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Dorothy Bonarjee

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Dororthy Bonarjee with her son Denis - about 1922

Dorothy Noel 'Dorf' Bonarjee (1894–1983) was an Indian poet and artist who was known for being awarded a Bardic chair while a student in Wales and for being the first woman internal student to be awarded a law degree by University College London.[1]

Biography

Early life

Bonarjee was born into a Bengali Christian family in Bareilly in north India in August 1894.[2] Her father was a barrister. Along with her brothers, Bonarjee spent much of her childhood in Dulwich in south London and was largely educated in England.[3]

Higher education and poetry

In 1912, Bonarjee enrolled to study for a degree in French at the University College of Wales at Aberystwyth. While a student, she published poetry in the college journal The Dragon and in Welsh Outlook. In February 1914, she was awarded the Bardic chair at the college Eisteddfod for verse submitted under a pseudonym.[4] She was the first woman and first non-European to win the college Eisteddfod. Her father, who was present, agreed to demands to address the gathering, thanking those present for the way they had 'received a successful competitor of a different race and country'.[5] Among Bonarjee's papers are more than sixty printed and manuscript poems. Alongside one is a note: 'Written at the age of 22 when a Welsh student after 3 years of secret engagement dropped me because his parents said "She is very beautiful and intelligent but she is Indian."'[5]

A critical article devoted to Bonarjee's poetry commented that she 'doubtless has a bright and hopeful career before her'.[6] Bonarjee went on to University College, London, where, in 1917, she became the first woman internal student to be awarded a law degree (LLB)[7][8] - though she never practiced law.[9]

Later life

Bonarjee was a supporter of women's suffrage and in 1919, along with her mother, signed the Indian Women's Franchise Address.[9]

Rather than returning to India to join her parents, in 1921 Bonarjee married the French artist Paul Surtel [fr]. They lived in Provence, France. The couple had two children - Denis, who died in infancy, and Claire Aruna - before divorcing.[2] Bonarjee painted particularly still life and landscapes. She died in 1983.

Memory

Dorothy Bonarjee was the subject of a radio documentary, 'The Hindu Bard', broadcast on the BBC World Service in December 2020.[10]

References

  1. ^ "'She is beautiful but she is Indian': The student who became a Welsh bard at 19". BBC. 28 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b Whitehead, Andrew (2020). "Dorothy Bonarjee: Bard of Aberystwyth". Planet. 238: 70–76.
  3. ^ Bonarjee, N.B. (1970). Under Two Masters. Oxford University Press. pp. 37-57. OCLC 473638554.
  4. ^ "Hindu Lady Chaired". Cambria Daily Leader. March 2, 1914.
  5. ^ a b Whitehead, Andrew. "'She is beautiful but she is Indian': The student who became a Welsh bard at 19". Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  6. ^ Harihar Das, 'The Poetry of Dorothy Noel Bonarjee' The Indus, November 1922, pp50-53
  7. ^ Auchmuty, Rosemary (April 4, 2008). "Early Women Law Students at Cambridge and Oxford". The Journal of Legal History. 29 (1): 63–97. doi:10.1080/01440360801903588. ISSN 0144-0365.
  8. ^ "Index of Graduates by Surname". Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Jenkins, Beth R. "Bonarjee, Dorothy Noel". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  10. ^ "The Hindu Bard". BBC World Service. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
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