Sarojini Naidu was a noted Indian poet and political activist. She was known as the "Nightingale of India" and was the first woman governor of an Indian state. The poem "In the Bazaars of Hyderabad" depicts the lively bazaar scene through a series of questions and answers between customers and vendors. Through vivid descriptions of goods like fabrics, spices, jewelry and more, the poem celebrates Indian culture and traditions while using simple rhyme and imagery.

1. by
Laxmikant Kapgate
Assistant Professor
Department of English
S S Jaiswal College, Arjuni / Morgaon, Dist -Gondia (MS)
In the Bazaars of Hyderabad
by
Sarojini Naidu

2.  Biographical Details
 Sarojini Naidu, / Sarojini Chattopadhyay
 (born February 13, 1879, Hyderabad, India—
died March 2, 1949, Lucknow)
 political activist, feminist, poet, and the first
Indian woman to be president of the Indian
National Congress and to be appointed an
Indian state governor.
 Known as “the Nightingale of India.”
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3.  Sarojini Naidu as a Poet
• Indo-Anglian poet and a
great lyricist
• Poems have English words,
but an Indian soul
• Poetic sensibility found its
best expression in the full
flush of womanhood
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4.  Subject Matters in her Poetry
 Love, life, death, religion, patriotism and women's
freedom occupy prominent place in her poems.
 The introduction of Indian themes provides a new
vitality to her poetry.
 Her poems are exceptionally admirable to explore
the deep philosophy of spiritualism.
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5.  Her poems may be divided into following
categories:
1. Nature Poems
2. Love Poems
3. Patriotic Poems
4. Poems of Life and Death
5. Poems of the Indian Scene
6. Sense of the rich Indian heritage
 Thematic point of view
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6.  Contribution to Indo-Anglican Poetry
1. The Golden Threshold (1905)
2. The Bird of Time (1912)
3. The Broken Wing (1917)
4. The feather of Dawn (1961)
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7.  Influence of English Poets
 The influence of Tennyson, Shelley and Browning can
easily be seen in her compositions.
 Even in sorrow, her nature poems glow with a touch.
 The following lines of her poem 'Spring' is a beautiful
example of her fantastic expression:
“Young leaves grow green on the banyan twigs,
And red on the peepul tree,
The honey-birds pipe to the budding figs,
And honey-blooms call the bee...
Kamala tinkles a lingering foot
In the grove where temple-bells ring,
And Krishna plays on his bamboo flute.”
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8. Stanza
1 What do you sell O ye 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.
Wares : articles offered for sale
Crimson : a deep read
Tunic : an upper garment, longer than shirt
Brocade: a patterned fabric
Amber : a honey-yellow resin extracted from old trees
Dagger : a short knife
Jade : a hard green semi-precious stone
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9. Stanza
II What do you weigh, O ye vendors?
Saffron and 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.
Lentils (N): a high-protein pulse which is dried and then soaked and
cooked prior to eating
Maidens (N): an unmarried girl or young woman
Pedlars (N): a person who goes from place to place selling small goods
Ivory (N): A hard creamy-white substance main and
used to make ornaments and other articles
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10. Stanza
III 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 dancers,
Scabbards of gold for the king.
Goldsmiths (N) : a person who makes gold articles
Wristlet (N) : A band or bracelet is worn on the wrist,
typically as an ornament
Anklet (N) : An ornament worn around an ankle
Frail (Adj) : Weak and delicate
Girdles (N) : a belt or cord is worn around the waist
Scabbards (N) : a sheath for the blade of a sword or dagger,
typically made of leather or metal
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11. Stanza
IV 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 aeons to come.
Citron (N): A fruit which resembles a large lemon
Pomegranate (N): A spherical fruit with a tough golden-orange outer skin
and sweet red gelatinous flesh containing many seeds
Plum (N): An oval fleshy fruit which is purple, reddish, or yellow when ripe
and contains a flattish pointed stone
Cithar (N): Variant spelling of the word “sitar”, that is, a large, long-necked
Indian lute with movable frets, played with a wire pick
Aeons (N): Plural form of the word “aeon”, that is, an indefinite and very long
period of time
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12. Stanza
V 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-garnered
To perfume the sleep of the dead.
Weave (V): Form (fabric or a fabric item) by interlacing long threads passing
in one direction with others at a right angle to them
Tassels (N): Plural form of the word “tassel”, that is, a tuft of loosely hanging
threads or cords knotted at one end and attached for
decoration to soft furnishings, clothing, or other items
Azure (N): Bright blue in color like a cloudless sky
Chaplets (N): Plural form of the word “chaplet”, that is, a garland or circlet
for a person’s head
Garnered (V): to gather or collect
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13. Themes of InThe Bazaars of Hyderabad:
 Western diction, Indian content
 Combination of joy and sorrow:
 Swadeshi movement:
 Indianness (Nationalism)
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14. Tone / Mood and the Images
 Varieties of color
-Purple, silver, crimson, red, azure(bright
blue)
 praising the Indian culture
 one of awe and wonder
 used the technique of questions and
answers between customer and seller
 follows the same simple rhyme scheme –
ABCBDB
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15. Rhetorical Devices
 Apostrophe:
In this poem, the poet uses the device of an apostrophe in every single
stanza when she directly addresses all the vendors of the bazaar, who are
not visible to the readers and whose answers are also not heard by them.
 Simile:
This rhetorical device is used when an overt comparison is made between
two different things. In this poem, the poet uses the device of simile in the
fourth stanza when he compares bells with the wings of a dragonfly, for
they are both delicate, and also uses the word “as” while making this
comparison.
 Metaphor:
In this poem, the poet uses the device of metaphor when he compares
death with sleep.
 Alliteration
In the fourth stanza, the consonant ‘p’ is repeated - Pomegranate and plum
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16. References:
 https://beamingnotes.com/2017/08/23/analysis-central-theme-bazaars-
hyderabad-sarojini-naidu/
 https://englicist.com/notes/summary-in-the-bazaars-of-hyderabad-sarojini-
naidu
 https://www.topperlearning.com/inter-university-press-solutions/icse-class-
9-english/a-collection-of-poems-short-stories/in-the-bazaars-of-hyderabad-
poem
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