Mapping the Literary History of Women Healthcare Writers: A Study of Women’s Print Culture in Colonial North India
摘要
During the mid-twentieth century, India witnessed an affluent growth of vernacular literature, particularly the ‘Hindi print culture’ of colonial North India. Women-oriented magazines Strī-Darpan, Chānd, Madhuri, and Sudha promote diverse social subjects, including culinary science (pāk-śhāstra), childcare (shishu pālan), women’s health (rõg chikītśā or ‘disease cure’), and suggestions of Ayurveda practitioners. This research foregrounds the contributions of ‘Yasoda Devi’, a pioneering female Ayurveda practitioner, while expanding our focus to other women writers, Ayurveda practitioners such as Jyotirmayi Thakur, Shrimati Manvrata Devi, Kumari Sukhalata, Girija Bai, Kalavati Kaul, Uttara Kumari Bajpeyi, Balwanti Devi ‘Vaidya’, Shanta Devi, and practitioners like Chapla Devi and Chameli Devi. These women played a significant role in disseminating Ayurvedic knowledge on postnatal care, health, and domestic responsibilities through traditional medicinal remedies and culinary science through the writing in vernacular literature. Their writings reflect efforts to train women as healers within their household terrain, shaping domestic life and national well-being. Through these periodicals, Hindi print media established vital networks among readers, editors, and practitioners, helping to sustain indigenous medical traditions and promoting a broader vision of national unity grounded in the revival and popularization of Ayurveda.