Lakshmibai Tilak

Lakshmibai Tilak (1868–1936) was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India. According to the social custom of her times, she was married off by her parents at her age 11 to Narayan Waman Tilak. Narayan Waman Tilak was an accomplished Marathi poet. He gave Laxmibai basic formal education to the extent that she could read and write basic marathi. When he converted to Christianity, she at first was shocked. Gradually, however, she overcame her distaste, and eventually became a Christian herself. She tells this story with great simplicity in absolutely Step by Step. With his encouragement, despite her limited formal education, Lakshmibai too composed some superb poetry. Further, she wrote her autobiography under the title Smritichitre (स्मृतिचित्रे), which turned out to be a masterpiece in Marathi literature. The autobiography was published in four parts during 1934 -1937. In 1950, E. Josephine Inkster translated it into English under the title I Follow After.