Letters of Avarani and Probhabala Thomas, 1930-1950
Overview
Letters to and from Avarani and Probhabala Thomas docuemnting their family lives, the political climate in India, their education, and their early professional lives.
Dates
- Creation: 1930-1950
Creator
- Thomas, Avarani (Person)
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Avarani Thomas as well as copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.
Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.
Extent
.21 linear feet (1/2 file box)The collection contains letters to and from Avarani "Rani" and Probhabala "Probha" Thomas documenting their family lives, the political climate in India, their education, and their early professional lives. Included are letters from Ruth E. Bergevin to Rani describing Bergavin's romantic feelings of love and devotion to Rani, including mentions of missing and longing to see her. Bergevin's letters also include news from home, and recount Ruth's interactions with Rani's family and mutual friends. Also included are letters to Rani and Probhabala from family and friends, including their parents Charles and Bijou, containing news of home, family and friends.
BIOGRAPHY
Avarani "Rani" Thomas was the daughter of Charles Thomas and Bijou "Dolly" Thomas and lived in Dehra Dun, Northern India, during the 1920s and 1930s. Thomas and her sister Probhabala "Probha" attended the Girls High School in Dedhra Dun, where she met an American Presbyterian missionary, Ruth E. Bergevin, who served as principal of the school. Bergevin published a memoir, One of Us: Adventures in India (1980), which documents her experiences in India, including her friendship with the Thomas family. According to the memoir, Charles Thomas was a judicial officer for the Dehra Dun City and District and a member and chairman of the high school's governing board. Bijou Thomas was the member of a large Bengali family. Bergevin considered herself a close friend to Rani and Prohabala. After graduation, the sisters attended Kinnaird College in Lahore, and later Rani received a degree in education at the Isabella Thoburn College in Lucknow. Prohabala attended library training in the United States and returned to India to become a librarian at the Agricultural Institute in Allahabad. In her memoir, Bergevin states that she viewed herself as a mentor to Rani.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number: 2022-M99, 2023-M20, 2024-M23
The letters of Avarani and Probhabala Thomas were acquired by the Schlesinger Library from Max Rambod Rare Books between May 2022 and February 2024.
Processing Information
Processed: October 2022
By: Paula Aloisio
Updated and additional material added: February 2024
By: Johanna Carll
In February 2024, the collection number was changed from A/T4617 to MC 1272 and folders previously numbered 1 and 2 were changed to 1.1 and 1.3.
The Schlesinger Library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit. Finding aids may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
Creator
- Thomas, Avarani (Person)
Subject
- Bergevin, Ruth E. (Ruth Esther), 1893-1984 (Person)
- Thomas, Probhabala (Person)
- Title
- Thomas, Avarani. Letters of Avarani and Probhabala Thomas, 1930-1950: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- Sponsor
- Processing of this collection was made possible by gifts from the Class of 1957 Schlesinger Library Fund and the Kim A. Bendheim Fund.
- EAD ID
- sch02181
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.