'...ladies never went out to do grocery shopping. It was not considered to be respectable, so it was done by the servants'

'...ladies never went out to do grocery shopping. It was not considered to be respectable, so it was done by the servants'

Dolly Misra recounts the gender customs in India.

Dolly Misra

Trinity College Dublin

1945

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Dolly Misra

Childhood and Early Life

Life Story

India

1940s

I lived in a joint extended family which is very common in India. We all lived in a very big house with uncles, aunties and cousins. My father was the eldest and bread winner and took over the financial responsibilities. We had three or four servants to do the house chores i.e. cleaning, gardening, cooking etc although supervised by my mother. We had a family car and a driver and were driven everywhere.In those days ladies never went out to do grocery shopping. It was not considered to be respectable, so it was done by the servants.Ladies were going shopping only to buy clothes, jewelleries or any fancy goods for the house.I remember very well how I was going to the bookshop with my father to buy school books and stationaries. My father was a gold medalist in Law from a very good university in India. He was very strict regarding studies and made sure that we all do our homework properly. Private tuition at home was given to all my brothers and sisters. I was above average in the class, but one of my brothers and sisters were always at the top and did very well.

Irish Research Council for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)