“Gujarati journalism”

The recent series of articles on "Gujarati journalism” has overlooked one very important publication probably because the learned author Dr Ratan Marshall was not aware of it.

For the information of your readers I would like to bring to your attention the fact that in October 1901, my maternal grandmother, the late Meherbanoo Pherozeshah Adenwala published the first magazine in Gujarati, specially oriented to women, called Sarasvati. I am not very sure how long the publication remained in existence but I have with me in well preserved condition approximately 15-20 copies of the magazine.

Adenwalla: published the Gujarati magazine Sarasvati for women

The magazine carried all sorts of articles related to domestic situations, romantic stories, etc along with quite a few advertisements amongst which I also found an advertisement from my paternal grandfather who had started the first bicycle shop in the whole of Gujarat.

JEHANGIR R. J. CAMA

Ahmedabad