Toru Dutt was the first Indian poetess to write in English and French in the late 19th century. Her sonnet "The Lotus" tells a story where the God of Love, Cupid, asks Flora to create a new flower that would be the undisputed queen of flowers, surpassing the old rivals of the rose and lily. Flora creates the lotus flower, which takes aspects of both the rose and lily's beauty. The lotus flower comes to represent Indian culture and religion due to its significance in Hinduism.

1. Lotus by Toru Dutt
Dr. Jyoti Waghmare
M.A. Ph.D. NET-JRF SET

2. Toru Dutt
 4 March 1856 – 30 August 1877
a Bengali translator and poet
wrote in English and French
first Indian poetess to write verses in
French and in English.
one of the founding figures of Anglo-
Indian literature
 A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields (1877)
and Ancient Ballads and Legends of
Hindustan (1882)
 novel in French, Le Journal de
Mademoiselle d’Arvers (1879).
Indian Themes
Dutt died young, at age 21

3. The Lotus
• ‘The Lotus’ is a sonnet in the Petrarchan type
• Sonnet is a poem of 14 lines
• two divisions, the Octave and the Sestet
• octave consists of eight lines and the sestet
consists of six lines
• A sonnet deals with a single idea
• the octave proposing and the sestet resolving.
• Toru Dutt raises a problem in the Octave and
resolves it in the sestet.

4. Lotus
• God of Love Cupid came to Flora , the Goddess of flowers
• Asked for the flower “undisputed queen of flowers”
• Lily and Rose had been fighting for the title ‘Queen of flowers
• Each flower with its own support from poets, claimed for the
title
• He asked Flora to create a unique flower.
• The flower must be the most beautiful of all the flowers. It
must be the undisputed queen of flowers.
• That flower must surpass in beauty and grandeur over the two
old rivals rose and lily

5. Lotus
• The lily and rose were old rivals.
• Both of them competed for the high honor and of
being called undisputed queen of flowers.
• Both of them were proud of their beauty and
grandeur. The rose was proud of its red color and
white lily had the grace of the face of goddess Juno.
• Some poets and bards favored the rose and some
supported white lily.
• The pale white face of lily resembles the stately and
graceful face of goddess Juno.

6. Lotus
• The rose has been an old rival of the lily for the high
honor of being called the queen of flowers.
• The redness of the rose is the first choice of lovers all
around the world. Its delicacy and beauty is
matchless.
• A large number of poets have been giving the high
honor of being queen of flowers to the rose.
• But some critics believe that the rose can’t match the
dignity and grace of the lily.

7. Lotus
• The god of love Cupid asked Flora to create a unique
flower.
• It would be the undisputed queen of flowers. First he
asked Flora to create a flower that must have been the
attractive red color of rose.
• Then he changes his mind and asked to create a flower
that might have the grace of lily.
• In the end the confused Cupid resolved the issue. He
wanted such a unique flower that might have the redness
of rose and whiteness of the lily.

8. Cultural Symbol Of Indian Society
• By establishing the superiority of the lotus flower, Toru
Dutt has tried to establish the superiority of the Indian
culture.
• The lotus is considered as a cultural symbol in Indian
society. It has been a favorite flower with Indian Gods
and Goddesses.
• Both lord Vishnu and goddess Lakshmi have the lotus as
their seat. Even in the present times the lotus enjoys a
unique respectability in Indian society.
• All great civil honors have been named after the lotus
Padmashree, Padmabhushan, Padmavibhushan, etc.

9. Comments
• Rose stands for passion because of its color
• Lily stands for purity , innocence and simplicity
• Lotus symbol of Indian culture and Hindu religion
• Lotus flower springs from surface water and from
the earth and will remain unblemished not
matter for the impurity of the water or mud
• Used Roman Mythology Flora, Cupid, Juno
• Lotus symbol fusion of Eastern and Western
philosophy