Sarojini Naidu was one of the most prominent faces of Indian freedom Struggle. Apart from being a political activist, she was also a prolific writer, orator, administrator and a gifted poet. Born as Sarojini Chattopadhyay on February 13, 1879 in Hyderabad, she was a child prodigy. Her father Aghore Nath Chattopadhyay was a scientist who founded Nizam’s college in Hyderabad. Her mother Barada Sundari Devi was one of the famous Bengali poets. Sarojini was the eldest of the eight siblings.
She topped the matriculation examination at Madras University when she was just 12 years old. At the age of 16, she received a scholarship from Nizam of Hyderabad and went to London to study first at King’s College, London and later at Girton College, Cambridge.
Poetess par excellence
Owing to a brilliant academic record, Sarojini’s father wanted her to become a scientist. However, she had an innate love for poetry. She wrote her first poem in her maths notebook. Her first literary piece titled, ‘Maher Muneer’ even impressed the Nizam of Hyderabad. Soon her literary side bloomed as she wrote a 1,300-line-long poem The Lady of the Lake. Her father also realised that her true passion lies in poetry and started encouraging her to take it more seriously. Her poetry eschews flowery words and is mostly composed of simple words that could also be sung.
Her work was rich in imagery, covered a variety of themes – love, death, separation among others. Many of her literary works such as The Golden Threshold, The Bird Of Time, The Broken Wing, Autumn Song have been read widely and critically acclaimed. Her valuable contribution to English poetry earned her the sobriquet of ‘The Nightingale of India’.
During her stay in London, Sarojini met Dr. Govindarajulu Naidu, a non-Brahmin and a doctor by profession. After finishing her studies, she got married to him. Inter caste marriages were a taboo at that time but her father, being a progressive thinker allowed her.
Sarojini was drawn into Indian freedom struggle after the partition of Bengal in 19