held their ground, packing bottles of quinine for malaria, embarking on hunts—at times singlehandedly tracking down and shooting leopards and hogs— and travelling in large groups to protect themselves from being robbed. The book, overall, was an illuminating experience, exposing distinctive attitudes and voices that are often not sought out or expected to carry anything noteworthy to offer. Navigating the highs and lows of life in India alongside the women of 'Memsahibs...' was tricky yet stirring for me, perhaps no less exciting than an elephant ride with all the trimmings!
'Memsahibs...' was a thoroughly immersive read. So well-researched, extensive and absolutely at home with its subject matter, quite unlike the book's subjects themselves— British women who were forced to travel far from their homelands struggling to adjust to a foreign land after following their husbands to India.
To these Memsahibs, nothing in the country they were duty-bound to settle in was remotely familiar— be it climate, food, culture, or language. These, when viewed under a colonial lens that deemed anything non-native as savage and inferior, made it harder for them to adapt to their new physical and cultural environment. Then, of course, there were a multitude of diseases to be wary of, dangerous wild animals and nefarious thugs along the road! No wonder the women began pining for home, all alone in an alien land, unable to share their woes with their perennially busy husbands.
Yet, Ipshita Nath makes it a point to illustrate that these British women were anything but a harmonious chorus. Quotes, memoirs, and a variety of cited instances tell us how uniquely (and resoundingly) they responded to similar situations. Some, despite every difficulty and difference, were drawn towards India while many others refused to succumb to the challenges of their new surroundings, instead choosing to fortify themselves accordingly. And so the Memsahibs held their ground, packing bottles of quinine for malaria, embarking on hunts—at times singlehandedly tracking down and shooting leopards and hogs— and travelling in large groups to protect themselves from being robbed. The book, overall, was an illuminating experience, exposing distinctive attitudes and voices that are often not sought out or expected to carry anything noteworthy to offer. Navigating the highs and lows of life in India alongside the women of 'Memsahibs...' was tricky yet stirring for me, perhaps no less exciting than an elephant ride with all the trimmings!
November 28, 2022
A marvellous description how these women born thousands of kilometres away from India came to a completely different country and how they survived mostly on their own whilst supporting their husbands & sacrificing many things they took for granted growing up in their home countries.
October 2, 2022
~ Meet the Memsahibs ~
Memsahib - a term my mother used a lot for me in my childhood, whenever I threw a tantrum, made a fuss or draped her dupatta as a saree and acted hoity toity.
For the lack of my knowledge and primitive representations, I supposed that is how the British women of colonial India must have been. Privileged, ignorant, snobbish with luxurious lives and many servants at disposal. Now after reading a little about them, was that the case? NO!
Memsahibs by Ipshita Nath charts stories of these women from the starting of 19th century to 1947, the year of India's Independence. She talks about the "Fishing Fleets' that came to India in search of a perfect civil servant husband or for a chance to run away from the shackles of Victorian society norms. The book touches various topics that concerned these women of those times like the solitude and melancholy their new lives as memsahibs thrusted upon them, the harsh climate and concerns for their health, motherhood and their insecurities with their ayahs, the balls and parties they had to attend or the aloof outpost where they barely had anything to keep them entertained. It describes their cool holidays in the hills to finally when they had to leave the new country amidst the chaos and riots. Nath uses their anecdotes from several sources to make the reader understand the ladies better.
I was a little worried that the book might be lurking around Raj nostalgia and demand sympathy for the lives of Memsahibs but the book does not attempt that at all. It holds a very neutral tone which must have been complicated for the author to write but she does a fine job. In Nath's words - These women were just trying to thrive in the man's world.
What came as a surprise for me was their writings on the politics and imperialism. The writings of Christina S Bremner, Emily Eden, Constance FG Cumming show that they all did not turn a blind eye to what cost India was paying.
Read this to know how Memsahibs broke the rules and conventions, to appreciate their zeal for exploration, to maybe mend your views about these hoity toity Memsahibs!
Memsahib - a term my mother used a lot for me in my childhood, whenever I threw a tantrum, made a fuss or draped her dupatta as a saree and acted hoity toity.
For the lack of my knowledge and primitive representations, I supposed that is how the British women of colonial India must have been. Privileged, ignorant, snobbish with luxurious lives and many servants at disposal. Now after reading a little about them, was that the case? NO!
Memsahibs by Ipshita Nath charts stories of these women from the starting of 19th century to 1947, the year of India's Independence. She talks about the "Fishing Fleets' that came to India in search of a perfect civil servant husband or for a chance to run away from the shackles of Victorian society norms. The book touches various topics that concerned these women of those times like the solitude and melancholy their new lives as memsahibs thrusted upon them, the harsh climate and concerns for their health, motherhood and their insecurities with their ayahs, the balls and parties they had to attend or the aloof outpost where they barely had anything to keep them entertained. It describes their cool holidays in the hills to finally when they had to leave the new country amidst the chaos and riots. Nath uses their anecdotes from several sources to make the reader understand the ladies better.
