Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini naidu
[[File: |frameless|alt=]] Sarojini Naidu, (left), 1932.
Born	Sarojini Chattopadhyaya 13 February 1879(1879-02-13) Hyderabad, Hyderabad State, India
Died	2 March 1949(1949-03-02) (aged 70) Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
Occupation	Poet, writer, social fighter
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	King's College London Girton College, Cambridge
Spouse(s)	Mr. Muthyala Govindarajulu
Children	Jayasurya, Padmaja, Randheer and Leelamani

Sarojini Naidu (Hindi: सरोजिनी नायडू) (née Chattopadhyaya) (13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949), also known by the sobriquet The Nightingale of India, was a child prodigy, Indian independence activist and poet. Naidu was the first Indian woman to become the President of the Indian National Congress and the first woman to become the Governor of Uttar Pradesh state.

She was the daughter of Aghorenath Chattopadhyaya. He was a scientist and philosopher. He was the founder of the Nizam College, Hyderabad. Sarojini Naidu's mother Barada Sundari Devi was a poetess baji and used to write poetry in Bengali. Sarojini Naidu was the eldest among the eight siblings. One of her brothers Birendranath was a revolutionary and her other brother Harindranath was a poet, dramatist, and actor.

Sarojini Naidu was a brilliant student. She was proficient in Urdu, Telugu, English, Bengali, and Persian. At the age of twelve, Sarojini Naidu attained national fame when she topped the matriculation examination at Madras University. Her father wanted her to become a mathematician or scientist but Sarojini Naidu was interested in poetry. She started writing poems in English. Impressed by her poetry, Nizam of Hyderabad, gave her scholarship to study abroad. At the age of 16, she traveled to England to study first at King's College London and later at Girton College, Cambridge. There she met famous laureates of her time such as Arthur Symons and Edmond Gosse. It was Gosse who convinced Sarojini to stick to Indian themes-India's great mountains, rivers, temples, social milieu, to express her poetry. She depicted contemporary Indian life and events. Her collections "The golden threshold (1905)", "The bird of time (1912)", and "The broken wing (1912)" attracted huge Indian and English readership.

At the age of 15, she met Dr. Govindarajulu Naidu and fell in love with him. a non-Brahmin, and a doctor by profession. After finishing her studies at the age of 19, she married him during the time when inter-caste marriages were not allowed. It was a revolutionary step but Sarojini's father fully supported her in her endeavour. Sarojini Naidu had a happy married life and had four children: Jayasurya, Padmaj, Randheer, and Leilamani.

Sarojini Naidu joined the Indian national movement in the wake of partition of Bengal in 1905. She came into contact with Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Rabindranath Tagore, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Annie Besant, C.P.Rama Swami Iyer, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. She awakened the women of India. She brought them out of the kitchen. She traveled from state to state, city after city and asked for the rights of the women. She re-established self-esteem within the women of India.

In 1925, Sarojini Naidu presided over the annual session of Indian National Congress at Kanpur. Sarojini Naidu played a leading role during the Civil Disobedience Movement and was jailed along with Gandhiji and other leaders. In 1942, Sarojini Naidu was arrested during the "Quit India" movement and was jailed for 21 months with Gandhiji. She shared a very warm relationship with Gandhiji and used to call him "Mickey Mouse".

After Independence, Sarojini Naidu became the Governor of Uttar Pradesh. She was India's first woman governor. Sarojini Naidu died in office on March 2, 1949.

Works

Each year links to its corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:

• 1905: The Golden Threshold, published in the United Kingdom (text available online)
• 1912: The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death & the Spring, published in London
• 1917: The Broken Wing: Songs of Love, Death and the Spring, including "The Gift of India" (first read in public in 1915)
• 1916: Muhammad Jinnah: An Ambassador of Unity
• 1943: The Sceptred Flute: Songs of India, Allahabad: Kitabistan, posthumously published
• 1961: The Feather of the Dawn, posthumously published, edited by her daughter, Padmaja Naidu

Indian Weavers- Published b/w 1960 & 1971

Quotes

Naidu writes:

"Shall hope to prevail where clamorous hate is rife,

Shall sweet love prosper or high dreams have place

Amid the tumult of reverberant strife

'Twixt ancient creeds, 'twixt race and ancient race,

That mars the grave, glad purposes of life,

Leaving no refuge save thy succoring face?"

Naidu said, "When there is oppression, the only self-respecting thing is to rise and say this shall cease today, because my right is justice." She adds, "If you are stronger, you have to help the weaker boy or girl both in play and in the work." She is known for her famous poem, "Bazaars of Hyderabad".

External links

• See images at Commons: commons:Category:Sarojini Naidu
• Works by Sarojini Naidu at Project Gutenberg
• Biography and Poems of Sarojini Naidu
• Letter written by Sarojini Naidu
• Biography of Sarojini Naidu
• First Biography of Muhammad Ali Jinnah by Sarojini Naidu (1917)
• Biography of Aghornath Chattopadhyaya
• Sarojini Naidu: an introduction to her life, work and poetry By Vishwanath S. Naravane