Purnima Devi
Encyclopedia
Purnima Devi also known as Sudakshina Devi (1884-), was the youngest child of noted Brahmo Hemendranath Tagore
, and niece of Rabindranath Tagore
, thus part of the larger Tagore family
.
She was married to Sir Jwala Prasada, Zamindar
of Shahjahanpur
and an Imperial Civil Service (ICS) officer. She was later awarded the Kaiser-i-Hind
by the British Raj
. Her younger grandson, Jayendra Prasada, is an agriculturalist and continues to live in the family's main ancestral house, Prasada Bhawan, in Shahjahanpur. Her eldest great grandson, son of Jayendra Prasada, Jayesh Prasada, is a Member of Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Parishad
from the Pilibhit-Shahjahanpur constituency. Her youngest great grandson, son of Jitendra Prasada, Jitin Prasada is an Indian National Congress
politician, present Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and represents Dhaurahra (Lok Sabha constituency)
of district Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh in the 15th Lok Sabha
.
Kunwar Jitendra Prasada (deceased).(Elder grandson of Purnima Devi, son of Kunwar Jyori Prasada) Member of Parliament. Vice President Congress Party. Married to Kunwarani Kanta Prasada.
Kunwar Jayendra Prasada (Younger grandson of Purnima Devi, son of Kunwar Jyoti Prasada) Agriculturalist. Married to Kunwarani Ratti Prasada, daughter of Raja Jagdish Singh of Birwa.
Kumari Dr Jaya Prasada (Daughter of Kunwar Jyoti Prasada) PHD in History, a keen photographer and spiritualist.
Kunwar Jitin Prasada.(Son of Kunwar Jitendra Prasada) Member of Parliament. Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India.
Kumari Janhavi Prasada (Daughter of Kunwar Jitendra Prasada) Documentary film maker.
Kunwar Jayesh Prasada (Elder son of Kunwar Jayendra Prasada) Currently a member of the Uttar Pradesh State Legislative Council. Married to Kunwarani Neelima Rawat Prasada. Two sons - Jagrit and Jayaditya.
Kunwar Jivesh Prasada (Middle son of Kunwar Jayendra Prasada) Agriculturalist. Married to Kunwarani Radhika Sharma Prasada. Son - Jaidev.
Kunwar Jinesh Prasada (Youngest son of Kunwar Jayendra Prasada). Businessman (Fizz Clothing Company). Married to Kunwarani Mandakini Kaul Prasada.
, Calcutta to Hemendranath Tagore
(1844–1884) of Jorasanko Thakur Bari
and elder brother of Rabindranath Tagore
, and son of Debendranath Tagore
founder of Brahmo Samaj
.
Purnima Devi was educated at the Loretto Convent, a school for European Girls at Park Street, Calcutta, as a day scholar and in addition to English she knew Bengali, Sanskrit, Urdu, Hindi, French, Piano and Violin. She passed the Cambridge Trinity College Music Examination.
, her husband being the Pandit Jwala Prasada, M.A., Deputy Commissioner of Hardoi
, and an officer in the Imperial Civil Services, grandfather of Late Kunwar Jitendra Prasada, a veteran Congress party Leader) in 1903. She was the winner of the B. P. R. A. medal for Diana matches for schooling (1911 Meerut).
She was an expert rider going round her villages on horse back and an expert hunter having taken part in big game shooting with her husband. She took a very keen interest in the education and uplift of her sex in India. In memory of her husband she founded 'The Pandit Jwala Prasad Kanya Pathshala' at Shahjahanpur in UP. She helped in the establishment of the Hewett Model Girls' School at Muzaffarnagar, United Provinces, and founded Pardah Clubs at Shahjahanpur and Muzaffarnagar with a view to the improvement of Pardah ladies. She was the owner of several villages in Shahjahanpur District and a beautiful hill property at Nainital(Uttrakhand)called Abbotsford, Prasada Bhawan[1] (Now lived in by her 4th generation of Prasada's who carry their ancestral heritage at best till date), and a house acquired by the army in 1947 in Badami Bagh,Srinagar,Kashmir now the official residence of the Army Head and a house beach in Jagannath Puri. She is the author of a Hindi publication, "unki bunat ki PrathaiJi Siksha" adopted by the United Provinces Educational Text Book Committee for schools. She was engaged in writing a novel in English under the title of "The Last Lamp out."
