Inviting our Delhi friends

We are pleased to invite you for an afternoon of conversation between us on Supriya Singh’s The Girls Ate Last: Partition, Education and the life of Inder Kaur.

Inder Kaur, the author’s mother, grew up in the early 20th century. Girls were expected to eat last after the men and boys, and were often given only a few years of schooling. It is a story of women that is still repeated. With a Year 8 education, Inder Kaur turned the Partition of India into a personal victory. Seeking employment in Delhi, she educated herself one step at a time, as her marriage and home disintegrated, to become the founding principal of three women’s colleges.

This story of changing gender and kinship frameworks is also a story of love and loss. But in the end it is a story of a woman having the courage to value herself and helping other women do the same.

Venue: Indian Women’s Press Corp (IWPC), 5 Windsor Place, Ashoka Road, Tel: +91 11 2332 5366

Date: Friday, March 7, 2014

Time: 3.30 – 5.30 pm

Please join us for tea after the reading and discussion. The book will be available at the IWPC. It is also available on http://www.manoharbooks.com/

An RSVP to either of us would be appreciated.

Anita Anand, Director, Com First (India) Private Ltd aa.comfirst@gmail.com

Supriya Singh, Professor and Author, supriya.singh@rmit.edu.au

Amritsar Rotary Club, Civil Lines, hosts a conversation

Amritsar’s Rotary Club, Civil Lines, hosted a very gracious launch of the Indian edition of The Girls Ate Last: Partition, Education and the Life of Inder Kaur. I was touched by the honour of the flower rangoli and the lighting of the lamp. We had a rich conversation about continuing gender disparity; Partition, survival and education; family breakup and parental communication; friendship; love and loss. I would particularly like to thank Dr Sant Prakash Singh Dhillon and Penny for this evening of friendship and dialogue followed by a sumptuous dinner.

The flower rangoli

Indian editions out now

The Indian hardback edition of The Girls Ate Last: Partition, Education and the Life of Inder Kaur is now being distributed in India by Manohar Publishers and Distributors. It retails for Rs 595. It is available on www. manoharbooks.com

Globalization and Money: A Global South Perspective is published in India by Orient BlackSwan. It is available in hardback for Rs 775 on http://www.orientblackswan.com/display.asp?categoryID=27&isbn=978-81-250-5112-1

Khalsa College for Women in Amritsar

Jasvinder Sidhu, a colleague from RMIT who led an Australian group on a visit to Punjab, took a copy of The Girls Ate Last to present to Dr. Sukhbir K Mahal, Principal of Khalsa College for Women in Amritsar. My mother was the College’s founding Principal, 1969-1972. As a result I have connected again with the College through its Principal.

Jasvinder presenting the book

: Inder Kaur, Founding Principal Khalsa College for Women, 1969-1972

The Australian Group in front of Khalsa College for Women

Presentation at the Melbourne South Asian Study Group

My presentation will be based on my two new books: The Girls Ate Last and Globalization and Money: A Global South Perspective at the Melbourne South Asian Group on Friday 22 November, at the Australia India Institute, 147-149 Barry Street, Carlton, at 5.15 pm.

The first perspective is a personal one published in the book The Girls Ate Last. It is based on my mother’s story, 1911-1996. Girls were expected to eat last after the men and boys, and were often given only a few years of schooling. It is a story of women that is still repeated. With a Year 8 education, my mother turned the Partition of India into a personal victory. Having to seek employment in Delhi, she educated herself one step at a time, as her marriage and home disintegrated, to become the founding principal of three women’s colleges.

The second related picture is in Globalization and Money: A Global South Perspective. It is a story of globalization but also a story of the absence of women from the headlines, from financial inclusion, access to technology and from wealth. Women are half the world’s population, do most of the work, produce half the food in the world, earn 10 percent of the income and own one percent of the property. A gender focus to poverty and exclusion is increasingly becoming important. But gender and empowerment remains a story still to be told.

Book launch event: The Girls Ate Last

Angsana Publications, Eltham Bookshop and Machan Restaurant invite you to the launch of The Girls Ate Last on 2 October 2013 (Gandhi Jayanti), 6.30-9.30pm.Cost: Single: $50.00; Couple: $80.00.

This includes a welcome drink, an Indian feast, a signed copy of The Girls Ate Last or a $20.00 gift voucher per package. Prepaid early bookings are essential: +61 3 9439 8700 or elthambookshop@bigpond.com

Thanks. The event is sold out.

The Melbourne launch was an overwhelming and humbling experience. It was a sold out event with 90 people at Machan for a vegetarian meal on Gandhi Jayanti. An evening of friendship, good will and connection. A particular thank you to Raj Ji for launching the book with such sincerity and authenticity. Also thank you to Meera Govil of the Eltham Book Shop for organising the event and believing in the book.

Thank you. We will post the photographs shortly.

Annette, Simrita, Liz and Mari at the launch Book signing