Indian Weavers by Sarojini Naidu

About Poet: 

Sarojini Naidu was an Indian English poet. She was born in Hyderabad on February 13, 1879. her father's name was Aghoranath Chattopadhyay and her mother's name was Barada Sundari Devi. Naidu was a great patriot, politician, orator and freedom fighter. She was the first Indian woman to become the President of Indian national Congress and the first woman to become the Governor of Uttar Pradesh. She was known as the Nightingale of India. 

In 1895 she went to England and took admission in King's college London. She was well versed in Urdu, Spanish, Telugu, English, Persian and Bengali. She was married to Dr. Muthyala Govindarajulu Naidu. 

Naidu's love for poetry:

Sarojini Naidu was a very bright and devoted girl since her childhood. Her father aspired for her to become a mathematician or scientist but she loved poetry from a very early age when she was working on an algebra problem and couldn't find the solution, she decided to take a break and in the same book she wrote her first poetry. She wrote "The Lady of the Lake" a poem 1300 lines long, her father came to know that she was more interested in poetry then mathematics or science. He decided to encourage her. With her father's support she wrote the play "Maher Muneer" in the Persian language. 

Major Works: 

The Golden Threshold (1905)

The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death & the Spring (1912)

The Broken Wing: Songs of Love, Death & Spring (1917)

The Feather of the Dawn (1961)

Text:

WEAVERS, weaving at break of day,
Why do you weave a garment so gay? . . .
Blue as the wing of a halcyon wild,
We weave the robes of a new-born child.

Weavers, weaving at fall of night,
Why do you weave a garment so bright? . . .
Like the plumes of a peacock, purple and green,
We weave the marriage-veils of a queen.

Weavers, weaving solemn and still,
What do you weave in the moonlight chill?
White as a feather and white as a cloud,
We weave a dead man's funeral shroud.

Summary of the poem:

Presented poem was written in three stanzas. Each stanza of the poem describes a stage of human life. First stanza talks about birth, Second stanza talks about marriage, and final stanza of the poem talks about death.

The poem opens with the communication between  writer and weavers. Weavers are busy in weaving a garment at early morning. The writer asks the weaver about the garment as it looks very beautiful and bright. The colour of the garment is blue. The weavers tell the writer that they are weaving a garment for a new born baby. It suggests the first phase of life. It relates to the birth of a child. 

Second stanza starts at night. It is night and the poet finds weavers at work. They weave a bright and beautiful garment. It has a magical colour. It looks bright. the poet asks why they weave this garment. The weavers tell her that they are weaving marriage veils of a queen. It suggests the second phase of human life.

Final stanza of the poem shows the sadness of weavers as they are silent and weaving the garment at moonlight. The colour of the garment is white like a cloud and feather. The weavers tell the writer that they are weaving a cloth to cover the body of a dead. They are weaving a shroud. 

Conclusion:

Sarojini Naidu explores Indian philosophy of life and death, darkness and light, happiness and misery in her song. The poem has a typical Indian scene, that of weavers particularly of the rural scene, weaving clothes on handlooms in different coloured pattern.

Glossary:

Break of day:       Sunrise

Chill:                      Cold

Funeral Shroud: Covering for a dead body

Gay:                       Bright

Plumes:                 Conspicuous Feather

Solemn:                 Sad

Veil:.                       Cover

Questions: 

1. Write the summary of the poem "Indian Weavers".

2. Discuss Sarojini Naidu as a poet.