Sarojini Naidu s interests and passions were many: books, poetry, people, conversation, food, gardens, folklore handicrafts and travel. As a poet, she had perhaps the finest ear among Indians for the English language. As a public speaker, she impressed the most sophisticated audiences. As a political worker, her courage and conviction embarassed her detractors. As a proponent of women s rights, she won over numerous chauvanists.
It is at my persuasion that these poems are now published. The earliest of them were read to me in London in 1896, when the writer was seventeen; the later ones were sent to me from India in 1904, when she was twenty-five; and they belong, I think, almost wholly to those two periods. As they seemed to me to have an individual beauty of their own, I thought they ought to be published. The writer hesitated. "Your letter made me very proud and very sad," she wrote. "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 for ever; but I sing just as the birds do, and my songs are as ephemeral." It is for this bird-like quality of song, it seems to me, that they are to be valued. They hint, in a sort of delicately evasive way, at a rare temperament, the temperament of a woman of the East, finding expression through a Western language and under partly Western influences. They do not express the whole of that temperament; but they express, I think, its essence; and there is an Eastern magic in them. Sarojini Chattopadhyay was born at Hyderabad on February 13, 1879. Her father, Dr. Aghorenath Chattopadhyay, is descended from the ancient family of Chattorajes of Bhramangram, who were noted throughout Eastern Bengal as patrons of Sanskrit learning, and for their practice of Yoga. He took his degree of Doctor of Science at the University of Edinburgh in 1877, and afterwards studied brilliantly at Bonn. On his return to India he founded the Nizam College at Hyderabad, and has since laboured incessantly, and at great personal sacrifice, in the cause of education.
Sarojini Naidu was a prolific writer and speaker, publishing three collections of poetry during her life and delivered many rousing speeches throughout the freedom struggle and after India gained Independence. This book compiles her best-known work, as well as letters she wrote throughout her life to Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore and others, to provide a glimpse into the kind of person she was and the ideas she believed in. Through these pages, we can witness her innermost thoughts and feelings, and the important role she played in shaping the country's freedom struggle and its ideas as a young nation, particularly through rousing speeches on the Education of Indian Women and the Battle of Freedom is Over, which were broadcast over the All India Radio on 15 August 1947.
"Speeches and Writings of Sarojini Naidu" is a 1925 work that includes a wide selection of Sarojini Naidu's speeches and other assorted writings. Contents include: "Nilambuja", "True Brotherhood", "Personal Element in Spiritual Life", "Education of Indian Women", "A Plea for Social Reform", "Hindu and Mussalmans", "Mrs. Ghandi", "In Memoriam: Gokhale", "The Children's Tribute to Gokhale", etc. Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949) was an Indian political activist and poet. She was a staunch proponent of women's emancipation, civil rights, and anti-imperialistic ideas, playing an important role in India's struggle for independence from colonial rule. Her work as a poet includes both children's poems and others with more mature themes including patriotism, romance, and tragedy, earning her the sobriquet "Nightingale of India". Her most famous work is "In the Bazaars of Hyderabad" (1912), which remains widely read to this day. Other notable works by this author include: "The Broken Wing - Songs of Love, Death & Destiny" (1917) and "Muhammad Jinnah: An Ambassador of Unity" (1919). This classic work is being republished now in a new edition complete with an introductory chapter from 'Studies of Contemporary Poets' by Mary C. Sturgeon.
In the palanquin sits the graceful bride and four able men bear her with pride. In the glorious ways of Indian tradition, sing to the beat of this springy ride.
Poet, nationalist, freedom-fighter and the first woman to become the Governor of a state in independent India, Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949) was one of the most colourful and dynamic personalities of her time. She was not only closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, but became, in 1925, the first native woman to become the President of the Indian National Congress. This volume, the only authoritative selection of her works, comes with a revised and extended Introduction, which not only places the poet s life and art in its context, but provides a new way of understanding her significance and achievement.
