Time: 15th December, 4:30 - 5:30PM
About the book:
Something strange is happening in the heart of the British Empire. Nineteenth-century Calcutta is abuzz with social reforms, especially with regard to women's rights and education. And at this time, Kadambini Ganguly dreams of going to university—and in the ultimate audacious hope—wants to become a doctor. But for many people, the idea of girls studying is anathema. And a school full of unmarried girls and widows getting an education, in an environment where caste is disregarded and every student treated as an equal, leads to charges of immorality. And the battle to get the right to a college education is against overwhelming odds. The fictionalised story of Kadambini, one of the first women graduates of the British Empire and the first woman to get a degree from an Indian medical college, is rivetingly told by Madhurima Vidyarthi, in a fascinating portrait of nineteenth century life, society and its arbitrary mores.
About the author:
In her day job, Madhurima Vidyarthi is an endocrinologist; trained in Kolkata and London and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (UK). She works in the field of adult endocrinology, with a special interest in the endocrinology of fertility and pregnancy, trained especially in the management of complex pregnancies of diabetes patients. She has also always been a passionately committed writer. Over the years she has written in many formats – scripts for educational documentaries (EMMRC, St Xavier’s College, Kolkata) and for a CD-ROM created by PriceWaterhouseCoopers on Satyajit Ray (narrated by Sir Richard Attenborough). But her enduring love has always been fiction. She writes across a range of genres and age groups. Her latest release is 'The School for Bad Girls', Duckbill (Penguin Random House India), a fictionalised telling of the women's emancipation and education movement in India, featuring Kadambini Ganguly, the first woman to train as a doctor in India. The same imprint previously published My Grandmother’s Masterpiece in February 2022 and Munni Monster in February 2023. An upcoming historical novel for adults is slated to be released in January 2025 by Niyogi Books.
The talk and book signing is a part of Kolkata Centre for Creativity’s AMI Arts Festival. The festival is an annual arts and culture festival that has worked to promote the country's rich cultural heritage by showcasing various art forms; over the years it has grown in size and has now become one of East India’s biggest art and culture festivals with its diverse programming. The month-long festival features exhibitions, talks, film screenings, book launches, workshops, as well as dance, theatre and music performances.
Chairperson of Kolkata Centre for Creativity Richa Agarwal says, “This year we are celebrating the fifth edition of AMI Arts Festival on a much larger scale than last year. We are fortunate that the festival has received so much love over the past few years and we are happy that our city – Kolkata, has supported us. Our vision for AMI Arts Festival is to create an inclusive space where creatives and audiences from diverse backgrounds can connect, collaborate and be inspired. We hope the fifth edition of the festival will bring joy to both its performers and audiences to elevate Kolkata’s art and culture scene further and continue to be a platform for the Indian creative community.”
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