Sarojini Naidu who was born in India in the Bengali family was popularly called the nightingale of India. On her birth anniversary which is on the 13th of February is the national woman day celebrated. She was a freedom fighter, a woman empowerment activities and poet in many ways. For the nation and the woman of the country, she had struggled quite a lot and needless to say her efforts did not go in vain. She always thought that a woman’s place was as equal as the men of the nation and for which she visited states to state and then also joining national women associated with Annie Besant to set her strong viewpoint.
For a woman to change a part of the society has never been so easy especially in the country where a woman was never given a single right than to sit in the four walls of the house and serve the family. But Sarojini Naidu had some different viewpoints. Of course, her parents were quite supportive of her during the entire journey which is why she could make all these things possible. She always had a desire for poetry and needless to say that she always had the right words set and expressed through the poems and the same she did during her freedom-fighting era.
This famous personality is known to all. But here are some of the interesting things that you may want to know which probably will keep you amazed at how such an incredible person was a gift to the nation.
A-One Man Army:
She was a nurturer, a caretaker, a governor, a contributor and a freedom fighter who served the nation in all possible ways. She was the first Indian woman who also became the President of the Indian National party.
Her Birthday And National Woman Day Is Same:
Because of her efforts and participation in the Indian changes, she was considered to be a nightingale of India. Her efforts went in vain and to thank her for the generous contribution, India has been celebrating national women’s day on the day of her birthday which is February 13th.
A Daughter Of A Great Family:
Sarojini Naidu wouldn’t have got what she is now if her parents were not supported Born in the Begali family in the year 1879 in Hyderabad, she was a daughter of Aghore Nath Chattopadhyay who was a scientist by profession and Barada Sundari Devi who was also a popular poet in her times. Sarojini had an inter-caste marriage at the age of 19 and had a family with 5 children. One of their daughter’s Padmaja later became the voice of Indian freedom movement that also became the Governor of West Bengal on 3rd November 1956.
The Nightingale Of India:
Sarojini Naidu gained her popularity to be the nightingale of India because of her contribution to not just the freedom struggle but also being a championing for the woman’s right. She was a freedom fighter and a leader who was also quite a skilled person. When a country was fighting for Independence, It was Sarojini Naidu who was fighting for the rights of the women, races, and classes of the people too. She used to write poems on different genres that include death, love, separation, and mystery too. This is the main reason she earned her title of ‘Nightingale of India. ‘
A Poet Within:
Being born in a family of talent she had explored many things. She was quite good at Mathematical because of which her father hoped her to be a mathematician. But she got more of the transportation and interest in writing poems because of her mother. She started writing some deep meaningful poems at the age of 12 years itself.
A Family Of Eight:
Sarojini Naidu was not the only daughter in the family. Along with her were the 8 siblings and she was the eldest of all. She had great knowledge and learning ability. She was quite aware of different languages that included Persian, Bengali and Urdu too.
All over India, she traveled just for the rights of women and freedom of the country from the British Empire. She played a very crucial role in the ‘Civil Disobedience Movement’. Later she got arrested for 21 months when she joined the ‘Quit India’ movement.
A Director Of The Play:
She had once conducted the Maher Muneer because of which the Nizam of Hyderabad was quite impressed. Her interest in Art was later blended with the freedom fighting. Her contribution to express and spread the message of contribution in the freedom fighting for the people was rightly delivered in her string poems which were quite impressive.
As said she had an intercaste marriage in that generation when it was not at all allowed. She met Muthyala Govindarajulu Naidu in England during her studies. He was a south Indian non-Brahmin doctor with whom she got married at the age of 19. Despite all the society allegations, she managed to have a successful marriage and raise children too.
When there was a partition of Bengal that took place in the year 1905, she was deeply affected. She decided to quit poetry then but when she joined the Indian freedom struggle she met Gopal Krishna Gokhale. It was because of his motivation; she decided to start with poetry and tried reaching the mass audience to participate in the freedom movement.
During her participation in the Indian freedom movement, she came across great personalities like C. P. Ramaswami Iyer and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. It is believed that her relationship with Mahatma Gandhi was quite a mutual one with a lot of humor they always had desired. She often made fun of Gandhi calling him ‘Mickey Mouse’.
In the year 1917, she helped to found the Women’s India Association with Annie Besant then she presented congress for the involvement of women in the freedom struggle. She traveled a lot in each country as the flag-bearer of the Indian Nationalist struggle.
In the year 1947, she became United Provinces Governor which later was renamed to be Uttar Pradesh post her independence in India.
Her death was a great loss to India and for people, it took a lot of time to get from her grieve. In the year 1949, on March 2, she died in her Lucknow office in Uttar Pradesh because of cardiac arrest.
Sarojini Naidu had also contributed majorly to the rights of farmers in Champaran in Bihar district. Later she was put behind the bars because of this step by the British government. Her every step for the betterment of India is what made her own of the renowned personality. Following her death, it was her daughter Padmaja who then became an active leader in the freedom struggle of India. She had an active literary life and many noble intellectuals often made a visit to her famous salon in Bombay. To be a fellow member she was also elected as the Royal Society of Literature. There were some of the collections of the poems that were written in English which are quite popular till dates such as The Feather of the Dawn (1961) and Sceptred Flute (1928).