Antonioctj at 19:53, 24 March 2026

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{{Short description|Indian writer (1862–1894)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Krupabai Satthianadhan
| image = Krupabai Satthianadhan (1862–1894).png
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Krupabai Khisty
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1862|02|14|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Ahmednagar]],<br/>[[Bombay Presidency]], [[British Raj|British India]] (now in [[Maharashtra]], [[India]])
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1894|08|08|1862|02|14|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Madras]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British Raj|British India]]<br/>(now [[Chennai]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]])
| burial_place =
| occupation = Writer
| awards =
| spouse = {{Marriage|[[Samuel Satthianadhan]]|1881}}
| children =
| education =
| signature =
| party =
}}
'''Krupabai Satthianadhan''' (1862–1894) was an Indian writer who wrote in English.

== Early life ==
Krupabai was born to Haripunt and Radhabai Khisty, [[Hinduism|Hindu]] converts to [[Christianity]], in Ahmednagar, then in the [[Bombay Presidency]], on 14 February 1862.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1w-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA45 |title=Sketches of Indian Christians Collected from Different Sources |first=John |last=Murdoch |author-link=John Murdoch (literary evangelist) |publisher=The Christian Literature Society for India |pages=45–46 |date=1896 |access-date=2023-09-01 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name=Album>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mYie-S7VMh4C&q=%22Samuel%22%20%22married%20to%20Krupabai%222 |title=The Satthianadhan Family Album |editor-first=Eunice |editor-last=de Souza |author-link=Eunice de Souza |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |isbn=9788126021277 |pages=viii, [https://books.google.com/books?id=mYie-S7VMh4C&q=1881 ix] |date=2005 |access-date=2023-09-01 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Her father died when she was still a child, and she was brought up by her mother and elder brother, Bhasker. Bhasker, who was much older, had a strong influence on her and endeavoured to awaken her intellect by lending her books and discussing many issues with her. However, he too died young, and Krupabai immortalized him in her semi-autobiographical novel ''Saguna: A Story of Native Christian Life''.

She also wrote another novel entitled ''Kamala, A Story of Hindu Life'' (1894). Both these novels are [[bildungsroman]]e, in which she speaks about gender, caste, ethnicity and cultural identity. Despite the difference in social milieu, two novels deals with a similar theme: the predicament of women who resist being cast in the slandered mould of domesticity. Kamala and Saguna are both attracted to books and face varying degrees hostility such an unnatural inclination. ''Saguna'' is largely autobiographical. As the daughter of a Christian convert, the protagonist manages, despite the odds, not only to receive formal education, but also to get admission to a medical college, and eventually meets a man who could share her life as equal.

==Training in medicine==
Krupabai was deeply wounded by Bhasker's death, and two European missionary ladies took charge of her and her education. This was her first encounter with the British at close quarters, and as ''Saguna'' shows it was a mixed experience. Later on she went to boarding school in the city of Bombay. She met an American woman doctor there who got her interested in [[medicine]]. Krupabai had absorbed her father's missionary ideals early in life and decided that by becoming a doctor she could help other women, especially those in [[purdah]]. By this time her health was already showing signs of deterioration, so although she won a scholarship to go to [[England]] and study medicine, she was not allowed to go. However, the [[Madras Medical College]] agreed to admit her in 1878, and she became a boarder at the house of the Reverend [[W. T. Satthianadhan]], an extremely well known Christian missionary.<ref name=Album/> Her academic performance was brilliant from the start, but due to strain and overwork she had her first breakdown in health a year later, and had to return to her sister in [[Pune]] to convalesce in 1879.

==Teaching career==
A year later she was back at [[Madras]], where she met and developed a friendship with [[Samuel Satthianadhan]], the Reverend's son. In 1881 Samuel and Krupabai married.<ref name=Album/> Soon after Samuel got a job as Headmaster of [[Breeks Memorial School]] in [[Ootacamund]]. In Ootacamund, Krupabai was able to start a school for Muslim girls with help from the [[Church Missionary Society]], and she also taught in a number of other girls schools as well. Ootacamund was a hill station renowned for its salubrious climate and Krupabai's health stayed fair. She was able to find the time and energy to write, and published articles under the byline "An Indian Lady" in leading periodicals.

Three years later the couple moved to [[Rajamundry]], and Krupabai became ill again, so they relocated to [[Kumbakonam]]. In spite of the changeableness of her health this was a very productive period for her, and by the time they returned permanently to Madras in 1886, she was ready to begin a full-scale novel. ''Saguna'' was serialised between 1887 and 1888 in the prestigious ''Madras Christian College Magazine''. However, during this time her only child died before reaching its first birthday and she was plunged into depression for which she required treatment.

Her [[tuberculosis]] was diagnosed in Bombay but was certified beyond cure. Knowing that she had little time to live, she began work on ''Kamala''. She worked continuously on the book till her death, breaking off only to write a memoir of her father-in-law and an unfinished one of her mother-in-law.

Satthianadhan died in Madras on 8 August 1894.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1w-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA52 |title=Sketches of Indian Christians Collected from Different Sources |first=John |last=Murdoch |author-link=John Murdoch (literary evangelist) |publisher=The Christian Literature Society for India |page=52 |date=1896 |access-date=2023-09-01 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-colonies-and-india-obituary/131049216/ |title=Obituary |newspaper=The Colonies and India |publication-place=London |page=17 |date=1894-09-01 |access-date=2023-09-01 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Her death came as a great blow to her admirers, and just a few months afterwards a scholarship for women was set up in her memory at the Madras Medical College, as well as a memorial medal at the University of Madras for the best female Matriculation candidate in English. Her novels were published as books and translated into [[Tamil language|Tamil]].

==Works==
*''Saguna: A Story of Native Christian Life'', edited by [[Chandani Lokugé]], (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998).
*''[https://archive.org/details/kamalaastoryhin00griggoog Kamala: A Story of Hindu Life]'', edited by Chandani Lokuge.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Satthianadhan, Krupabai}}
[[Category:1862 births]]
[[Category:1894 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Ahmednagar]]
[[Category:People from Bombay Presidency]]
[[Category:Writers from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Writers from British India]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:Indian women novelists]]
[[Category:Indian Christians]]
[[Category:People from British India]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian women writers]]

Krupabai Satthianadhan - Revision history

Antonioctj at 19:53, 24 March 2026