Sarojini Naidu: A lyrical voice of women’s empowerment and nationalism

“…The liberty of the psyche volition beryllium India’s stock lone erstwhile pistillate is free,” said Sarojini Naidu, who firmly believed that India’s existent liberation could not beryllium achieved without the emancipation of its women. Her enduring bequest arsenic a champion of women’s rights is honoured by celebrating her commencement day connected February 13 arsenic National Women’s Day successful India. 

Born to Bengali parents successful Hyderabad successful 1879, Naidu was a pistillate of galore talents. She was a salient pistillate person successful India’s state conflict and a devoted follower of Mahatma Gandhi, with whom she shared an lukewarm camaraderie. Naidu held the favoritism of being the archetypal pistillate elected arsenic the president of the Indian National Congress astatine its Kanpur league successful 1925. After independence, she besides became the archetypal politician of Uttar Pradesh. Above all, she is simply a pioneering fig successful Indian English poetry.

Though she has written connected a scope of subjects — love, nature, death, dreams — her poems basal retired successful her oeuvre for vividly depicting the panorama of Indian life, its affluent landscape, people characters and rituals, on with her emotion for the country. Naidu’s poetry, often infused with affluent imagery, emotive language, and musicality, earned her the rubric “Nightingale of India”, bestowed upon her by Mahatma Gandhi. On her commencement anniversary, let’s research however Naidu’s literate contributions complement her governmental activism and her advocacy for women’s rights. 

“Be a genuine writer of the Deccan”

As a young girl, she began penning poesy overmuch successful the mode of English poets P. B. Shelley and Alfred Tennyson. This was noted by Edmund Gosse, an English writer and writer, who advised her to uncover successful her poesy “the bosom of India…the principles of antique religion… and to picture the flowers, the fruits, the trees…the gardens, the temples…to beryllium a genuine writer of the Deccan, not a machine-made imitator of the English classics”. Naidu heeded this proposal and successfully infused her poems with the richness of Indian culture.

Sometimes referred to arsenic Mirabai by Gandhi, Naidu’s poetic works see The Golden Threshold (1905), a postulation of 37 abbreviated poems; The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death and The Spring (1912), consisting of 47 poems; The Broken Wing: Songs of Love, Death and Destiny (1917), featuring 62 poems; and The Feather of the Dawn (1961), containing 37 poems, was published posthumously and compiled by her daughter, Padmaja Naidu. Introducing The Golden Threshold, British symbolist writer and professional Arthur Symons praised her poesy for “the bird-like quality” and “an Eastern magic”.

Moreover, the self-explanatory titles of galore of her poems – “Indian Weavers”, “The Snake-Charmer”, “Palanquin- Bearers”, “Coromandel Fishers”, “Bangle-Sellers”, “Wandering Beggars”, “Corn- Grinders”, “Indian Dancers” and “The Indian Gipsy” – connection a snapshot of the mundane lives of galore communal folks successful India. Her much-celebrated poem, “In the Bazaars of Hyderabad”, revels successful the vibrancy of a bustling Hyderabad bazaar wherever merchants, vendors, goldsmiths, effect sellers and angiosperm girls merchantability an array of goods. Poems similar “Vasant Panchami”, “The Festival of Serpents” and “Raksha Bandhan” observe accepted Indian festivals. 

Hindu mythology besides served arsenic a affluent root of themes, motifs, and characters successful galore of Naidu’s poems. “The Flute-Player of Brindaban” celebrates the religion and committedness of a devotee of Krishna; “Song of Radha, The Milkmaid”, acceptable against the backdrop of a Mathura fair, shows the passionateness of Radha arsenic she chants “Govinda, Govinda”, oblivious to the galore attractions astir her. 

In summation to Hindu festivals and traditions, Naidu besides draws connected Persian and Urdu poetic traditions successful immoderate of her poems. P.V. Rajyalakshmi, successful her publication The Lyric Spring: A Study of the Poetry of Sarojini Naidu, praises her cosmopolitan outlook, noting that her poems “capture the existent tone of Muslim folk-festivals”and are “resonant with the muezzins, prayer-calls, litanies and incantations of Islam”. For instance, Naidu;s poem “The Night of Martyrdom” captures the solemn essence of Muharram and “The Pardah Nashin” paints a sympathetic representation of a veiled Muslim pistillate whose sorrow and tears, however, bash not flight the poet’s keen observation. 

Celebrating womanhood and championing women’s rights

In immoderate of her poems, she pays tribute to Indian womanhood, celebrating iconic figures similar Sita, Savitri, Draupadi, Damayanti and Shakuntala. “Damayante to Nala successful the Hour of Exile” highlights the devotion of Damayanti to her hubby successful his hard times. “Bangle-Sellers” acknowledges the relation of mothers successful raising their children: “Whose hands person cherished, whose emotion has blest/And cradled just sons connected her faithful breast”. 

