Folk Songs of India
Ten poems by Sarojini Naidu, the Nightingale of India: the palanquin bearers' song, the weavers at dawn, the Coromandel fishermen, the snake-charmer, a harvest hymn, a cradle song and more. By Sarojini Naidu (1905). A public-domain classic, from The Golden Threshold.
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How it begins Lightly, O lightly we bear her along, / She sways like a flower in the wind of our song; / She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream, / She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream. / Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing, / We bear her along like a pearl on a string.Softly, O softly we bear her along, / She hangs like a star in the dew of our song; / She springs like a beam on the brow of the tide, / She falls like a tear from the eyes of a bride. / Lightly, O lightly we glide and we sing, / We bear her along like a pearl on a string. Keep reading →About this story
Ten poems by Sarojini Naidu, the Nightingale of India: the palanquin bearers’ song, the weavers at dawn, the Coromandel fishermen, the snake-charmer, a harvest hymn, a cradle song and more. Each is a short lyric with a strong rhythm, meant to be sung.
Sarojini Naidu published them in 1905, in her first book, The Golden Threshold. She was born in Hyderabad, wrote in English, and later became a leader of the Indian freedom movement and the first Indian woman to be president of the Indian National Congress. Her poems are about the working life and festivals of India.
- Themes
- Working life, songs of the people, rhythm and colour
- Good for
- Reading aloud; readers new to Indian poetry in English
- Worth noticing
- The rhythm of each poem, which follows the work it describes.
Chapters
- 1Palanquin Bearers1 min · 19 Oct
- 2Wandering Singers1 min · 19 Oct
- 3Indian Weavers1 min · 19 Oct
- 4Coromandel Fishers1 min · 19 Oct
- 5The Snake-Charmer1 min · 19 Oct
- 6Village-Song1 min · 19 Oct
- 7In Praise of Henna1 min · 19 Oct
- 8Harvest Hymn2 min · 19 Oct
- 9Indian Love-Song1 min · 19 Oct
- 10Cradle-Song1 min · 19 Oct