Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini was a girl of exceptional intellect. In fact she was a genius. She composed poems in English from her early teens. After passing Matriculation examination from Madras, Sarojini went to England.

In England, Sarojini went on composing poems in English which were published in various papers and magazines. She became more and more famous. Two of her poem-books were published and these were "The Broken Wing" and "Feather of Dawn".

It is one thing to write poem and articles as an Indian but to write in a manner so as to be acknowledged by the English literary world, that such writing is placed alongside Shakespeare, Miltoi Keats, is another matter. Even today an english text book containing the writings of english writers, cannot but include a poem or two of Sarojini Naidu which is quite a literary achievement indeed.

One strange phenomenon in Sarojini Naidu was that she was also a very great speaker and this quality helped her advancement in political life. Sarojini could write and she could speak and move her audience. She was thus politically and intellectually complete.

Sarojini met Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1902 and was encouraged by him to join politics. She met Gandhiji in 1914, and Nehruji in 1916. Under the influence of all these leaders, she jumped into the Indian political arena. In 1925, at the Kanpur Congress Meeting, she was elected its president.

When Gandhiji was arrested in connection with the salt agitation, much of the agitation work was left in the hands of Sarojini Naidu. Sarojini, the Bengali girl married Dr. Naidu, a south-Indian and there was quite a bit of opposition from the family. Dr.Naidu was ten years older than Sarojini and he was not of a high caste. Sarojini's father was a brahmin. That was an earlier story. Sarojini's later life was devoted totally towards India's Freedom Struggle. After Independence, Sarojini Naidu was made the Governor of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.). Because of her excellent poetic power, she was known as the "Cuckoo of India". Mrs. Naidu passed away in 1949 and India lost one of her brightest daughters.





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