I was a little worried that the book might be lurking around Raj nostalgia and demand sympathy for the lives of Memsahibs but the book does not attempt that at all. It holds a very neutral tone which must have been complicated for the author to write but she does a fine job. In Nath's words - These women were just trying to thrive in the man's world.
What came as a surprise for me was their writings on the politics and imperialism. The writings of Christina S Bremner, Emily Eden, Constance FG Cumming show that they all did not turn a blind eye to what cost India was paying.
Read this to know how Memsahibs broke the rules and conventions, to appreciate their zeal for exploration, to maybe mend your views about these hoity toity Memsahibs!
September 14, 2022
“You gave too much rein to your imagination. Imagination is a good servant, and a bad master. The simplest explanation is always the most likely”.
The title of the book is capable of giving rise to many suppositions on the part of readers as it would connote an intertwinement of elegance with a rather reserved temperament. However, the 496 pages long the book at hand revolves around explaining to the readers to further explore the realities of the Memsahibs when they were in British Colonial India. Delving further, the book has been divided into 10 Chapters. Further, the presentation aspect of the book has been meticulously designed as can be seen from the definitions provided by the author relating various things relating to India in the form of a Glossary of British Indian terms. The prologue section of the book details the experience of the author concerning the term “Memsahib” and the experiences faced by her. The first chapter of the book has been titled “DAYS ALL GOLD AND NIGHTS ALL SILVER” which begins by detailing the time of 1825 when a plan to travel to India was effectuated and the Memsahib was “Anne Katherine Curteis Elwood” and further details as to what it brought along with it. As the chapters go further, each of them tends to be reflective of the actualities of the Memsahibs.
The writing style of the book has been kept very descriptive and the simplicity of the language is not absolute in the book at hand, however, it works to that effect as it brings the readers closer to the truer insights of the book. Thus, in light of the stated aspects, the book is a must-read for anyone willing to go for a good read.
The title of the book is capable of giving rise to many suppositions on the part of readers as it would connote an intertwinement of elegance with a rather reserved temperament. However, the 496 pages long the book at hand revolves around explaining to the readers to further explore the realities of the Memsahibs when they were in British Colonial India. Delving further, the book has been divided into 10 Chapters. Further, the presentation aspect of the book has been meticulously designed as can be seen from the definitions provided by the author relating various things relating to India in the form of a Glossary of British Indian terms. The prologue section of the book details the experience of the author concerning the term “Memsahib” and the experiences faced by her. The first chapter of the book has been titled “DAYS ALL GOLD AND NIGHTS ALL SILVER” which begins by detailing the time of 1825 when a plan to travel to India was effectuated and the Memsahib was “Anne Katherine Curteis Elwood” and further details as to what it brought along with it. As the chapters go further, each of them tends to be reflective of the actualities of the Memsahibs.
The writing style of the book has been kept very descriptive and the simplicity of the language is not absolute in the book at hand, however, it works to that effect as it brings the readers closer to the truer insights of the book. Thus, in light of the stated aspects, the book is a must-read for anyone willing to go for a good read.
September 25, 2022
I was enamoured with the idea of reading about the supporting but crucial characters of colonial era who actually came with the intention of settling down and maintaining the household while their husbands faithfully did their duty for the crown. It was interesting to note and understand how they took to the Indian lifestyle despite being bred as an English Memsahib.
One of the noteworthy highlights of this book is the description of the perilous voyage that the Memsahibs undertook to reach the Indian shores. As a millennial, it is definitely a fascinating account for me to know that their month-long voyage on a ship came through different destinations of the world fraught with attacks from the pirates. The etiquette and the social norms made it an interesting read to understand the Victorian culture.
I was slightly disappointed with the content as it progressed which spoke about seasonal impact on the Memsahibs that shed nothing new about their life. The seasonal impact is something that is common throughout ages. I expected more insights on their thought-process and any specific incidents which affected their impression of India.
I enjoyed the quote snippets of the Memsahibs which felt more personalized but were not enough in numbers in the book. Sadly, personal stories were missing which made this book like a generalised diary of person living in India.
Overall, it was a refreshing read to understand the British Raj era in India and the prevalence of Victorian culture under the lens of Memsahibs who were indirect participants of colonialism.
One of the noteworthy highlights of this book is the description of the perilous voyage that the Memsahibs undertook to reach the Indian shores. As a millennial, it is definitely a fascinating account for me to know that their month-long voyage on a ship came through different destinations of the world fraught with attacks from the pirates. The etiquette and the social norms made it an interesting read to understand the Victorian culture.
I was slightly disappointed with the content as it progressed which spoke about seasonal impact on the Memsahibs that shed nothing new about their life. The seasonal impact is something that is common throughout ages. I expected more insights on their thought-process and any specific incidents which affected their impression of India.
I enjoyed the quote snippets of the Memsahibs which felt more personalized but were not enough in numbers in the book. Sadly, personal stories were missing which made this book like a generalised diary of person living in India.
Overall, it was a refreshing read to understand the British Raj era in India and the prevalence of Victorian culture under the lens of Memsahibs who were indirect participants of colonialism.
September 10, 2022
Stupid book writer by a Traitor who emphasized Colonizing women who are well aware of what they are doing and how life’s and impacted
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews