Pandita Ramabai, "The Peoples of the United States" (1889) (brief excerpt)
Pandita Ramabai, "The Peoples of the United States"
Voyage from Liverpool to Philadelphia
In January 1885, Doctor Rachel Bodley, Dean of the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, wrote me a letter, earnestly inviting me to attend the graduation ceremony in Philadelphia in March 1886, at which Mrs. Anandibai Joshee would receive her medical degree. At the time I was studying and teaching at the Ladies’ College at Cheltenham in England. At first I did not accept her invitation for reasons of my own; but she entreated me to come to America by writing again herself and by getting Mrs. Anandibai Joshee and Mr. Gopalrao Joshee to write to me, so that I could not bring myself to decline the invitation, despite my several problems. For one thing, Miss Bodley has put us under a great obligation by showing such concern for Hindu women, although she herself belongs to another race4 and religion. Secondly, Anandibai Joshee’s is the very first example of a Hindu woman having studied a difficult subject like medicine and earned a degree. So I had a great desire to witness the happy occasion when she would receive her degree. That is why, despite the many obstacles to my coming here, I entrusted myself to God Almighty, and sailed with my daughter for America on February 17, 1886, from the port of Liverpool in England, on the ship The British Princess.
My English friends did not at all wish me to come to this country; so they disapproved of my voyage, needless to say. Many of my women friends even prophesied that we would be shipwrecked and would drown in the ocean, because February is not a propitious month for sea voyages.
Moreover, there were a great number of storms during the month that year, and several ships were wrecked off the coast of America. Severe cold had frozen the ocean around New York City and within a radius of twenty-five to thirty miles; and the continent of [North] America was ringed with ice. Be that as it may, there was no sign of a storm for three days after our ship left the port of Liverpool; but on the fourth day our ship approached an area in the Atlantic Ocean, midway between England and America, which is known as the “Devil’s Pot.” That is when a terrible
storm broke, and we began to witness the dreadful aspect of the ocean.
There were not many passengers on our ship as the time was not favorable for voyages. The First Class had four men and three women, and the Third Class had altogether 190 passengers, including men, women, and children. These 190 people had come from different countries of Europe in order to settle in America. (See the brief account of the condition of immigrants, which appears later in the book.
On Sunday some pious persons among these 190 gathered together on the middle deck, held a service, and sang hymns. That night there was a dreadful storm. I heard such a strange tale from a woman at the time that I cannot resist recounting it here. This woman had the First Class cabin next to ours, so I became particularly friendly with her in the course of the voyage. She was of the Roman Catholic persuasion. She told me that there was a man on the steamer who could not tolerate the above-mentioned passengers singing hymns; and he complained about their behavior, prophesying that there would definitely be a storm that night. He said that the people were provoking the Devil by praying to God, and that the Devil would certainly retaliate with a storm. By a coincidence, a storm did break that night, and his prediction came true. A few days later the same people started singing hymns one night, which enraged the man even more. He predicted another storm like the one before; and this prediction also came true. The following Sunday was calm and pleasant, so some children went to the upper deck and started singing “Hallelujah, hallelujah” (a Hebrew word meaning “Praise the Lord”). Our leader could not control his rage then; he immediately rushed out and shut the mouths of the thoughtless children. But one could say that the Devil really persecuted our leader that day, because our ship was about to be submerged in the ocean. If this anecdote be true, one can say that many of the educated and progressive people in England still harbor a staunch belief in the powers of ghosts, spirits, and demons! Be that as it may.
The storm caused us a great deal of hardship. Huge ocean waves would dash against our portholes every moment, and make us wonder whether the ship would sink in that very instant or a little later. For three to four days we could not even lift up our heads, let alone get up and walk about. In the end the air in our cabin became too stale to breathe. So I resolved to go up on the deck, come what may, and left the cabin, gathering up all my courage. But how was I to move forward and climb up? The rocking of the ship made it difficult for my feet to stay on the floor. Finally I somehow managed to go up and sit on a chair. Within a quarter of an hour, it was as if the fresh ocean air infused a new life force into my body. Half an hour earlier, when the ocean waves dashed against the porthole, I was unable to even look at them because of a strange fear, and had suffered palpitations. But see what a miracle occurred in half an hour! Now I felt not an iota of fear while standing on the deck when the ship seemed about to drown, and while observing the vast and dreadful aspect of the ocean. On the contrary, my heart surged with energy, joy, and peace. I shall never forget the lesson I learned from this natural phenomenon on this occasion. Man dreads adversity and enemies as long as he refrains from confronting them bravely. The more a timid person tries to bury his head in a corner of his house or in his bed in a cowardly manner, the more his fear increases and the more does despair darken his surroundings. But, friend, just make a resolve that “I shall either accomplish my task or give up my life," and confront your foes and your adversities, such as despair. Then the word “fear” will vanish from your memory, you will become fearless like a liberated soul, and you will accomplish your tasks on the strength of Truth and Courage, even though the whole world be against you! How many storms are our scattered boats required to face in this endless Ocean of Life? If we fight the dreadful ocean waves courageously at such times, we shall certainly gain victory as well as peace of mind. But our condition will be pitiable indeed if we are overcome by the specter of false fear and start to tremble while climbing up or down the mast in order to furl or unfurl the sail.
Our ship danced about in the “Devil’s Pot” for five to six days. It developed some trouble with the steam engine after entering the “Pot.” Had the ship picked up speed without repairing the engine, it would have been offered up to the ocean without further delay; but the engine could not be repaired because it was impossible to hold the ship steady in one place against the onslaught of the waves. The poor captain was in a sad plight indeed; but finally the engine was repaired gradually and the ship began to sail as before. Even after leaving the “Devil’s Pot,” there was no dearth of storms in the ocean. When the force of the mountain-high ocean waves tossed our ship first into heaven and then into the netherworld, one would naturally wonder whether it would drown that very moment or the next. Above that infinite, boundless ocean was the canopy of the sky—sometimes clear and at other times cloudy—and below were waves the size of the small hills in the Himalayan range, against which our ship dashed continually, looking like a small leaping fish floating on water, when compared to the scene around us. It is not possible to describe the kind of thoughts which ripple into the minds of the spectators at the sight of such a gripping, dreadful, and strange scene. At the time of a storm, seabirds called “gulls” are seen floating on the ocean everywhere. They are truly the heralds of storms. They begin to fly about at great speed when a storm is about to break; and during the storm they ride the waves joyously and playfully. The happy birds remain unaffected even when tall waves surge up from all sides and clash together, a fierce wind blows, a thick fog is spread over the surface of the ocean, and the waves and thunder roar deafeningly. They just enjoy themselves. The birds almost race each other, riding tall waves, just as an Arab rides his youthful and splendid steed swiftly like the wind. At times Lord Sun would break through the cover of clouds and shine forth in the sky like a victorious warrior; the sight of the full rainbow across the heavens would then be truly entrancing and well worth describing. At times, one and a half or two rainbows would be visible. Occasionally when the ocean waves clashed against the ship or against each other, and strong winds carried a spray of water drops into the distance, sunlight would transform it into a rainbow. Oh, how can one describe the beauty of the ocean and the sky at such a time! It was so attractive and pleasing to the eye that one wished to watch it unblinkingly. When the storm abated somewhat and our ship came within three days’ distance of the coast of America, we saw numerous leaping fish jumping up from the ocean.
On March 3, at about half past four in the afternoon, we sighted the coast of the American continent in the Western Hemisphere—the same continent at the sight of which Christopher Columbus had concluded in 1492 that he had sailed around the entire globe and reached India. I cannot describe the joy I felt at that moment. I thought to myself, “My Indian friends, just now the soles of our feet are turned toward the soles of yours. It is high noon here, and your part of the world is cloaked by night. Here we are strolling on the ship and chatting, and there you are snoring in bed. What a marvel!”
Extreme cold had frozen the water near the shore, and the coast of America was surrounded by ice, as mentioned above. It re®ected the rays of the sun, and dazzled the eyes. When our ship reached the mouth of the Delaware River in the evening, a pilot familiar with the area and with the river came on board, and our captain entrusted to him the charge of navigating the ship.
No matter how adept a person may be in his work, he is likely to make a mistake some time or other; so it is not surprising that the pilot made a mistake at this juncture. Perhaps in a sleepy or a drowsy spell, he speeded our ship up the Delaware River so fast that it ran aground in the mud about sixty miles from Philadelphia, and did not even budge for the next couple of days. For the previous seventeen days or so, we had not sighted land; it had taken us seventeen days to cover the distance of twelve. At long last we had sighted land, but were prevented from reaching it by this fresh obstacle, even though our destination was so near. Our plan was to conclude our voyage that night and to disembark in Philadelphia at dawn; this unexpected disruption of our plan disappointed us very sadly indeed. But we did offer profuse thanks to God for having rescued us from the danger of dreadful storms and from engine trouble which might have set us adrift, and for having brought us safely to this hemisphere.
When we got up the next morning, we found our ship surrounded by ice. Four or five small steamboats arrived that day and the next, went around our ship breaking up the thick slabs of ice into smaller pieces with their sharp prows, and freed our passage. Even so, our ship would not budge. Then, at high tide, three or four boats together tried to pull the ship out of the mud with thick ropes tied to it. This attempt also failed, and the ship did not budge. Then, on March 6, the passengers in our class were put into another boat and sent on to Philadelphia.
The boat could not accommodate passengers from the other class, and so they watched us with disappointed faces as we left. We felt very sorry about this, but what could we do? There was no choice. So we left them on the ship and came away. The next day, arrangements were made to take the rest of the passengers to Philadelphia. We reached Philadelphia at eight o’clock on the evening of the sixth. Both Mr. Gopalrao and Mrs. Anandibai Joshee received us at the wharf on the river, welcomed us warmly, and took us home. We headed straight for bed, utterly exhausted as we were.
On March 11, 1886, at eleven in the morning, we went to the assembly hall known as the Academy of Science in Philadelphia. About 3,000 to 3,500 people, both men and women, had assembled there to witness the ceremony of awarding degrees to the women students who had graduated from the city’s Medical College. On the same day, our countrywoman Mrs. Anandibai Joshee received her medical degree. The occasion presented a very attractive scene. It was a particularly happy day for us, because Anandibai is the first Hindu woman to have studied medicine and earned a degree; I feel additionally very proud of her because she is my kinswoman.
Until about four years ago, there was no facility for women in India to study medicine anywhere except in Madras. And even in Madras, the education imparted was not of a very advanced level. Popular opinion did not favor even general education for women; needless to say, it was violently opposed to giving women medical education. In the year 1883, I was invited by the Education Commission at Poona to give my opinion on the changes and improvements necessary in the prevailing system of female education, and suggested that it was essential to give medical education to women. Dr. Hunter, president of the commission, told me later that the commission would not be able to make a suggestion to the Government in this regard, because medicine was not a subject included in general education; but that he would privately bring it to the notice of the higher authorities.
Subsequently, through the efforts of several good people, a large fund was collected for bringing women doctors from England to India. The Government also made a provision for women to study the subject, and opened classes for them in men’s medical colleges. But, true to convention, they first sought the opinion of very learned men on this matter. Needless to say, the Government received a variety of responses from the variety of people who were consulted. The only surprising thing is that even some of the people who call themselves reformers and supporters of the upliftment of women opined that women should not be taught medicine. In Bengal, Keshub Chunder Sen, the leader of the Brahmo Samaj of India, gave his opinion that women should not even beallowed to sit for university examinations and that medical education would deprive women of their womanliness, also that they are not capable of studying such a difficult subject, and so on. Even so, a number of learned men were convinced that women could study medicine, that their physique and smaller brains would not obstruct their studies, and also that they would not lose their womanliness by studying the subject. The Government opened the doors of medical colleges to women in accordance with the favorable opinion of these gentlemen, but hardly any Hindu women have come forward so far to study medicine. Two girls were studying medicine in Madras and one woman in Bengal; but, so far, I have not received news of their having graduated. There is an acute need for women doctors in India. Our bashful Hindu women feel very embarrassed to convey their condition to men regarding many gynecological complaints, and especially at the time of childbirth. Many a time they would rather die than reveal their condition to a male doctor. Under these circumstances, the need for women doctors would be obvious to anybody. But no country is free from prejudice. Some oppose women’s medical education through ignorance, some through selfishness.
Just as Mrs. Anandibai is the very first Hindu woman to qualify as a medical doctor, the college where she studied is the very first medical college in the whole world to be established specially for women. It was consecrated in 1850. Initially it met with opposition from popular opinion; and the founders and teachers of the college had to suffer a number of hardships, such as poverty, public censure, and the like. But the college is flourishing now, by the grace of God. It receives financial and other aid from a number of people. The dean of the college, Rachel L. Bodley, exerts herself day and night with utter dedication, in order to make it prosper in every way. It is during her tenure that the college has reached such large proportions. We pray to God to reward her with ever greater success in her endeavor. “Friends,” or people of the Quaker sect, provide substantial assistance in this work. People of this sect are usually very liberal-minded, and not prejudiced, as I have mentioned elsewhere.
When the women doctors of this country, especially those trained at the college in Philadelphia, started to practice medicine like male doctors, an association of male doctors, known as the Philadelphia County Medical Society, declared that it disapproved of women teaching, and made a rule that their members should not consult women doctors or encourage women in any way to study medicine. But this rule of theirs did not at all hinder the passage of time or the progress of women. Time changed as it was bound to, and women progressed as they were bound to.