Inner Recesses Outer Spaces: Memoirs

1903-47 marks a period of fundamental change in India. A strong force swept the country, which compelled the world to recognize the power of spiritual energy. Mahatma Gandhi evolved the spiritual methods, and a rare band of individuals adopted them. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay is such a person who changed the course of her comfortable existence to join the national struggle first as a Sevika-volunteer, later designated as an organiser of women workers in the Indian National Congress and finally as a member of the National Working Committee of the Congress. In this book Kamaladevi describes the events of the turbulent years as she lived and experienced them. She writes about her close association with fascinating leaders of the nationalist movement including Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Sarojini Naidu, Motilal Nehru, Acharya Kriplani, Jayaprakash Narayan. She spent a total of 5 years in jail, and here recalls some of her experiences.