The Mahila Seva Samaj, established in 1913, has many a firsts to its name: it established the first women’s tennis club in the city, where sari-clad women of the old city tried their hand with a racket way back in 1924.
It also started classes for women and a school for rural children in 1936, when such concepts were unheard of in the city. To commemorate a hundred years of service, the samaj recently brought out a coffee-table book chronicling the “memoirs of an eventful century”.
The samaj started out as a reformist institution but eventually took the shape of a school. Initially called Seva Sadan, it was founded by Parvatiamma Chandrasekhara Iyer in 1913.
She wanted to give young girls who were confined to their in-laws’ house some exposure, helping them to hone their talents and to learn English. Gradually, the service was extended to young widows and deserted wives, said Sumathi B.V. (79) who has been with the samaj since 1959.
Padmini Gokhale, vice-president of the managing committee, has been on the committee of the school for 30 years. She spent a few years in compiling matter for the book.
The coffee table books delineates the evolution of the samaj and its members, who were among the forefront in promoting women's rights in the city.
