sarojini naidu poet of intense aspiration

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International Indexed & Referred Research Journal, December, 2012, ISSN 0974-2832, RNI- RAJBIL- 2009/29954; VOL –IV* ISSUE- 47

Introduction:-Belonging to the period of pre independence,

Sarojini Naidu attracted the younger generation of Indiathrough her genuine verse. Her poems tells us of herfancies and longings, her moments of joy and themoments of sorrow in her thought provoking poems,she laid emphasis on the decayment of life and theimportance of the fortune, the real purpose of life andmystery of death. Legends and mythological particu-lars interest her too much and she loves to sing theimportance of the God and Goddess of all the religionswith free heart and open mind. She sees the beauty oflife and she writes poems on variety of subjects whichinclude the kings as well as beggars and her poems alsomark the imaginative plight as well as realistic descrip-tion of the mundane ambitions an aspirations. Shecaptures versatile subject matters in her poetry, althoughher poetic output is not so bulky.

The important theme of Sarojini Naidu'spoetryis pure and intense aspiration. The hatred of tyranny,the overthrow of the tyrant, the love of liberty, theregeneration of her own country are some of the mostimportant notes which find place in her aspiring andexciting poems. She is a true freedom fighter and herpassion for a glorious India always aspires her tocompose verses full of idealistic notes and visions. Shewants to fulfill all her human hungers; she is convincedthat she cannot die. Her insatiate soul insists on drain-ing earth's utmost bitter and utmost sweet she prays togod:

"Spare me no bliss, no pang of stife,Withhold no gift or grief I crave,The intricate lore of love and lifeAnd mystic knowledge of grave,"

(The soul's prayer)The ideal of Sarojini Naidu is to see the country of herbirth free, independent and regenerated. To her, India

Research Paper -Englsih

December ,2012

Sarojini Naidu: Poet of intense aspiration.

* Dr. Kuldeep K. Mohadikar

* Assistant Professor, Shri Shivaji Arts and Commerce College Amravati.

A B S T R A C TThis research paper deals with Sarojini Naidu as a poet. The important theme of Sarojini Naidu's poetry is pure and intenseaspiration. The hatred of tyranny, the overthrow of the tyrant, the love of liberty, the regeneration of her own country aresome of the most important notes which find place in her aspiring and exciting poems. She boldly revolted against themode of treatment given to widow.Sarojini Naidu's mysticism in her poetry is the result of her quest of peace in her life.Her poetry is also full of the note of suffering and melancholy. The note of melancholy in her poetry is found particularlydue to her personal sadness and agony. Despite an under current of melancholy and pessimism Sarojini's poetry isoptimistic.

is young and fertile enough to beget new glories fromIndia's ageless womb. To her India is fit for the leader-ship of nations that in fettered darkness weep. Indiawas once the empress of the sovereign past. But theidealism of the poet suffers a set back at the sight ofcontemporary Indian scene, and she feels despondentfor a while. Sarojini Naidu and her fellow compatriotssee visions of a great dawn. The mournful night is overand her country wakes at last from her deep age-longsleep. Sweet and long slumbering buds of gladnessopen fresh lips to the returning winds of hope.

"Our eager hearts renew their radiant flight,Towards the glorious renascent light,Life and our land await their destined spring.

(The broken wing)Main Text:-

This research paper throws light on differentaspects of Sarojini Naidu as a Poet.Sarojini Naidu is apoet of liberal attitude because a large number of herpoems deal with her secular and liberal attitude. Sheloves all the creatures of the world. In her poems shenever criticizes any one and she appreciates both fairand foul. She conceived that all the creatures of theworld are the reflections of the Supreme Being.

It pleases her to see people of diverse creedsleaving in brotherhood. She has great love and respectfor the poors and oppressed people. In this sense, shebecomes the poet of Indian mass because she is eagerto evoke the emotions and passions of the commonmen and women of India. Particularly for the widows,she shows her great interest. Her heart feels the pain ofthe widow's unfulfilled desires. She appreciates themoonless vigils of the widow's lonely nights. She un-derstands the anguish of the widow's tears. She pleadsfor toleration and love. In one of her poems she suggestthe elders.