She is the holder of a Kaisar-i-Hind medal and was the first Indian lady exempted from the operation of the Arms Act. [6]
Hemendranath Tagore
This article is connected to Tagore familyHemendranath Tagore , Debendranath Tagore's third son, is notable for being the first ever Brahmo as he was the first child born in 1844 to any of the 21 Brahmos who swore the First Brahmo Covenant on 21 December 1843 at Calcutta...
, and niece of Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
, thus part of the larger Tagore family
Tagore family
The Tagore family, with over three hundred years of history, has been one of the leading families of Kolkata, and is regarded as a key influence during the Bengal Renaissance...
.
She was married to Sir Jwala Prasada, Zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
of Shahjahanpur
Shahjahanpur
Shahjahanpur is a municipal board, town and district headquarters of Shahjahanpur District in Uttar Pradesh, India.-History:During the reign of Shahjahan, Mughal forces demolished the city of Kant...
and an Imperial Civil Service (ICS) officer. She was later awarded the Kaiser-i-Hind
Kaiser-i-Hind
The Kaisar-i-Hind was a medal awarded by the British monarch between 1900 and 1947, to civilians of any nationality who rendered distinguished service in the advancement of the interests of the British Raj....
by the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
Family
Her only child, a son, Kunwar Jyoti Prasada, married Rajkumari Pamela Devi of Kapurthala State. Her elder grandson, Jitendra Prasada (deceased), was a Congress politician and member 5th, 7th, 8th, 13th Lok Sabha13th Lok Sabha
The 13th Lok Sabha is the thirteenth session of the Lok Sabha...
. Her younger grandson, Jayendra Prasada, is an agriculturalist and continues to live in the family's main ancestral house, Prasada Bhawan, in Shahjahanpur. Her eldest great grandson, son of Jayendra Prasada, Jayesh Prasada, is a Member of Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Parishad
Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Parishad
The Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Parishad or the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India....
from the Pilibhit-Shahjahanpur constituency. Her youngest great grandson, son of Jitendra Prasada, Jitin Prasada is an Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
politician, present Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and represents Dhaurahra (Lok Sabha constituency)
Dhaurahra (Lok Sabha constituency)
Dhaurahra Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. This constituency, spread over Lakhimpur Kheri and Sitapur districts came into existence in 2008 as a part of the implementaion of delimitation of parliamentary constituencies based...
of district Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh in the 15th Lok Sabha
15th Lok Sabha
Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected in 2009 during the General Elections in India.- Important members :* Speaker: Meira Kumar, Indian National Congress, Sasaram, Bihar...
.
Kunwar Jitendra Prasada (deceased).(Elder grandson of Purnima Devi, son of Kunwar Jyori Prasada) Member of Parliament. Vice President Congress Party. Married to Kunwarani Kanta Prasada.
Kunwar Jayendra Prasada (Younger grandson of Purnima Devi, son of Kunwar Jyoti Prasada) Agriculturalist. Married to Kunwarani Ratti Prasada, daughter of Raja Jagdish Singh of Birwa.
Kumari Dr Jaya Prasada (Daughter of Kunwar Jyoti Prasada) PHD in History, a keen photographer and spiritualist.
Kunwar Jitin Prasada.(Son of Kunwar Jitendra Prasada) Member of Parliament. Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India.
Kumari Janhavi Prasada (Daughter of Kunwar Jitendra Prasada) Documentary film maker.
Kunwar Jayesh Prasada (Elder son of Kunwar Jayendra Prasada) Currently a member of the Uttar Pradesh State Legislative Council. Married to Kunwarani Neelima Rawat Prasada. Two sons - Jagrit and Jayaditya.
