Welcome to the third post in this series to set the appropriate historical and cultural context for AGAINST THE ODDS OF TRADITION, my debut Historical Fiction novel scheduled for release on March 1, 2026. It will be available for pre-order on Amazon starting January 1^st so mark your calendars. If you missed the eBook Cover Reveal last week or just need to catch up on all previous posts, then please do so by using the links at the bottom or in the description.

I struggled with the topic for today’s post. I do not want to bore you with more context around general life under the British Raj and in colonial India. If you are interested in learning more, then please let me know and I will be happy to share more of what I found during my research. I want to keep the context specific to Meena’s story. So, in the end, I decided to discuss what I have learned about being an Indian woman in colonial India during my research for this book.

Last week, I spoke about life in India being shaped by different dynasties over seven centuries and by three mainstream religions, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. The life of an Indian woman under the British Raj was more interesting than I had originally derived from the Hollywood and Bollywood movies I have watched over the years. There is a lot more to it than even what I have covered in this short post, so I will most likely continue this conversation next week.

I have not seen every single movie focused on colonial India, so perhaps some things I have recently learned have been covered somewhere. Please let me know by leaving a comment or sending me a DM. The movies I have seen have not done justice to the different directions a woman’s life could have taken during that time. I was only familiar with Indian women being nauch, or dance, girls who performed for the British and served as their nightly companions.

Recently, I read Sujata Massey’s The Sleeping Dictionary. The concept of a Sleeping Dictionary is new to me. It refers to Indian women who became companions to British men living in India and taught them about the culture and customs of the people they intended to rule. Before you think of labeling them traitors, consider this. Most often, these companions turned into life-long partners, even wives, who spent decades with their British husbands and raised families with them.

Stay tuned for upcoming posts to continue connecting more dots. In the meantime, please reach out via a DM or comment on the platform you are using to view this post. If you have not yet done so, then please check out the eBook Cover Reveal at the link below or in the description and let me know what you think. I would love to hear from you. Check out more posts about this and my other work by going to www.jatinderkoharki.com. Thank you.

eBook Cover Reveal: eBook Cover Reveal!

Meena’s Story (all posts-to-date): Meena's Story

The Historical-Cultural Context (all posts-to-date): Historical-Cultural Context

Promotions & Bonuses (all posts-to-date): Promotions & Bonuses