– Sudhakar Venukapalli
Waken, O mother! thy children implore thee,
Who kneel in thy presence to serve and adore thee!
The night is aflush with a dream of the morrow,
Why still dost thou sleep in thy bondage of sorrow?
Awaken and sever the woes that enthrall us,
And hallow our hands for the triumphs that call us!
(Sarojini Naidu, The Broken Wing, 1–6)
The lines of rhythmic expression in the above poem “Awake!” (The Broken Wing) reflect Sarojini Naidu’s deep passion for the people of Bharat Mata. She fervently prays for her fellow countrymen, who lie in stillness, enveloped in a metaphorical darkness that they must be rescued from in order to attain freedom. The poem resonates with her intense cries of anguish, as Bharat is trapped in a “bondage of sorrow,” and its people are imprisoned by “the woes that enthrall” them. Throughout her life she struggled against domination, oppression, coercion, cruelty, and subjugation. She reached people with her powerful writings and activism. Sarojini Naidu’s literary work that embodied multiple vivacious images, lively descriptions, and deep-rooted metaphorical narratives in day-to-day experiences brought her close to people and made her a celebrated national figure.
Since her childhood she was attracted towards political, socio-cultural and especially women issues and problems. Her critical experiences of the domination of colonial rulers and their hegemonic policies led her to jump into Bharatiya independence movement. As an activist she worked closely with Mahatma Gandhi and became a fulltime worker in designing and executing various strategies and plans. Her active participation in the freedom movement in various capacities brought very close to people and communities. She widely travelled across the country to inspire and encourage people to fight against colonial domination and repression.
As the “Nightingale of India,” Sarojini Naidu was not only a well-known poet and liberation activist but also an extraordinary person whose imagination brought her writings to life. The spirit of Bharat’s diverse cultural terrain is eloquently captured in her poetry, which is full of vivid imagery and emotional depth. Sarojini Naidu’s writings speak to readers on a number of levels because of her exceptional ability to combine the splendor of nature with deep human experiences. Her words provide a lasting sense of inspiration and hope by allowing us to enter a world full of vivid colours, fragrant blossoms, and the unwavering spirit of her own land.
Sarojini Naidu never considered herself a significant literary figure. Her approach was simple, and her honesty was unwavering. After reading her poems Edmund Gosse and Arthur Symons strongly felt that each and every poem of hers is beautiful, valuable and worth publishing. Edmund Gosse and Symons informed their desire to publish and to bring them in public domain with the title, The Golden Threshold. In the beginning she was hesitant to make her poems public and she responded to them with the following words:
“Your letter made me very proud and very sad……..Is it possible that I have written verses that are ‘filled with beauty,’ and is it possible that you really think them worthy of being given to the world? You know how high my ideal of Art is; and to me my poor casual little poems seem to be less than beautiful—I mean with that final enduring beauty that I desire.”
And, in another letter, she writes: “I am not a poet really. I have the vision and the desire, but not the voice. If I could write just one poem full of beauty and the spirit of greatness, I should be exultantly silent forever; but I sing just as the birds do, and my songs are as ephemeral.”
Arthur Symons strongly felt that her poems are unique and embodied with Eastern mystical exquisiteness and magical beauty. He wrote a fascinating introduction to her collection poems (The Golden Threshold ) highlighting her literary qualities and original thinking creative imagination. The unification of her Indianness with Western linguistic expressions revealed her inner beauty and world of imagination.
Sarojini Devi Naidu was born into a Bengali Hindu family in Hyderabad on February 13, 1879. Her father, Aghorenath Chattopadhyay, was the principal of the Nizam’s College, Hyderabad. He was a progressive thinker and a proponent of education. Her mother, Varada Sundari Devi Chattopadhyay, was a gifted Bengali poetess, whose artistic spirit and passion for words ignited in Sarojini a profound affinity for languages and poetry. This rich artistic environment fostered her creativity and set the stage for her to become a prominent literary figure and a champion for social change. She started writing poetry when she was eleven years old.
“One day, when I was eleven, I was sighing over a sum in algebra: it WOULDN’T come right; but instead a whole poem came to me suddenly. I wrote it down. …From that day my ‘poetic career’ began. At thirteen I wrote a long poem a la ‘Lady of the Lake’— 1300 lines in six days. At thirteen I wrote a drama of 2000 lines, a full-fledged passionate thing that I began on the spur of the moment without forethought, just to spite my doctor who said I was very ill and must not touch a book. My health broke down permanently about this time, and my regular studies being stopped. I read voraciously. I suppose the greater part of my reading was done between fourteen and sixteen. I wrote a novel, I wrote fat volumes of journals; I took myself very seriously in those days.”
From the beginning, she displayed an incredible talent for writing poetry that beautifully expressed her deepest feelings and emotions. She entered the University of Madras (what is now Chennai) at the age of twelve years. Her British romantic style captivated many English writers. Between 1895 and 1898, she had the wonderful opportunity to study at King’s College, London, and later at Girton College, Cambridge, by availing of a scholarship sponsored by Nizam. She made many great friends during her studies and built meaningful connections that enriched her experience. She returned to Bharat in 1898 and married Govindaraju Naidu, a doctor from southern India whom she had met in England.
