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124 ing. There were no kindergartens in India in those days, but the little Sorabjis had a sort of kindergarten of their own. "We learnt to sing our letters," writes Cornelia, "to tunes mother made for them, and to the names of our friends and acquaintances. I remember a delightful alphabet, where A was for 'Appagi Bappaji,' who was god-father to one of my sisters. We learnt to count over playing at 'shop' with mother. Nature around us was invested with life, and we were told stories of the birds and insects which brought them near us, and unconsciously we learnt Natural History. So with our writing; 'the soldiers' and 'towers' (strokes and pot-hooks) were all part of a long delightful game which had no end."

While the mother trained and educated the younger children, the father devoted himself to the elder girls. In that far away village in the Dekkan there were but few opportunities for girls to learn much; and the young Sorabjis soon got beyond what could be taught them in the Church Missionary School. Fortunately for them, their father was both willing and able to teach them, and under him they studied mathematics, science, and Sanskrit, until they had reached the standard required for the matriculation at the University of Bombay.

Education had been making great strides in the Western Presidency, both for men and women, but