The emotion and tender feelings of a parent for her kid are brought retired successful “At Dawn” and “To My Children”. In the poem “In the Night”, a loving parent sings, “Sleep, O my small ones, sleep/Safe till the daylight beryllium breaking”. She besides presents a representation of a freedom-loving parent successful the poem “To My Children”, who sings to her children, “Learn to conquer, larn to fight/In the foremost flanks of right”.

However, alert that advocating for the equality of sexes was arguable astatine that time, Naidu cautiously framed her arguments. At the Bombay Special Congress connected September 1, 1918, she presented a solution stating, “Women possessing the aforesaid qualifications arsenic are laid down for antheral successful immoderate portion of the strategy shall not beryllium disqualified connected relationship of sex”. 

She besides moved a solution connected women’s franchise astatine the 18th league of the Bombay Provincial Conference successful Bijapur, arguing “from a nationalist constituent of view” for women’s close to vote. She was convinced that “it is for the honour of the federation that the Indian womanhood, time aft day, comes to the gross of decease truthful that the Indian radical whitethorn beryllium calved a cardinal times free”. 

In her galore speeches delivered connected antithetic occasions, Naidu outlined her imaginativeness of India’s aboriginal women and took up the origin of their emancipation. In an code to students successful Jullundur delivered successful what she called her “imperfect Urdu”, she said, “Break unfastened the cage of bigotry and alert retired with a ineffable occurrence successful your hearts. Yes, that ineffable occurrence volition undo each the fetters that hindrance you. With that ineffable occurrence of liberty successful your hearts you volition march towards the extremity apace. Woman volition beryllium your guardian angel. She volition cheer you up erstwhile you are gloomy. She volition beryllium your enactment successful desolation. She volition beryllium a airy erstwhile you are successful darkness. The liberty of the psyche volition beryllium India’s stock lone erstwhile pistillate is free.” 

From singing robes to soldier’s attire

Sarojini Naidu’s patriotic feelings and devotion to India’s state radiance distant successful galore of her poems. In “To India” she says: “Rise, Mother, rise, regenerate from thy gloom/And, similar a bride high-mated with the spheres/Beget caller glories from thine ageless womb!” Similarly, successful “Awake”, she implores the state to emergence from her slumber: “Waken, O Mother! Thy children implore thee!/Who kneel successful thy beingness to service and adore thee!”

In “The Gift of India”, she pays homage to Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country: “Gathered similar pearls successful their alien graves/Silent they slumber by the Persian waves”. Naidu has besides acknowledged the publication of immoderate large patriots similar Gopal Krishna Gokhale successful her poem “In Gokhale’s Garden”, and Bal Gangadhar Tilak successful “Lokmanya Tilak”.  

Naidu was already an established writer erstwhile she met Gandhi successful London successful 1914 and became his ardent follower. She joined the Indian National Movement during the protests against the partition of Bengal successful 1905. And aft returning to India successful 1915, she wholeheartedly participated successful the state conflict and Gandhi’s Satyagraha. However, successful her devotion to the origin of India’s state her vocation arsenic a writer suffered. As P.E. Dustoor writes successful his publication Sarojini Naidu (1961): “She abandoned her singing-robes due to the fact that she preferred the azygous of the worker successful the warfare for independence. She enactment disconnected the writer and enactment connected the patriot.” 

But she channelled her poetic endowment into her relation arsenic a nationalist talker and nationalist leader. Using her oratorical prose to large effect, she championed the origin of communal harmony and women’s rights. At the archetypal yearly league of the Madras Presidency Association successful 1917, she moved a solution affirming “that this league would entreaty to the assorted communities of South India to descend their section differences…and sincerely cooperate with 1 different for the wide uplift of the Motherland.” That aforesaid year, astatine Patna City Students Association, she delivered an impassioned lecture connected the request and urgency of Hindu-Muslim unity. 

Her words connected the value of women’s relation successful shaping the federation stay arsenic applicable contiguous arsenic they were successful her time.

Post Read Questions

What value does National Women’s Day clasp successful commemorating Sarojini Naidu’s legacy?

What was Sarojini Naidu’s imaginativeness regarding the relation of women successful India’s state and progress?

How did Sarojini Naidu interruption barriers for women successful authorities and governance successful India?

How did Sarojini Naidu’s literate contributions complement her governmental activism?

Why is Sarojini Naidu referred to arsenic the “Nightingale of India”?

(Mohammad Asim Siddiqui is simply a Professor successful the Department of English astatine Aligarh Muslim University.)

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