Book Reviews

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Sister Nivedita The Reviews

Fighter Extraordinary for India

by Sukanya Ray and

Anil Baran Ray

Published by Advaita Ashrama, 5, Dehi Entally Road, Kolkata-700 014. Email: mail@advaitaashrama. org. 2018, paperback, pp.152. Rs.70.

Irish-born Margaret Noble, initiated into the service of India as Sister Nivedita by her guru Swami Vivekananda, left period associated with Sister Nivedita. As the subtitle ‘The Fighter Extraordinary for India’ suggests, Nivedita—the ‘lioness’ of indelible footprints in her adopted country as a fearless crusader for the betterment of the nation groaning under the yoke of a tyrannical imperialist rule. Her speeches and writings, her innumerable proactive endeavours and her complete commitment to India need to be reiterated and reclaimed. This has especially been ongoing from 2017 which saw extensive programmes to mark 150 years of the birth of this exceptional personality. Publication of volumes such as the one under review has also been part of these 150th birth anniversary celebrations. Of course, the decisive body of work which Nivedita has left behind needs much incisive research and more wide-ranging engagement at different academic and policy levels; it is hoped that the future will bring out some seminal analyses of her writings and their inculcation in live contexts. The present volume is an adequate introduction to Sister Nivedita for a reader who is keen to know about the various aspects of Nivedita’s contribution to India. Based on the articles published by the authors—Sukanya Ray and Anil Baran Ray—in the Prabuddha Bharata, the monthly journal of the Advaita Ashrama, these essays have topical relevance during this historic Vivekananda’s choosing—showed great courage and bravery in espousing the cause of an enslaved people in whom she found great excellence which had been gradually and systematically obliterated by colonial suppression. With the blessings of her guru, Nivedita acquired ‘the mother’s heart, the hero’s will’ and became ‘the mistress, servant and friend’ of her adopted country. Her aim was to bring back the lost glory of India and for this she had to wage a constant battle with the British. As a result of this she was considered a traitor to her own race but this did not deter her from continuing her battle as this volume describes. Four spheres of her struggle are depicted in the present volume. Divided into four chapters: Dynamic Religion, Education of Indian Women, The Artistic Development of India and India’s Nationality and Freedom, the volume covers four major areas of Nivedita’s involvement in rebuilding the India of Vivekananda’s dreams. Each chapter gives details of her role and the progress she made; these were as significant in those times as they are meaningful today and present valuable lessons for study and emulation. The volume has a short

introduction at the beginning and a brief chapter of conclusion at the end. The introduction details Ramakrishna’s message and Vivekananada’s ideals along with Nivedita’s interpretation of these. And the conclusion highlights the universal dimension of Nivedita’s contribution. Of the four chapters mentioned above, the best executed is the chapter on Indian Art. Here the authors have taken up a vast canvas and done some in-depth study. Beginning with Vivekananda’s categorization of European art as fidelity to nature and Indian art as ideality, the chapter shows Nivedita’s relentless efforts to bring Indianness to Indian art as a continuation and development of her guru’s ideas. In spite of not being an artist herself, Nivedita worked tirelessly to impart “a new dimension to the art movement of India.” (p.63) Her own theory of Siva linga, her designing of the flag and the use of the vajra symbol are all quoted by the authors to show the range of her work. Her association with E.B Havell, Principal of Calcutta Art School has been described here as a significant step to actualise her efforts and it provided the right motivation to many influential names in later days such as Abanindranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose. A couple of pictures give a visual dimension to illustrate these descriptions. In the chapter on nationality and freedom of India, Nivedita’s political involvement is foregrounded. She faced severe criticism for having entered this field because the Ramakrishna Math and Mission did not sanction this and she had to first distance herself (though this was only an apparent distancing) from the organization in order to jump into the political fray. But again, as the subtitle has rightly said, she was a fighter par excellence, and nothing deterred her when she made up her mind to engage in battle. Also, the authors make the observation that ‘Politics was in the blood of Nivedita’ (p.101) to show the inevitability of her wholehearted participation. Recognising her acumen in this field, ‘Aurobindo nominated Nivedita as a member of the Central Committee of Revolutionary Groups’ (p.112). She motivated the freedom fighters, helped them as much as she could, gave a series of lectures in different parts of the country to popularise the idea of nationality, made efforts to alert ‘authorities in England’ about ‘the vengeful aspect of their rule in India’ (p.114) and best of all, she took on three Viceroys — Curzon, Minto and Hardinge — to show India that freedom from the British was their most urgent need. The second part of the chapter takes up all the details of this ‘fight against the Raj’ (p. 117).

The chapter on Dynamic Religion is short and begins by answering the question why Nivedita espoused Hinduism. Then it elaborates Swami Vivekananda’s concept of how religion can be encapsulated in the ‘renunciation and service’ mantra. The Chapter also speaks about Nivedita’s test by fire in this new path through her service to the plague stricken people of Calcutta. A little disappointing is the chapter on Women’s education because it mainly talks about Nivedita’s efforts of fund collection for her school. Of course, as an extension of the subtitle of the volume, this struggle is an integral part of the ‘fighter extraordinary’ that Nivedita was. But the chapter heading is such that it creates an expectation about Nivedita’s ideals of education. A short coverage of Nivedita’s formulation of her educational framework when it came to Indian women and how it differed from her experience as a teacher in England would have enriched the discussion and justified the heading ‘Education of Indian Women.’ Reluctantly though, it has to be mentioned that there are some slips in proof reading/ usage. But a reader-friendly font and quality of paper, good publication and some interesting insights make up for the rest; so it should be an interesting volume for those who are getting to know Nivedita in the 21st century.

_________________________ PROF. SUMITA ROY, HYDERABAD