Social and intellectual life in the 18th century : In 1772, Calcutta became the capital of British India, a decision made by Governor General Warren Hastings. In 1779, Hickey's Bengal Gazette or the Calcutta General Advertiser became the first newspaper to be printed in India, and is an invaluable chronicle of the social life of Anglo-Indian society in Calcutta. Contemporary memoirs such as those of William Hickey record the consumption of enormous meals, washed down by copious quantities of claret, port, madeira and other wines, followed by the smoking of Hookahs.[11] After the death of his English wife, Charlotte, (who is buried in Park Street Cemetery) Hickey married a Bengali girl called Jemdanee, who died in childbirth in 1796, prompting him to write in his journal that "Thus did I lose as gentle and affectionately attached a girl as ever man was blessed with".[12] Such unions between Europeans, English, French and Portuguese, and local women, both Hindu and Muslim, were common throughout the 18th century in Calcutta, and are the origin of the city's substantial Anglo-Indian (or Eurasian) community today: by the early 19th century, however, increasing racial intolerance made marriages of this kind much rarer. - Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Kolkata

This tradition of keeping Indian 'bibis' was practised only in the 1700's. By the 1800's, this practise was essentially abandoned. Similarly, the early British adventurers learned the local languages, but not after 1800. Their was a distinct change in the attitude of the British towards Indians - from equals to an inferior status. This ultimately resulted in the angry uprising against the British in 1857. The 'mutiny' could have been avoided if the East India Company had treated the local population with respect since the alternative (Indian rule) was much worse those days.

Such a fantastic painting...one of my favorites !

Entire India Civil Service and related services were Examined in Indian languages before reaching India, Mr. Ahmed, actually, from before 1858. Till the 1830s, Persian the de facto language of business or local vernaculars. From 1550, Eurasian population on the scene and you're right, little intermarriage from early 19th century.

This pic is supposed to be of Jemdanee herself. Jemdanee or not, what a beautiful portrayal of a young, self assured and beautiful young woman of the times. I think young ladies with similar hairstyle, attire and good features, almost iedntical features, can still be seen in Bihar. (Wonder if there is any agreement or disagreement about this). In that sense a timeless portrayal.

She has an expression of great patience,as if she is awaiting the end of something !!

Yes...there is a sense of expectation in this painting.

I always wondered about intermarriage during the Raj. This is an eye opener. Thanks a lot for this post and pic. Yeah - she is beautiful and portrayed beautifully - the absolute focus on her face is remarkable. Am also curious as to how the bibis were treated by the Indian community ??

@Rhoda Alex: in most cases, they were not just not treated well but they were largely ignored !!

Although many Englishmen kept 'bibis', very few of them actually married them. For instance, Colonel Gardner was one of those noble Englishmen who actually married in the Mughal royal family and treated his wife with great affection and respect, but others were not like that. Most of the bibis were abandoned if, and when, the men went back to England. In fact, I do not know of any bibi who was taken back to England (perhaps there were some). Socially, it was a difficult sitauation as the children out of such marriages, called 'Anglo-Indians', considered themselves superior to the local population. They were (in the 1700's) used mainly as band leaders (playing marching bands in front of the troops) but in the 1800's and later, they were employed mainly in Indian Railways, Military and Police and performed well. After Indian independence, however,the situation changed drastically - they lost all their special privileges, there was subtle discrimination, many of them migrated to the U.K., Canada, Australia etc but some remained in India. Life is particularly hard on them. The bibis were treated with due respect by fellow Indians during the British Raj.

Eurasian population dates from the early 16th century. When Brits did marry in South Asia, who were most marrying? Eurasian women. In the late 18th century, persons of mixed race were distinguished legally from Europeans as created distance and in the 1830s greater access to Euro women who travelled to India in search of marriages. (psst! some continued to marry women of 'mixed' backgrounds down to 1947... the Domociled European community Full of people who were actually of mixed ancestry)

Subbiah Yadalam Oh! i dont know how i missed this painting..one of my favourites too :)