What did Kadambini do to scandalise her matron Tara at the hostel?

In the latest Zee Bangla TV serial Kadambini, actor Ushasi Ray essays the titular protagonist, who is based on a historical character. Dr Kadambini Ganguly was the first female doctor in Bengal. She broke several norms in society at the time to achieve this feat, and we have honoured her ever since. In Kadambini, we get to see much of her early life, love, and tribulations, and appreciate her courage, sincerity, and confidence. Let’s take a look at the time that Kadambini managed to scandalise the matron Tara at her college with an innocent gesture that sparked her fury.

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When this incident occurred, Kadambini was studying in college in Kolkata. Her teacher was Dwarkanath Ganguly, the famous Brahmo Samaj reformer and activist. She learned a lot at this institution, and also faced many challenges. Many other girls were students here, and they all lived, worked, and studied with each other. Tara, a widowed woman, oversaw everything, and acted as the matron in charge of all the students.

The girls often take turns to cook and serve food to everybody else, and on this particular day, Kadambini and her colleagues, a few of whom were widows, prepared to sit down to a delicious spread. Now, Dr Dwarkanath did not believe in treating widows as lesser beings, as was the norm in those days. Widows were expected to be subdued women who did not wear a patch of bright colour on their person, nor did they partake in non-vegetarian meals. They were not supposed to be vibrant and joyful people, as this was frowned upon by society! Widows were to spend the rest of their lives in deep mourning for their late husbands, and at the time, were grateful to be allowed to live at all.

Because Dr Dwarkanath refused to treat widows any differently from other people, he would always offer them a share of meat or other non-vegetarian food at mealtimes, and Kadambini learned to do the same. On this fateful day, Kadambini passed the dish of fish over to the widows, and Tara witnessed her do this. All hell broke loose and Tara unleashed pure anger on her! Poor Kadambini trembled in fright, while Dr Dwarkanath tried to intervene, only to be rebuked by Tara for teaching his students such outrageous things! Finally, a student pointed out that too many people were watching this spectacle and they could not eat in peace, and this struck a chord in Tara and made her quiet for a while.

What did you think of Kadambini’s ‘transgression?’ Tell us in the comments below!

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