#StoryTime with #MysoreRoyals , a story we can relate very much in these pandemic times !

This painting records probably the world's first govt PHOTO OP to promote #Vaccination to counter the #antivaxxers misinformation & it was spearheaded by indian women !
Source : Quora

In the beginning of 19th century, there was a small pox outbreak & the British wanted to promote vaccines for the safety of the people.
Mark Wilkes, resident at the Court of Mysore was instructed to persuade the people of Mysore kingdom to get vaccinated.

He had the support of minister Dewan Purnayya & Rani Lakshmi Ammani Avaru, who had lost her husband to small pox. During this time, the young Raja was engaged to Devajamani, who did not have the disease.

The vaccination program of British was failing as there was widespread rejection of the same by the public, who saw foreign medicine as a threat to life.

This led Rani Lakshmi Ammanni Avaru to coax 3 royal women, 2 of whom were the senior & junior Maharani (in the pic) to take the shots in full view of the public to clear all apprehensions, that would later end up as an important landmark in history of Eng medicines in india.

The young woman on the right is
Devajamani, who was engaged to the young Raja.
Her willingness to have the vaccine was announced in Madras on July, 1806.
She is holding the Sari up to show where the British doctors give the injection, without compromising the modesty of women.