SNL25-26_final for print.pmd - sparrow

HomageWeekly of India in the 1940s.Vyarawala worked under a different professional name and theidentity she had chosen was ‘Dalda 13’. The reasons behind herchoice of this rather amusing name were that her birth year was1913, she got married at the age of 13 and her first car’s numberplate read ‘DLD 13’. She was in the profession for nearly fourdecades before retiring in the early 1970s.—Malsawmi JacobProfileoRemembering Dr Leela DubeMarch ch 27, 1923– May 20, 2012D r Leela Dube was exceptional in manyways as a feminist anthropologist. Knowninternationally for her contributions, what makesher stand out is the way she brought hersympathy for feminism with the rigour ofanthropology. Conventionally anthropologystudies exotic cultures—the Eskimos, orislanders in South Pacific and so on. The westernscholars who undertook observation and interpretation of theculture of others could not escape the biases of their own context.Though there were some rare exceptions, by and large theirinterpretations missed the indigenous nuances and the views ofthe locals and the meaning they attributed to various functionsand rituals. Leela Dube marked a departure from this in two ways:one by innovative methodology and second by meticulous research.Her work always had a comparative aspect so that she could isolatewhat was different where. Feminist theory as developed in the westpostulated universal patriarchy. Dube provided an importantcorrective by bringing features like kinship that mediated the relationsbetween men and women in non western societies and how agealso mattered. She used folk lore and systematic analysis of symbolsused.Her study of how ideology works on Hindu girls in patrilinealIndia was an eye opener. Her comparitive study of South and SouthEast Asia brought new knowledge about different kinship systemsand how they affected women’s status. She never failed to concludethat not kinship alone but other hierarchies like class and castemattered.Apart from being an outstanding scholar, holding many importantpositons in national and international commissions, whatdistinguished Leela Dube was her humility and human kindness,lack of arrogance and encouragement to young scholars. We havelost indeed a rare personality, a feminist friend. That she still publishedat the age of 88, the year before she finally laid down her pen,speaks for her tireless commitment to her creed.—Maithreyi KrishnarajPositive change is possible only whenwe understand women’s lives, history andstruggles for self-respect and human dignity2.2Mrinal GoreJune 24, 1928– July 17, 2012M rinal Gore, a veteran Socialist leader andactivist, passed away on 17 th July, 2012. Shewas affectionately nicknamed ‘Paniwali Bai’ for herefforts to bring drinking water supply to Goregaon.The 84 year old former MP was a pioneervisionary. Influenced in her young age by MahatmaGandhi’s Quit India movement, she left a promising career inmedicine and joined the fight for social justice, organizing the poorand the disenfranchised. For more than half a century, she wasinvolved in campaigning for women’s rights, civil rights andcommunal harmony.Along with her husband, Kesav Gore, she worked at buildingbetter civic infrastructure for the masses. When she became anMLA in 1972, she took up issues like atrocities on farmers, Dalits,tribals and women.Mrinal Gore will be remembered for her contribution in nationbuilding and for helping the underprivileged.—Malsawmi JacobCaptain Lakshmi SehgalOctober 24, 1914– July 23, 2012C aptain Lakshmi Sehgal, a veteranfreedom fighter, died on 23 rd July2012 at age 97. She was a part of NetajiSubhash Chandra Bose’s IndianNational Army. She commanded the Raniof Jhansi Regiment in the INA.A doctor by profession, Sehgal wasworking as a medical practitionerand a social worker. She was awardedPadma Vibhushan in 1998.Lakshmi had chosen to study medicine because of her desire tohelp the poor, especially poor women. She received an MBBS degreefrom Madras Medical College in 1938. A year later, she receivedher diploma in gynaecology and obstetrics.In 1940, she left for Singapore, where she established a clinic forthe poor, most of whom were migrant labourers from India. It wasat this time that she began to play an active rolein the India Independence League.Captain Lakshmi Sehgal has been called ‘one of the lion heartedwomen that India ever had.’ It is said that she ‘fought like a tigress’in the struggle for Indian independence. In later life, as a practisingdoctor in Kanpur, she retained her indomitable spirit and was amajor attraction in seminars and conferences.—Malsawmi JacobDo write to us if you come to know about a life, abook, a visual, a film or a song which you think mustbe documented in SPARROW. For reviews please send2 copies of the book.