11SHODH, SAMIKSHA AUR MULYANKAN


Love recks not of feeds and bitter follies, of stranger,comrade or lain, Alike in his ear sound the temple bellsand the cry of the muezzin. For love shall cancel theancient wrong and conquer the rage, Redeem with histears the memoried sorrow that sullied a bygone age.

(An Indian love song)Sarojini Naidu is the poet of human beings and this isa reason that she always sings the songs of commonpeople. In the orthodox society there are many thingswhich are not appreciable to her. She boldly revoltsagainst them. Her entire nature rises up against thetame-bird view of life. She asks her third child Randhirto be lord of love and chivalry, inspiring him in thesewords:

Learn to conquer, learn to fight,In the foremost flanks of right.

(To my children)She boldly revolted against the mode of treatment givento widow. She does not want that the widow should atall times be made to feel and look like widow. She dis-approves of the social conventions that divest her offine clothes and jewellery. She raises her hand to stopthis harshness and cruelty. In her poem "A challengeto fate" she challenges fate which is always hostileagainst him. Fate may strike her blind, enfeeble hermemory, render her short of hearing and rob her of herpower of speech.

Mysticism is one of the most characteristicfeatures of Sarojini Naidu's poetry. Her spiritual andintellectual leanings and longings are fused with mys-ticism. Her love poems are loaded with the burden ofmysticism. She loves to dwell on the love of the humansoul for the divine. She believes in the platonic conceptof love which tends to mystify the situation. There isclash between mundane and divine aspirations whichare presented in the poems of Sarojini Naidu. Sherealises the fact that direct and immediate communionwith God cannot be obtained by the common men andwomen.

Sarojini Naidu's mysticism in her poetry is theresult of her quest of peace in her life. The quest of thehuman soul for the infinite takes the form of humanlove. Radha's love for Krishna points out that the rela-tion of the human soul to the ultimate reality is onesubjection and surrender. The nectar of Krishna's fluteis turned to spiritual account by the God-intoxicatedmystic poet. The symbolic nectar washes clean theweather-stains of cares, stimulates the torpid heart andfills the recipient with sudden greatness:

Still must I like a homeless bird?Wander, forsaking allThe earthly loves a worldly luresThat held my life in throll

And follow, follow, answeringThy magical flute call.

(The flute player of vrindavan)For the true mystic poet, there is no distinction be-tween the lover and the beloved. The lover and thebeloved are the two persons with one soul. The poetdoes not deny the importance of the physical elementsbetween the lover and the beloved because it is aphysical accomplishment which leads to spiritual andintellectual fulfillment. The passionate mutual lovebreaks down the hard walls of the ego and produces anew being composed of two-in-one. Her poems are fullof note of eroticism.

Her erotic verses are not vulgar but enchant-ing and magical. She has written lot about the depres-sion and suppression from which the women suffer.The traditional and orthodox society puts so manyhurdles before the free development of the women. Thenote of feminism is extremely important in her poetry.In her poems she presents the woman's point of viewand demanding the required freedom for woman. Shewants to give proper importance to woman as a humanbeing who is still treated like animals. She is aware ofthe tragic treatment of women by the men. She clearlyevokes that the woman do not need money and powerbut they need proper love and affection. The womenare epitome of love and affection and these qualitiesenable them to play various important roles success-fully. Love is a dominant aspect which plays importantrole between man and woman. Love brings happinessand joy and removes loneliness and sorrow whichafflict human being to a great extent.

She says that there should be free and fear-less companionship between the man and woman. Thepoet criticises the people who are not in favour of thephysical aspect of love. She wants to establish rela-tionship between physical love and ideal love.Her poetry is also full of the note of suffering andmelancholy. The note of melancholy in her poetry isfound particularly due to her personal sadness andagony. Her poem "To the God of pain", is one of hermost melancholic poems in which the melancholic notestouches the climax.

The poets heart is sad and full of sorrow andher heart is always throbbing for betterment of her ownlife as well as country. But she would like to face theproblems boldly and she does not want to surrenderherself before so many oppressions. In her poem "Tran-sience", the poet expresses her desire to over stepmelancholy and sorrow. Her heart is always aspiring toremove the sadness from her life. Her personal lifewhich is the symbol of suffering always aspires forbetterment.

