Nirmala Joshi was an officer of the British Indian Army until the nation's independence in 1947. When she was one year old, her father brought the family to India. Although the family was Hindu, she was educated by Christian missionaries in Mount Carmel, Hazaribag. At that time, she learned of Mother Teresa's work and wanted to share in that service. She soon converted to Catholicism and joined the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa. Joshi completed a Master's degree in Political Science and then went on to secure a doctorate degree in law from the University of Calcutta. She was one
Nirmala (novel) her friend, Sudha. He tried to seduce Nirmala, but his wife learned of it and criticized him harshly. Bhuvanmohan became emotionally distressed, and out of sorrow and his love for her, he committed suicide. Depressed by the sad turn of events and her own failing health, Nirmala gave her daughter Asha to Rukhmini, Totaram's widowed sister, and died. A much older Totaram returned home to discover Nirmala had died. Set against a background of pre-independent India, "Nirmala" depicts a realistic and picturesque portrait of the 1920s, the language and milieu of the era. It characterizes the evils of the dowry