The Gift of India by Sarojini Naidu - Notes

The Gift of India by Sarojini Naidu - Notes

The poet speaks in the poem through the mouth of India to its citizens. (Written in the context of the Great War of 1914-1918 )

PARAPHRASE:

Warning to the Westerners:

Is there ought you need that my hands withhold,

Rich gifts of raiment or grain or gold?

In the poem, India asks the people whether there is a need to make them deprived of its richness such as clothing, food and precious minerals such as gold to make them understand and realise their wrong doing of misusing India's property. This is indirectly a warning to the Britishers as they were exploiting India's richness.

Lo ! I have flung to the East and the West

Priceless treasures torn from my breast,

India's richness which are very valuable were extracted by the Britishers from Indian earth as rude as taking one's heart by tearing his chest and those richness where taken to different parts of the world explained by the poet with its possessiveness to India as India itself being taken away.

Sombre sayings about soldiers:

And yielded the sons of my stricken womb

To the drum-beats of the duty, the sabers of doom.

British ruling produced the sons of Mother India, the Indian soldiers to obey their orders refered to as 'drum beats of duty' which were like curved blades which cut down lifetime that ultimately led to their death.

Gathered like pearls in their alien graves

The soldiers who were as valuable as pearls made their graves in foreign countries.

Silent they sleep by the Persian waves,

They died by the shores of Persia (now Iran), one of the countries colonized by the British.

Scattered like shells on Egyptian sands,

The way in which the shells are found scattered on sands naturally, the soldiers where found similarly, on the deserts of Egypt.

They lie with pale brows and brave, broken hands,

The soldiers lay dead and their death was signified by pale brows and their bravery by broken hands.

they are strewn like blossoms mown down by chance

On the blood-brown meadows of Flanders and France.

When flowers are cut down without any obvious plan or cause they get scattered on the surface thereby cared by no one. Similar to this happened with the soldiers who were left unattended on the fields of grass in Flanders (Belgium) and France. The soldiers were bleeding so much that even the fields were coloured by it.

Mother's melancholy:

Can ye measure the grief of the tears I weep

Or compass the woe of the watch I keep?

Or the pride that thrills thro' my heart's despair

And the hope that comforts the anguish of prayer?

And the far sad glorious vision I see

Of the torn red banners of victory?

Mother India had an intense grief with which India shed tears in weeping and had been watching all the sufferings of the soldiers. She had a pride of her richness and her brave soldiers which was a wave of emotion when feeling hopeless of changing of the Britishers' attitude. She also had a hope which supported much, to have patience of acceptance of her prayers been done with a lot of weeping. She imagined that after a long time, in future, a successful revolt signified by banners was going to take place against the British rule for which she feels to be glorious but at the same time she feels sad too for the soldiers who were going to die for the cause signified by the banners being torn and coloured by blood.

Mother India is asking the people whether they can measure such feelings of her. This question signifies the great extent to which it was experienced by her.

Commemoration of comrades:

when the terror and the tumult of hate shall cease

And life be refashioned on anvils of peace,

And your love shall offer memorial thanks

To the comrades who fought on the dauntless ranks,

And you honour the deeds of the dauntless ones,

Remember the blood of my martyred sons!

At one time, the fear and disorder due to the Britishers' hatred over the Indians will come to an end. Life will be shaped using peace. The people, out of love, will exhibit gratitude in memory of the soldiers who fought with determination and without fear. The people will regard or treat their deeds with great respect. At that particular time when all these will happen, Mother India asks the people to also remember the amount of blood which the soldiers, the sons of India sacrified for the cause of independence.

About the poet:

1) Person's name

Sarojini Naidu

2) Life period

(13 February 1879-2 March 1949 (aged 70))

3) Nationality

Indian

4) Designation

Poet, writer, social activist

5) Period in Literature

19th - 20th century

6) Speciality

Sarojini Naidu was known as The Nightingale of India. She was one of the framers of the Indian Constitution. She 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. Her birthday is celebrated as Women's Day all over India.

7) Notable works

-Indian Dancers

-Indian Weavers

-In the Forest