Our final story to celebrate #WomensHistoryMonth, features the incredible Miss Tagore who was instrumental in Mohun Bagan’s historic IFA Shield win in 1911. A thread on the curious tale of Miss Tagore (1/n) 
On 1st Aug, 1911, shortly after Mohun Bagan’s historic Shield win, The Manchester Guardian reported on a certain Miss Tagore being the happiest person after the win; she was the epicenter of Bengal’s athletic movement in the 19th/20th century, they said (2/n)
Manchester Guardian was convinced without Miss Tagore’s driving force, Bengali men wouldn’t have competed against the strong-built British men in the field. And they're not entirely wrong (3/n)
The interesting part of the story is, Miss Tagore wasn’t her real identity, as the journalist mistakenly assumed owing to her affinity with the Tagore family. She was none other than Sarala Ghoshal, niece of Rabindranath Tagore (4/n)
She was a social reformer, writer, a strong feminist and one of the few women of her time to participate in the independence movement (5/n)
While her work in the non-cooperation movement often alludes to literatures, her influence in the athletic movement has mostly faded (6/n)
Sarala Devi interacted with many Indian men, including wrestlers from Punjab, who despite their immense strength, was terrified of the British. This motivated her to alleviate the fear of the white from the Indian psyche (7/n)
She was determined to influence the Indian mindset and improve the physical fitness of the youth of Bengal. She started a gymnasium at 26 Baliganj Circular Road. The place where history began (8/n)
At this gym, experts offered basic training in wrestling, boxing, firearms, knife-throwing and fencing. One of them was Murtaza, who used to teach sticks and sword skills to the youth (9/n)
She later organized festivals like Birastami and Pratapaditya Utsav in 1902/03 in the Akhara to celebrate the masculinity of Bengali men and inspire them to become fearless before the British (10/n)
A Sanskrit hymn was recited and a wreath of swords was offered to the martyrs and heroes of the country to inaugurate the festival. Following that, young people would demonstrate physical and weapons skills (11/n)
She continued her sharp writing to inspire Bengalis to acquire strength and stamina through physical training. “Bilati Ghushi bonam Deshi Kil” (a native cuff vs a British punch) was one such article emphasizing the nurturing of physical strength (12/n)
In the era when playing football or having any form of physical activity was merely a pastime and social stigma for Bengali men, Miss Tagore, a fiery woman from Jorasanko, broke the barrier for the men (13/n)
While the stories of women empowering women often fancy us, Sarala Devi was a rare warrior who reformed the phycological texture of Indian men. In her own words, “in a society, women are the driving force, men merely the machine.” (14/n)
Maybe it's time to shake that up a bit as we work towards a gender-equal world now! (15/n)
Source:
“History of Women’s involvement in Physical Activity in India/ Payoshini Mitra.
“Women's Awakening in Bengal in the Swadeshi era”/ Nilendu Biswas
“History of Women’s involvement in Physical Activity in India/ Payoshini Mitra.
“Women's Awakening in Bengal in the Swadeshi era”/ Nilendu Biswas
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