Front matter
Pandita Ramabai's American Encounter
Frontis: Pandita Ramabai with her daughter Manorama in England, 1886.
Photo courtesy archives of Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission.
Pandita Ramabai's American Encounter The Peoples of the United States (1889)
by pandita ramabai Translated and edited by Meera Kosambi
The Association of American University Presses'
Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ramabai Sarasvati, Pandita, 1858–1922 Pandita Ramabai's American encounter : the peoples of the United States
(1889) / by Pandita Ramabai ; translated and edited by Meera Kosambi. p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-253-34190-6 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-253-21571-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Women social reformers—India—Maharashtra. 2. Ramabai Sarasvati, Pandita, 1858–1922—Journeys—United States. 3. United States—Description and travel.
I. Kosambi, Meera. II. Title.
HQ1744.M33 R34 2003
303.48′4′092—dc21 2002006851 1 2 3 4 5 08 07 06 05 04 03
To the memory of my grandfather, Professor Dharmanand Kosambi & my father, Professor D.D. Kosambi who were involved in the academic life of the USA, mainly through Harvard University, during a major part of the twentieth century
Contents Preface and Acknowledgments ix List of Abbreviations xiii Introduction Returning the American Gaze: Situating Pandita Ramabai's
American Encounter meera kosambi 1 The Peoples of the United States pandita ramabai
Preface 53 1. Voyage from Liverpool to Philadelphia 55 2. The "Nethermost World," or Continent of America 62
3. System of Government 76 4. Social Conditions 95 5. Domestic Conditions 105 6. Education and Learning 138 7. Religious Denominations and Charities 154
8. The Condition of Women 167 9. Commerce and Industry 215 Translator's/Editor's Notes 241 Literature Cited 267 Index 275