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In her poems she exhibits herself as a complete poet ofhuman motives she loves to present both the aspectsof life pessimism and optimism. It is the beauty of herpoetic talent that she mixes pessimism and optimism atthe same time. For example in her poem "summerwoods", she writes, O I am tired of strife and song andfestivals and fame And long to fly where cassia woodsare breaking into flame. Love, come with me whereKoels call from flowering glade and gley Far from thetoil and weariness, the praise and prayers of men"

(Summer woods)Sarojini Naidu resembles D.G. Rossetti in pictorialqualityof her poems. Her poem "Indian dancers", is full ofpictorial qualities she practices the difficult art ofdescribing beauty in motion. She beautifully paints apicture of an open air dance at night. The poet haspresented her sensations and thrills minutely. The strainof keen music is portrayed as wild and entrancing. Thepoet gives one detail after another and all the detailsabout colors, senses and beauty perceptions arepresented with amazing rapidity, like John Keats Naidugives full play of all the five senses-seeing, hearing,smelling, touching and tasting. She always presentsthe graphic picture and she always seems to be valuablepainter, movie-camera photographer, audiographer andpointer.

True poetry cannot be composed withoutemotional exuberance. All the great poets Shakespeareto W.B.Yeats have laid emphasis on the importance ofemotion which is the echo of human feelings andthoughts. Being a born lyricist Naidu gives much im-portance to her poems. Lyricism is one of the markedfeatures of poetry of Sarojini Naidu. Her lyrics are fullof music, charm and fascination. The real beauty of herpoems lies in the quality of lyricism which she is alwayscapable of creating. Sarojini naidu has also used sym-bolic and allegorical techniques in order to present herthoughts and feelings. She employs these poeticaldevices for the presentation of her mystical visionswhich she realises in her meditation. Her use of sym-bols are burden on the readers, rather the readers getentertainment after reading her symbolic poems. Shehas also employed allegory in some of her poems tocreate double meaning. Her allegorical method is al-ways linked with parallelism. For instance her poem"The village song", runs on mortal, spiritual and divine

level. She uses this technique for the objectification ofher own personal thoughts and feelings.Thus Sarojininaidu is unique poet of Indian writing in English. Shesings the truth and beauty of life everywhere and everytime. She beautifully and remarkably compares life withdeath, life with beauty and life with dream. Her realachievement lies in the fact that whenever we read herpoetry, we begin to sing along with her. For instance wesing along with her the lines:And spirits of truths were the birds that sangAnd spirits of love were the stars that glowedAnd spirits of peace were the streams that flowed

(Song of dream)In "The Soul's prayer" the poet craves for earth's ut-most bitter, utmost sweet and wishes to be spared nobliss, no pang of pain and the prayer, says the lord, shallbe granted: her soul shall know all rapture and despair.In Sarojini Naidu's poetry says P.S.Dustoor, "The de-fiance of pain goes beyond a refusal to fear suffering.The war is, as it were, carried in to enemy's territory: thepain is accepted as essential even beneficial it is wel-comed. It is not only that much can be achieved in spiteof the suffering; it is rather that the fullness of livinginvolves the experience of suffering and that in theultimate analysis life and death are not mighty oppo-sites but two aspects of a single reality. Life and deathare two different aspects of his personality. Life isbeautiful, colorful life emanating from him; death is butthe dark shadow cast by his face. Realization of thistruth is the only way to salvation. The lyric ends with:

"I, bending from my seven fold heightWill teach thee of my quickening grace,Life is a prism of my light,And death the shadow of my face"

Findings:- It is found out that Death according to Sarojini

Naidu is not an extinction of life but a gateway to newlife. It makes union with the infinite possible. Sarojiniis aware that time is destructive and nothing can es-cape its ravages, but she is also aware that time is theagent of experience, growth and maturity. It is bothcreative and destructive. Despite an under current ofmelancholy and pessimism, Sarojini's poetry is opti-mistic and forward looking that is looking forward tothe soul's union with the eternal, the infinite and deathare the means to this union.

1) Reference Manual: English Literature, Published, 2003 by reference press, New Delhi.2 ) The Soul's Prayer from Songs of Radha, Published in Selected poems of Sarojini Naidu, Published by Educational Publishers,

New Delhi.3 ) Summer Woods from Additional Poems, Published in Selected poems of Sarojini Naidu, Published by Educational Publishers,

New Delhi.

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sarojini naidu poet of intense aspiration

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