Published Paper Details:

Travel texts produced during the colonial era by both men and women adhere to stereotypical models written from the Eurocentric point of view and are therefore always one sided. The Other is not given any agency to represent the Self. English is the language of the colonizer, as far as India is concerned. Very few Indians had the knowledge of English. It is therefore imperative that they had no knowledge on how they were represented. Another reason was that their views were never considered. Since this paper pertains to a travel text by a British journalist Mary Frances Billington, written during the colonial times, the expectation would be naturally along the lines of the other travel texts produced during the colonial times. But, the text that is being written about in this paper which is titled, Woman of India, written by Mary Frances Billington, published in the year 1895 defies all norms, stereotypes and expectations. It stands out in the entire body of travel texts. This text also stands out for another reason. Though travel journalism and war reportage are other forms of travel writing considered as travel writing in the present day, the text in question is related to travel journalism, it has not been accorded the merit it truly deserves. Subsequently, it will be substantiated why this text alone should be viewed differently, if not totally apart, a bit away from Colonial tendencies.