THE GIFT OF INDIA (BY SAROJINI NAIDU)(CLASS 12 REVERIE ICSE)

 

As a fierce activist for Indian independence, in this poem Naidu is paying tribute to the service of the Indian Army, but also making a statement about how their sacrifice should be recognised – to give thanks to the dead, but also to ‘honour the deeds of the deathless ones’. The earlier reference to ‘alien graves’ impresses on the reader that these soldiers are far from home. The use of the word ‘martyrdom’ implies that this sacrifice was made for a greater cause. Naidu also writes the poem in the form of a direct address from one voice to another. 

The Gift of India (1917)
Sarojini Naidu

Is there aught you need that my hands withhold,
Rich gifts of raiment or grain or gold?
Lo! I have flung to the East and West
Priceless treasures torn from my breast,
And yielded the sons of my stricken womb
To the drum-beats of duty, the sabres of doom.

Gathered like pearls in their alien graves
Silent they sleep by the Persian waves,
Scattered like shells on Egyptian sands,
They lie with pale brows and brave, broken hands,
They are strewn like blossoms mown down by chance
On the blood-brown meadows of Flanders and France.

Can ye measure the grief of the tears I weep
Or compass the woe of the watch I keep?
Or the pride that thrills thro’ my heart’s despair
And the hope that comforts the anguish of prayer?
And the far sad glorious vision I see
Of the torn red banners of Victory?

When the terror and tumult of hate shall cease
And life be refashioned on anvils of peace,
And your love shall offer memorial thanks
To the comrades who fought in your dauntless ranks,
And you honour the deeds of the deathless ones
Remember the blood of thy martyred sons!

1. Why is the poem called “The Gift of India”?
The title 'The Gift of India 'is apt as the poem focuses on the priceless lives of the Indian soldiers given as the gift to the allied forces during the First World War
2. Who is spoken about in this poem?
The poem is a tribute to the contribution of Indian soldiers in World War I. Over ten lakh Indian soldiers from the British Indian Empire served in the Allied forces in the First World War.
3. Metaphor – Metaphor is a figure of speech in which a comparison between two different things is implied but not clearly stated.
For instance, in this poem, the Indian soldiers are compared to “Priceless treasures.”
4. Simile – It is a figure of speech in which a similarity between two different objects is stated explicitly, using the words ‘as’ or ‘like.’
For example, the gathered dead bodies of Indian soldiers in their graves are compared to pearls in their shells.
“Gathered like pearls in their alien graves.”
“ Scattered like shells on Egyptian sands.”
“They are strewn like blossoms move down by chance.”
5. This poem is an anti-war poem?
The Gift of India (1917), written by Sarojini Naidu alludes to the selfless sacrifice and courage of Indian soldiers who participated in the First World war. The poet mourns over her deceased children who sacrificed their lives in the war and sung for the soldiers who died in other foreign lands.
6. Oxymoron – It is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms appear together in a sentence. For example:
“ And the far sad glorious vision I see”
7. Who is personified in this poem?
India is personified as a mother.
8. How is war portrayed in this poem?
Throughout the poem , war is not glorified but condemned. Mother India throughout, laments the loss of her children. Mother India's crying over the loss of Indian soldiers can be seen as reflection of every mother lamenting the loss of her martyred son.
9. What does gift symbolise in this poem?
Gifts symbolise the brave sons of Mother India i.e. those Indian soldiers who fought on the foreign lands without fearing death.
10. What are the rich gifts that mother India gave the world?
The rich gifts that mother India gave the world are the raiment, grain and gold. This refers to all the resources from agricultural productions to priceless metals which the foreign colonisers took to their country while they were ruling India.
11. What is the message conveyed in the last line?
The poem is patriotic in nature and written in the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for India in foreign lands. The poet remembers their great sacrifice and suggests the readers to keep them in their memories. She is also giving the message to the British nation to remember the sacrifice of Indian soldiers.