Sarojini Naidu 13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949 was an Indian political activist and poet. A proponent of civil rights, women’s emancipation, and anti-imperialistic ideas, she was an important figure in India’s struggle for independence from colonial rule. Naidu’s work as a poet earned her the sobriquet Nightingale of India by Mahatma Gandhi.She was called Bharat Kokila by Rabindranath Tagore.
Naidu’s poetry includes both children’s poems and others written on more serious themes including patriotism, romance, and tragedy. Published in 1912, “In the Bazaars of Hyderabad” remains one of her most popular poems. She was married to Govindarajulu Naidu, a general physician, and had five children with him. She died of a cardiac arrest on 2 March 1949.
In The Bazaars of Hyderabad” is an early 20th-century English poem written by Sarojini Naidu (1879–1949) (also known as The Nightingale of India), an Indian independence activist and a poet from Hyderabad, India. The poem is written in five stanzas, was first published in the year 1912 fromin earlier days.
In The Bazaars of HyderabadWhat do you sell, O merchants?Richly your wares are displayed.Turbans of crimson and silver,Tunics of purple brocade,Mirrors with panels of amber,Daggers with handles of jade.What do you weigh, O ye vendors?Saffron, lentil and rice.What do you grind, O ye maidens?Sandalwood, henna and spice.What do you call, O ye pedlars?Chessmen and ivory dice.What do you make, O ye goldsmiths?Wristlet and anklet and ring,Bells for the feet of blue pigeons,Frail as a dragon-fly’s wing,Girdles of gold for the dancers,Scabbards of gold for the kings.What do you cry, O ye fruitmen?Citron, pomegranate and plum.What do you play, O musicians?Sitar, Sarangi and drum.What do you chant, O magicians?Spells for the aeons to come.What do you weave, O ye flower-girls?With tassels of azure and red?Crowns for the brow of a bridegroom,Chaplets to garland his bed,Sheets of white blossoms new-garneredTo perfume the sleep of the dead.
—Sarojini Naidu—
Summary
The poet talks about the product offered in the old bazaars of Hyderabad. In first stanza of the poem, the poet questions the merchants in the bazaar about what they are selling, to which the merchants answered that they are selling crimson, silver coloured turbans, mirrors with drawers of amber [an expensive Indian stone] and daggers with handles made of jade.
In the second stanza, the poet moves to another stall and asked the same question to the vendor about what they are weighing to sell. Saffron, lentils and rice replied the vendors. The poet asks the same question to maidens about what they are grinding and she gets a reply that they are grinding henna, sandalwood and spices. In the end of the stanza, the poet questions the peddlers about what they are selling and they reply dice made from ivory and chessmen.
The poet moves to a jewellery shop in the third stanza and asks the goldsmith what ornaments they manufacture. They reply; necklace, bracelets, anklets, rings, and continued to say that, they also make bells for blue pigeons that are tied to their feet. The bells are as delicate as a dragonfly’s wing. Simultaneously they make gold girdles for dancers and scabbards for the kings to keep their swords.
In the fourth stanza, the poet visits a fruit shop. There she inquires about what they are selling. They reply that they sell lemon, pomegranate and plum. Then the musicians were asked what they play and they say sitar, sarangi and drums. The poet even comes across magicians and asks them what they are chanting and they say that they are chanting magical spells to charm thousand ages to come.
The final stanza is about the flower girls who are asked what they are weaving with strands of colourful flowers. The flower girls answer that they are making garlands for the bride and groom to be decorated during the wedding night. Alternately they also weave sheets of white flowers which are placed on graves for fragrance purposes.
The New York Times review the poem in the edition of 27 April 1913 and wrote that; “To us of a colder, soberer clime the very name of this singer of “the oldest land” brings a suggestion of color and perfume, of strange twilight’s, of all the mystery and magic and swift bestowals of life and death that we traditionally associate with India. We are not altogether disappointed, for “The Bird of Time” contains much beautiful verse. “In the Bazaars of Hyderabad” shines like an oriental gem”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Bazaars_of_Hyderabad#Text