Sarojini Naidu
Sarojini Naidu
Sarojini Naidu
by the sobriquet as The Nightingale of India,[1] was a child prodigy, Indian independence
activist and poet. Naidu served as the first governor of the United Provinces of Agra and
Oudh from 1947 to 1949;[2] the first woman to become the governor of an Indian state.[3] She
was the second woman to become the president of the Indian National Congress in 1925 and
the first Indian woman to do so.[4][5]
Contents
[hide]
1 Early life
2 Political career
2.1 Independence
movement
2.2 President of the
Congress party
3 Literary career
4 Death and legacy
4.1 Golden Threshold
5 Works
5.1 Famous Poems
6 References
7 External links
Early life[edit]
Naidu was born in Hyderabad to Aghore Nath Chattopadhyay and Barada Sundari Debi on 13
February 1879. Her father, with a doctorate of Science from Edinburgh University, settled in
Hyderabad, where he found and administered the Hyderabad College, which later became
the Nizam's College in Hyderabad. Her mother was a poetess and used to write poetry in
Bengali. She was the eldest among the eight siblings. Her brother Virendranath
Chattopadhyaya was a revolutionary and her other brother, Harindranath was a poet, a
dramatist, and an actor.[6]
Naidu passed her matriculation examination from the University of Madras, but she took four
years' break from her studies. In 1895, the "Nizam scholarship Trust" founded by the 6th
Nizam - Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, gave her the chance to study in England first at King's
College London and later at Girton College, Cambridge.
Naidu met Govindarajulu Naidu, a doctor by profession, and at the age of 19, after finishing
her studies, she got married to him. At this time, inter-caste marriages were not allowed, but
her father approved the marriage.[6]
The couple had five children. Her daughter Padmaja became the Governor of West Bengal.[7]
Political career[edit]
Independence movement[edit]
Literary career[edit]
Naidu began writing at the age of thirteen. Her Persian play, Maher Muneer, impressed
the Nawab of Hyderabad.
In 1905, her first collection of poems, named "The Golden Threshold" was published.[12] Her
poems were admired by many prominent Indian politicians like Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
Her collection of poems entitled "The Feather of The Dawn" was edited and published
posthumously in 1961 by her daughter Padamaja.[7]
Her 135th birth anniversary (in 2014) was marked by a doodle on Google India's homepage.
[14]
Golden Threshold[edit]
The Golden Threshold is the name of one of the central building on the University of
Hyderabad's campus. The building was the residence of Naidu's father Aghornath
Chattopadhyay, the first Principal of Hyderabad College. It was named after Naidu's
collection of poetry. Golden Threshold now houses Sarojini Naidu School of Arts &
Communication of University of Hyderabad.[15]
During the Chattopadhyay family's residence, it was the center of many reformist ideas
in Hyderabad, in areas ranging from marriage, education, womens empowerment, literature
and nationalism.[16]
Works[edit]
Each year links to its corresponding "year in poetry" article:
1905: The Golden Threshold, published in the United Kingdom[17] (text available
online)
1912: The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death & the Spring, published in London[18]
1917: The Broken Wing: Songs of Love, Death and the Spring, including "The Gift of
India" (first read in public in 1915)[18][19]
Famous Poems[edit]
Hour of Exile
Ecstasy
Indian Dancers
The Indian
Indian Love-Song
Indian Weavers
Peace
In the Forest
In the Bazaars of
Ramamuratham
Hyderabad
Palanquin Bearers
Golconda
The Snake-Charmer
Song of a Dream
Song of Radha,the
milkmaid
Suttee
To a Buddha Seated on a
Lotus
Wandering Singers
Street Cries
Alabaster
Autumn Song
Bangle Sellers