Her nationalistic fervor and growing demand for freedom from British rule deeply influenced Naidu, leading her to engage in the Indian nationalist movement. She became a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and embraced his idea of Swaraj (self-rule). Through her poetry, she effectively propagated nationalism. In recognition of her contributions to the Indian independence movement, Naidu was appointed president of the Indian National Congress during the Kanpur session in 1925. Her writings represent bonded and unified ideas of nationalism, internationalism, and transnational patriotism. Her vision and imagination of world citizenship is clearly evident in her words, it is because my beloved father said: ‘Be not limited even to the Indian, but let it be your pride that you are a citizen of the world’, that I should love my country. I am ready to lay down my life for the welfare of all India. Eastern and Western traditions, aspirational idealism, profound subjectivity, and subtle expediency were woven into Sarojini Naidu’s literary and political discourse. Some of the most prominent Bharatiya and British politicians and intellectuals of her age were in her network. Edmund Gosse was her literary tutor; Mohandas Gandhi and Gopal Krishna Gokhale were her political teachers; she knew Mohammed Ali Jinnah and communicated with Rabindranath Tagore.
After Annie Besant, she was the first Bharatiya woman to serve as the president of the Indian National Congress. She played a significant role in public policy formulations and made a remarkable contribution in the Bharatiya independence movement. Naidu actively participated in several movements, including the Salt March of 1930, the Quit India movement, and the civil disobedience movement that she organized. Alongside Gandhi and others, she was repeatedly arrested during these protests
Sarojini Naidu is known for championing women’s rights in Bharat. Sarojini Naidu designed and actively participated in social movements for the liberation of the Bharatiya woman from institutionalized ideologies such as prohibitions on education, child marriage, purdah and polygamy, enforced widowhood and sati, and the inculcation of human values in all sections of society. She argued that the national movement cannot be separated from the women’s liberation movement. She was involved with the Women’s Indian Association, which championed female suffrage and empowerment. In 1917, Sarojini Naidu, English feminist Annie Besant, and Indian suffragist Herabai Tata led a delegation to discuss women’s right to vote with Edwin Montagu (secretary of state for Bharat, 1917–22) and Lord Chelmsford (viceroy of Bharat, 1916–21). Eventually, the Government of India Act was passed in 1919, giving Indian provincial councils the right to grant franchise to women. Following Bharat’s independence in 1947, the country adopted the principle of universal suffrage. Sarojini Devi Naidu was appointed as the Governor of the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh), a position she held until her death. Naidu holds the distinction of being the first governor of any state to receive this appointment. This historic appointment not only broke gender barriers but also set a precedent for women’s participation in high-level administrative roles in independent India.
Sarojini Naidu’s literary works beautifully capture the essence of Indian culture, landscapes, and the spirit of the freedom struggle. Some of her major literary contributions include:
The Golden Threshold: This was Naidu’s first collection of poems.
The Bird of Time: Published in 1912, this collection reflects her deep love for India.
The Broken Wing: This collection is famous for featuring one of Naidu’s most well-known poems, “In the Bazaars of Hyderabad.”
The Sceptered Flute: Songs of India: This anthology, published posthumously, includes poems that artfully combine the essence of Indian tradition with the English language.
Her daughter, Padmaja Naidu, edited The Feather of The Dawn, published in 1961, which comprises previously unpublished poems by Sarojini Naidu.
In addition to these works, Naidu wrote many other notable poems. Renowned for their lyrical beauty and patriotic fervour, her poems stand as a testament to her enduring legacy as “The Nightingale of India.” Naidu’s contributions to India’s struggle for independence and her role in the early years of post-independence Bharat are immortalized in the country’s history. Her life and work continue to inspire generations of Bharatiya, particularly women, to contribute to the welfare and progress of their nation. Her poetry shines with lyrical beauty, rich symbolism, vivid imagery, mysticism, and a profound connection to her roots, showcasing her unique and inspiring voice in literature.
(Author is Professor in ‘The English and Foreign Languages University’, Hyderabad.)
References:
Arthur Symons (1916) ‘Sarojini Naidu’, in Figures of Several Centuries, London: Constable,
Edmund Gosse (1912), ‘Introduction’, in Sarojini Naidu, The Bird of Time, London: Heinemann.
Lothika Basu (1993), cited in Makarand Paranjape, ‘Introduction’, in Sarojini Naidu: Selected Poetry and Prose, ed. Makarand Paranjape (New Delhi: Indus, HarperCollins.
Naidu, Sarojini(1912). The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death and the Spring. Ed. Edmund Gosse. London: W. Heinemann.
Naidu, Sarojini(1917). The Broken Wing: Songs of Love, Death & Destiny, 1915–1916. London: W. Heineman,
Naidu, Sarojini(1962). The Feather of the Dawn. New York: Asia Publ. House.
Naidu, Sarojini(1905). The Golden Threshold. Ed. Arthur Symons. London: Heineman.
Naidu, Sarojini(1996). Sarojini Naidu: Selected letters, 1890s to 1940s. Ed. Makarand Paranjape. New Delhi: Kali for Women.
Naidu, Sarojini(1925). Speeches and Writings of Sarojini Naidu. 3rd ed. Madras: G. A. Natesan.
Padmini Sengupta (1966), Sarojini Naidu: A Biography ,Madras: Asia Publishing House,
Susie Tharu and K. Lalita (eds.) (1991), ‘Introduction’, in Women Writing in India, Vol. 1:
600 BC to the Early Twentieth Century (New York: The Feminist Press,)
Tara Ali Baig (1974), Sarojini Naidu (New Delhi: Publications Division, Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, 1974)
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