Mrinalini Sen (3 August 1879 – 8 March 1972) was a Bengali writer in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. On 19 December 1910, she became the first Indian to fly in a plane.

Life

Mrinalini Devi was born in 1878, into the Luddhi family of

Bhagalpur Bhagalpur, historically known as Champapuri, Champa Nagari, is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern bank of the Ganges river. It is the Bihar#Government and administration, third largest city of Bihar by population and ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

, India. She was married to the Raja of Paikpara, at the age of 12 and became a young widow a few years later. She met Nirmal Chandra Sen, the son of

Keshub Chandra Sen Keshub Chandra Sen (; also spelled Keshab Chunder Sen; 19 November 1838 – 8 January 1884) was an Indian philosopher and social reformer who attempted to incorporate Christian theology within the framework of Hindu thought. Born a Hindu i ...

and a civil servant, in a social gathering. After placing her brother on the throne of Paikpara, she eloped and married Nirmal Chandra Sen. She had four children - NC Sen (Jr), Srilata, Arati, and Anjali. Both were prominent members of Calcutta’s elite society, and it was during the late 1900s when Mrinalini Devi got the chance to undertake the historic flight on 19 December 1910 and become the first Indian to fly in a plane. In 1910, the Belgian pilot Jules Tyck had brought a Farman biplane and a Bleriot XI monoplane to operate the first manned flight out of India. A

Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

report dated 22 December 1910 mentions that the Belgian baron,

Pierre de Caters Baron Pierre de Caters (25 December 1875, in Berchem – 21 March 1944, in Paris) was a Belgian adventurer, aviator and car and motorboat racer. In 1908, he was the first Belgian to fly an aircraft. He was also the first Belgian to receive ...

, took off on a biplane from the grounds of the

Tollygunge Club The Tollygunge Club ( Bengali: টালিগঞ্জ ক্লাব), popularly called Tolly Club, is a country club in India, located in Tollygunge in south Kolkata. Sir William Cruikshank established the club as an equestrian sports fac ...

with Sen seated behind the pilot’s seat. The occasion was also covered by French newspapers and a British magazine. Immediately after the historic flight, both moved to England and returned to India before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

began. She wrote poetry and they were often published in the '' Desh'' magazine. She died on 8 March 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sen, Mrinalini Bengali writers 1879 births 1972 deaths Writers from the Bengal Presidency Women writers from West Bengal