In The Bazaars of Hyderabad Summary

Introduction

Sarojini Naidu, who was born with Bengali ancestors to academically talented parents, had the chance to obtain an excellent education both in India and England. She used her exceptional skills and affluent surroundings to achieve things that her spirit desired. The suffering of Indian women broke her heart. Women were crushed under the weight of blind tradition and ostracized in a patriarchal culture, with little opportunity to breathe freely, much alone participate in any intellectual activity.

Sarojini Naidu took up the cause of their freedom and crusaded for it. That was the beginning of her public debut. Soon after, she became a fervent supporter of Gandhi's liberation campaign. She rose to the position of President of the Indian National Congress. Her thoughts, though, remained fixed on literary endeavors. She authored numerous moving poems that earned her praise from people in India and worldwide. She became regarded as India's Nightingale. The rustic simplicity, beauty, and variety of Indian rural life inspired her well-known poems.

As a liberation fighter, she drew the wrath of the colonial authorities. With stringent rules, the British successfully suppressed the spread of news and ideas unfavorable to colonial power. On the other hand, Sarojini Naidu continued to preach the praises of India and her people delicately via poetry.

About this Poem: Sarojini Chattopadhyay (later Naidu) was born and raised in Hyderabad. This provided her a good impression of the sights and sounds of this bustling city. The marketplaces were teeming with merchandise, shoppers, and dealers throughout the day, frantic screaming, bartering, and negotiating to fill the air. The market offered pleasure, interest, imagination, and food for thought for a calm, non-commercial visitor. Sarojini Naidu was undoubtedly a keen observer of the market. This poem is characterized by her basic narrative style cast in a question-and-answer structure.

The theme of the Poem: Sarojini Naidu's poetry is dominated by the folk motif. The Bazaars of Hyderabad is about the beauty and energy of a typical Indian market in Hyderabad. The poet beautifully describes the bazaar, which is filled with sellers offering a variety of goods. Sarojini Naidu visits merchants, maidens, pedlars, goldsmiths, fruit vendors, musicians, and flower girls' booths. She queries them about what they are selling, to which they respectfully respond.

The poem shows the bazaar witnessing both life's tragedies and pleasures. They see pleasant events such as weddings, when the market is busy with people purchasing garlands, jewelry, and so on, and festive occasions such as Holi, Diwali, Eid, etc. When kings and warriors die, death is also seen at the bazaars, and flower girls have seen weaving sheets of white flowers for the departed people's tombs.

The Swadeshi Movement is another subject in the poem. Though this subject is not expressly stated in the poem, it may be surmised from the historical period in which it was written. As we all know, Sarojini Naidu was a freedom fighter who actively engaged in the liberation movement and was a passionate follower of Gandhiji and his beliefs. Because printing Indian newspapers were prohibited then, she may have decided that her poetry was the best way to communicate the word to people. In this poem, she urges Indians to reject foreign items in favor of purchasing things from traditional Indian marketplaces, as shown in her work In The Bazaars of Hyderabad.

1st Stanza

In the opening line of this composition, the first speaker, a bazaar consumer, asks an inquiry. "What do you sell, O ye merchants?" they inquire. At the start of each Stanza, a variation of this question will be posed. Every time a potential consumer asks a question, the proprietor of the market stall responds.

The response comes after the consumer praises the merchant in this scenario. They say their "wares are displayed" "richly" or elegantly. However, since they are arranged, the buyer is enticed to purchase or learn more about them. The proprietor of these items answers the inquiry by claiming that they sell "Turbans," "Tunics," "Mirrors," and "Daggers." Each of these goods is explained attractively.

The turbans are unexpectedly colorful, coming in "crimson and silver." The tunics are then described as "purple brocade." Brocade is a fabric composed of multicolored silk strands with metallic accents. The last two things are unique in that they are not garments. This demonstrates the diversity of things available at this single booth and the quality of materials available to the seller. This individual may sell mirrors with amber frames and daggers with "handles of jade."

2nd Stanza

The poet transfers the tale to the next stall without any changeover. Because there is no apparent distinction between a first and second client, a reader may either infer that the same customer is visiting many booths or that a different individual is asking the questions. Even though the questions are in the same structure, the former is more plausible.

The customer's inquiry is modified in this Stanza to match the offered goods. The market sells grains and spices, and they inquire first about what the suppliers "weigh" and then what they "grind." This is about the "Sandalwood" crushed down and used to cure the skin, and it's complemented with "henna" and "spice" of an unknown sort.

3rd Stanza

In the third Stanza of 'In The Bazaars of Hyderabad,' the question is altered again to fit the "gold" of jewelry. The buyer inquires as to what the goldsmiths produce. They answer that they make "Wristlets and anklets and rings." The lines that follow are distinct from those that came before them. The speaker seeks to sell his products to this individual and boasts about the things' lightness and/or durability. First, he explains the "Bells" he produces for pigeons' feet. The gold in the bells must be "Frail" and light, like dragonfly wings.

In addition to bells, the goldsmith creates "Girdles of gold for dancers." This is a piece of wrapped jewelry worn around a dancer's waist. Finally, he describes something more durable than the gold in kings' sheaths. The merchant's products suit various situations?from pigeons to kings.