Kunwar Jivesh Prasada (Middle son of Kunwar Jayendra Prasada) Agriculturalist. Married to Kunwarani Radhika Sharma Prasada. Son - Jaidev.
Kunwar Jinesh Prasada (Youngest son of Kunwar Jayendra Prasada). Businessman (Fizz Clothing Company). Married to Kunwarani Mandakini Kaul Prasada.
Early life and education
Smt. Purnima Jwala Prasada was born on 13 May, 1884, at No. 6, Dwarkanath Tagore's Lane, JorasankoJorasanko
Jorasanko is a neighbourhood in north Kolkata. It is so called because of the two wooden or bamboo bridges that spanned a small stream at this point.-History:...
, Calcutta to Hemendranath Tagore
Hemendranath Tagore
This article is connected to Tagore familyHemendranath Tagore , Debendranath Tagore's third son, is notable for being the first ever Brahmo as he was the first child born in 1844 to any of the 21 Brahmos who swore the First Brahmo Covenant on 21 December 1843 at Calcutta...
(1844–1884) of Jorasanko Thakur Bari
Jorasanko Thakur Bari
The Thakurbari The Thakurbari The Thakurbari (Bangla: House of the Thakurs (anglicised to Tagore) in Jorasanko, north of Kolkata, West Bengal, India is the ancestral home of the Tagore family. It is currently located on the Rabindra Bharati University campus at 6/4 Dwarakanath Tagore Lane...
and elder brother of Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
, and son of Debendranath Tagore
Debendranath Tagore
Debendranath Tagore was one of the founders in 1848 of the Brahmo Religion which today is synonymous with Brahmoism the youngest religion of India and Bangladesh....
founder of Brahmo Samaj
Brahmo Samaj
Brahmo Samaj is the societal component of the Brahmo religion which is mainly practiced today as the Adi Dharm after its eclipse in Bengal consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha from its ranks in 1859. It was one of the most influential religious movements responsible for the making of...
.
Purnima Devi was educated at the Loretto Convent, a school for European Girls at Park Street, Calcutta, as a day scholar and in addition to English she knew Bengali, Sanskrit, Urdu, Hindi, French, Piano and Violin. She passed the Cambridge Trinity College Music Examination.
Career
She was the first Bengali lady married in the United ProvincesUnited Provinces of Agra and Oudh
The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 1902 to 1947; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces, by which the province had been commonly known, and by which name it was also a province of...
, her husband being the Pandit Jwala Prasada, M.A., Deputy Commissioner of Hardoi
Hardoi
Hardoi is a city and a municipal board in Hardoi district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Hardoi District.-Geography:Hardoi is located at...
, and an officer in the Imperial Civil Services, grandfather of Late Kunwar Jitendra Prasada, a veteran Congress party Leader) in 1903. She was the winner of the B. P. R. A. medal for Diana matches for schooling (1911 Meerut).
She was an expert rider going round her villages on horse back and an expert hunter having taken part in big game shooting with her husband. She took a very keen interest in the education and uplift of her sex in India. In memory of her husband she founded 'The Pandit Jwala Prasad Kanya Pathshala' at Shahjahanpur in UP. She helped in the establishment of the Hewett Model Girls' School at Muzaffarnagar, United Provinces, and founded Pardah Clubs at Shahjahanpur and Muzaffarnagar with a view to the improvement of Pardah ladies. She was the owner of several villages in Shahjahanpur District and a beautiful hill property at Nainital(Uttrakhand)called Abbotsford, Prasada Bhawan[1] (Now lived in by her 4th generation of Prasada's who carry their ancestral heritage at best till date), and a house acquired by the army in 1947 in Badami Bagh,Srinagar,Kashmir now the official residence of the Army Head and a house beach in Jagannath Puri. She is the author of a Hindi publication, "unki bunat ki PrathaiJi Siksha" adopted by the United Provinces Educational Text Book Committee for schools. She was engaged in writing a novel in English under the title of "The Last Lamp out."
She is the holder of a Kaisar-i-Hind medal and was the first Indian lady exempted from the operation of the Arms Act. [6]