Jnanadanandini Devi (1850-1941), wife of Satyendranath Tagore, the first ICS of India and an upright gentleman, was the daughter of Abhayacharan Mukhopadhyaya of Jessore district. Satyendranath was very progressive in his thought and action. He had changed many conservative ideas of Thakur bari. The role played by him towards establishment of freedom of female generation was to be noted with great regard.Prafullamayee Devi, wife of Birendranath , wrote that Jnanadanandini Devi, after coming back from Bombay, introduced dress code amongst the female members of Tagore family. She taught them to put on inner garments under the sari and to wear a blouse to cover the upper body. The people outside the Tagore family also took to these ideas. It was very difficult at that time to change custom. She was very straightforward and courageous-- she went to England with her children even though Satyendranath could not accompny her due to his duties. He along with Rabindranath went there after some time. Apart from literary work she had interest in photography. At her initiative many photographs of different members of Tagore were taken. Her daughter, Indira Devi, wrote that she was in the habit of taking care of all the relatives and was very lively. Many dramas were staged at Thakur bari under her initiative. She used to take care of everybody. Everyone respected her for her sober attitude.