4th Stanza

The fourth Stanza has just as many queries. The speaker runs across "fruitmen," "musicians," and "magicians" in this passage. Each of these three jobs requires the sellers to leave the market. As the narrative goes on, their lives become more evident. First, the reader just understood that the dealer was offering something for sale. Beyond the items for sale, one is now conscious of a deeper past of the people.

We inquire as to what the "fruit" "cry." This type of assertion is similar to the one made to the pedlars in the second verse when they are questioned about what they "call." A reader may conjure up the bazaar's surrounding noises from these two sentences, separated by one verse. The overlapping cries of several sellers would create a symphony of goods and want. In answer to this question, the guys claim that they "yell" to passersby that they sell "citron, pomegranate, and plum."

'In The Bazaars of Hyderabad' has been visually and acoustically pleasing. One is attracted by their desire for gorgeous produce and bright meals now that food items have been included. The fact that Naidu selected these three fruits is equally significant. India dominates pomegranate production, and "Citron" is often used in many medicines. It is a tonic to treat many illnesses, including vomiting and skin conditions. The plums are the last fruit. In contrast to the other two fruits, they are there for a different cause. They are a reasonably unusual discovery since they are uncommon in India.

In the following two lines, the speaker asks the musicians in the scene what they "play." The reaction he receives does not define the song but rather the instruments required to complete it. The musicians said they played the "Cithar" or sitar, an Indian string instrument. A "sarangi" is an Indian string instrument with a short neck. Finally, there's a drum, a more familiar musical instrument that's no less crucial to the song being performed. These sentences and the ones that follow appeal to the reader's aural senses again. Music is in the instruments, the merchants' voices, and the magicians' chanting.

The speaker then moves on to the magicians. In India, street magic is a principal activity. It is employed for cunning and deception, as well as for fulfillment and pleasure. Still, profit is the primary motivation, given that it occurs in the market. The magicians, like the musicians, have been included in the book to help readers better comprehend Indian culture. There's much more to see and hear at Hyderabad's bazaars than fruit and garment merchants.

5th Stanza

The speaker addresses the "flower girls" in the last line of "In The Bazaars of Hyderabad." Once again, the inquiry has been adapted to the individual being addressed. The customer is curious about what the girls "weave" with their "tassels" or plaited threads "of azure and red." The author has returned to the opening stanza's hues. The color link gives a sense of coherence between the first and final stanzas and helps cast a cheerful and lovely light on the whole market. Everywhere one looks, something is fascinating.

The speaker's reaction is the most personal thus far. The girls are creating "Crowns" for a "bridegroom," a guy going to marry. In addition, he had "Chaplets," a form of a rosary, to cover his bed. This is the reader's first and only glance at what the things on the market will be used for. It is expounded upon when the "flower girls" explain how they also make shrouds for the deceased. These products, like those for the living, are carefully crafted. They are still connected to the world's natural beauty and, with their addition, form a link between life and death. The bazaars provide something for everyone and every occasion.

Conclusion

The poem is from a little girl's journal on her first market visit. However, an astute reader will note its glorification of nationalism and its intellectual undertone. Those were the days when English items were imposed on Indian customers. Almost all nationalists were vehemently opposed to such economic dominion. Sarojini Naidu, too, spoke out, although via her poetry.

The poem describes a lively market area teeming with wares of all kinds. Hyderabad provided the customer with everything from ceremonial thrones to funeral paraphernalia. As a result, it could only do with commodities produced in British factories.

FAQs on in the Bazaars of Hyderabad

Q. What location do you believe the poem is situated in?

A. It is set in a typical Indian market in Hyderabad during British India, i.e., before independence. It's nothing like a modern supermarket. The vendors used to bring largely homemade items and sell them at the bazaar while yelling their trade cry.

Q. What was the poet's intention in depicting an Indian market?

A. The poem was written as part of India's Swadeshi Movement. The poet wished to convey that traditional Indian items made of pure materials were high quality. As a result, we didn't need the foreign items that were flooding the Indian market at the time. Consequently, the poet inquires about all the merchants and what they offer. Only Indian things and specifics such as colors and materials are identified.

Q. Why does the poet use the term 'cry' to describe the fruit's appeal in the poem?

A. The fruit seller often yells their trade cry loudly to entice more consumers. As a result, using the term 'cry' to describe their call is only natural. It was critical to utilize the correct words to portray the actual image of the market in front of our eyes.

Q. What part do vendors, peddlers, and maidens play in the poem?

A. The sellers, pedlars, and maidens are crucial in the poem's portrayal of an Indian market. The poet wanted to show the diversity and self-sufficiency of an Indian bazaar in British India. The poem glorifies and highlights local Indian culture and customs. And folks like peddlers and sellers are inextricably linked to that vision. The poem 'In the Bazaars of Hyderabad' has not just vendors, pedlars, and maidens but also a magician, musicians, goldsmiths, and flower girls.

Q. Does the artifacts sold by goldsmiths represent the city's tremendous riches?

A. The affluent inhabitants of Hyderabad, according to Naidu's poetry, not only purchased gold decorations like wristlets, anklets, and rings to decorate themselves, but also fanciful items like tiny bells for the feet of blue pigeons, girdles for the dancers, and gold scabbards for the king. This demonstrates the city's enormous riches since individuals did not hesitate to purchase gold-plated luxury products. It also alluded to the society's rich cultural heritage.