
My mother’s classmate, Sharda Pandit (later Mukherjee), Bombay, Maharashtra. 1935
Image and text contributed by Mrudula Prabhuram Joshi, Bombay
The beautiful woman seen here is Sharda Pandit, a scion of a Maharashtrian aristocratic family in the earlier half of the 20th century. She was born in Rajkot, Gujarat. She was hailed as the ‘Beauty Queen’ of Elphinstone College of Bombay, in fact of all collegians of the city; because Bombay (now Mumbai) had only three colleges at that time – Elphinstone, Wilson and St. Xavier’s. She possessed a kind of serene beauty, singular charm and grace. Her contemporaries from other colleges would drop by just to have a glimpse of this icon of beauty. Not only was she beautiful to look at, she possessed a beautiful heart, too.
At that time, there were only a handful of women students in the colleges, most of whom were from middle class families. Sharda would get along amicably with everyone despite her wealthy family background. She acted as the heroine of several plays during the college years, for the Annual College Day functions.
Sharda and my mother, Kamini Vijaykar were classmates and that is how I came to know about her.
Later on, Sharda married Subroto Mukherjee, the first Air Chief Marshal of the Indian Air Force in 1939. After his untimely death in 1960, she devoted herself to social service and political activism. For some time, she was also the Governor of Andhra Pradesh from 1977-1978 and then the Governor of Gujarat from 1978 to 1983. She kept herself busy with several constructive activities. She was beyond 90 years of age when she passed away, but preserved her inner and outer beauty till the very last.
Sep 28, 2011 | Categories: 1930s, 1970s, Acting, Activist, Andhra Pradesh, Aristocracy, Beauty Icons, Chiffon, College, Elphinstone College, English Medium, Extra Curricular, Governance, Graduation, Gujarat, Indian Air Force, Indian Clothes, Indian Politics, Inter Caste, Lifestyles, Love & Romance, Maharashtra, Maharashtrian, Military, Pre-Independence, Props, Sarees, Studio Backdrops, Studio Portraits, Theatre, Women, Women Empowerment, Women's Clothes | Tags: 1930s, 1970s, Acting, Activist, Air Chief Marshal, Air Marshall, Andhra Pradesh, Annual Day functions, Aristocracy, Aristocrat, Beauty Icons, Beauty Queen, Bombay, Chiffon, College, Education, Elphinstone, Elphinstone College, English Medium, Extra Curricular, Fashion & Trends, Friendships, Governance, Governor, Governor of Gujarat, graduation, Gujarat, Indian Air Force, Indian Politics, Inter-caste, Kamini Vijaykar, Lifestyles, Love & Romance, Maharashtra, Maharashtrian, Middle Class, Military, Mumbai, Pre Independence, Props, Royal Family, Sarees, Studio Backdrops, Studio Portraits, Subroto Mukherjee, Theatre, Wealth, Wilson and Xavier’s | 3 Comments »

My great-great grandparents, Sarala and Dr. PK Roy. Calcutta, West Bengal. Circa 1880
Image contributed by Chetan Roy
This photo was used by Kodak India for an Ad campaign in the early 1980s.
Sarala Roy was an educationist and is remembered as the founder of the Gokhale Memorial School at Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal. She belonged to the famous Das family of Telirbagh, Dhaka, now in Bangladesh. She was also a member of Calcutta University’s senate and also one of the leaders of the All-India Women’s Conference. The conference was founded in 1927 under the leadership of Margaret Cousins but was soon completely run by Indian women. It was the most important women’s organisation of its time.
She devoted her life to the cause of women’s education and also established a Girl’s school & a Women’s organization in Dhaka, while living there with her husband.
Rabindranath Tagore composed the dance-drama
Mayar Khela at her request.
Feb 23, 2010 | Categories: 1800s, 1980s, Activist, Advertising, Bengali, Bengali, Brahmo Samaj, British Reign, Calcutta, Calcutta University, Civil Services, Cultural Attire, Diplomat, Elite, Fashion & Trends, Fashion Accessories, Gilchrist, Gokhale Memorial School, Hair Styles, Indian Clothes, Indian Politics, Jewellery, London, Men, Men's Clothes, Music, Art, Dance & Culture, Mustache, Pre-Independence, Presidency College, Calcutta, Sarees, Scholar, Scholarships & Grants, United Kingdom, University of Edinburgh, University of London, West Bengal, Western Clothes, Women, Women Empowerment, Women's Clothes | Tags: 1800s, 1980s, Activist, Advertising, Art & Culture, Bengali, Brahmo Samaj, British Reign, Calcutta, Calcutta University, Campaign, Civil Services, Couple, Cultural Attire, Diplomat, Education, Elite, Fashion & Trends, Fashion Accessories, Gilchrist, Gokhale Memorial School, Hair Styles, Indian Politics, Jewellery, Kodak, London, Music, Mustache, Play, Pre Independence, Presidency College, Calcutta, Rabindra Nath Tagore, Sarees, Sari, Scholar, Scholarship, Scholarships & Grants, United Kingdom, University of Edinburgh, University of London, West Bengal, Women Empowerment | 1 Comment »