Madam Cama was born on 24th September, 1861 at Mumbai in a rich
Parsi family. Her mother’s name was Jayji and her father’s name was
SorabjiFramji Patel. Her father and brother were big traders in Mumbai. They
had a palatial residence at Cumballa Hill. The parents named their daughter as
Bhikaji. Madam Cama, who completed her schooling in Mumbai, was fluent in four
languages English, Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi.
On 3rd August, 1885 she was married to Rustom Khurshid Cama who was solicitor by profession, but soon she had to dessert her misbehaving husband who insulted her wifehood. Though the family life was destroyed she did not sit idle. She dedicated herself to social work. In 1896 Mumbai was struck with the Plague epidemic. During that time she, along with other females, served the patients at Parsi Fever Hospital. During the 1899 plague epidemic, she herself was infected with the disease. After recovering, on medical advice, she went to Europe. In Europe she stayed in Germany, France and Scotland for one year each. During her stay she underwent a surgery. On improvement in health, i.e. in 1905, she came to London. There she started participating in activities of Dadabhai Nowrojee’s ‘London India Society’. She became close to ‘India House’, which was the safe haven for Indian revolutionaries. She started delivering fierce speeches regarding Freedom of India, at places like Hyde Park in London. During the same time i.e. on 24th June, 1906 a young man named Vinayak Damodar Savarkar reached London.
On 3rd August, 1885 she was married to Rustom Khurshid Cama who was solicitor by profession, but soon she had to dessert her misbehaving husband who insulted her wifehood. Though the family life was destroyed she did not sit idle. She dedicated herself to social work. In 1896 Mumbai was struck with the Plague epidemic. During that time she, along with other females, served the patients at Parsi Fever Hospital. During the 1899 plague epidemic, she herself was infected with the disease. After recovering, on medical advice, she went to Europe. In Europe she stayed in Germany, France and Scotland for one year each. During her stay she underwent a surgery. On improvement in health, i.e. in 1905, she came to London. There she started participating in activities of Dadabhai Nowrojee’s ‘London India Society’. She became close to ‘India House’, which was the safe haven for Indian revolutionaries. She started delivering fierce speeches regarding Freedom of India, at places like Hyde Park in London. During the same time i.e. on 24th June, 1906 a young man named Vinayak Damodar Savarkar reached London.
