English - Lesson 12: "Indian Weavers" - a poem by Sarojini Naidu (PUBLIC EXAMINATION)

 

Weavers

Weavers, weaving at break of day,

Why do you weave a garment so gay?

Blue as the wing of halcyon wild

We weave the robes of a new-born child.

Have you ever noticed the colours we choose for a newborn baby’s clothes? Why do you think we choose these colours? In the first stanza the poet, Sarojini Naidu describes weavers weaving cloth in the early morning. She asks the weavers why are they weaving a cloth of a particular colour. They say that the cloth that they are weaving is the colour of a halcyon’s wings. It is a beautiful, blue because it will be used for making the clothes of a newly born child.

Weavers, weaving at fall of night,

Why do you weave a garment so bright?

Like the plumes of a peacock, purple and green

We weave the marriage veils of a queen

In this stanza the poet asks the weavers why they are weaving a cloth late in the evening. She asks why it is so bright and colourful. The weavers tell her that the cloth is brightly and richly coloured like the feathers of a peacock because they are weaving it for a queen. The queen will use this cloth to make her marriage veil.

Weavers, weaving solemn and still

What do you weave in the moonlight chill?

White as a feather and white as a cloud

We weave a dead man’s funeral shroud.

– Sarojini Naidu

You must have noticed people wearing white clothes to visit a friend who has lost a loved one. Why do we not wear bright clothes on such occasions? In the above stanza the poet asks the weavers what they are weaving late in the night. The weavers reply that they are weaving a thin white cloth to cover a dead body.

In this poem, you read about the different stages of life that bring joys and sorrows. You also learnt ways of sharing happiness and excitement and ways with negative feelings and emotions.

TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1. In this poem, the poet is describing the three stages of life. She relates them to dresses and their colours. She also compares the changes in life to the changes in a day. 

Complete the blanks on the basis of your understanding of the poem.

A) Daybreak

Stage of life ________________ Colour of cloth ______________

B) Colour of cloth - purple & green

Time of day ___________ Stage of life ________________

C) Midnight

Stage of life ______________ Colour of cloth ______________

2. The words/phrases that suggest different moods in the poem: funeral, marriage veil, shroud, break of day, purple and green, white, garment gay, dead man, solemn and still, bright, plumes of a peacock

Put these expressions in two columns:

a) Words/expressions conveying joy

b) Words/expressions conveying sorrow

3. The poem has strong imagery. In other words, when we listen to it or read it, we are able to create a clear picture in our mind like an image of infant wearing blue clothes. Listen to the poem again and write down the images created in your mind. The underlined sentence above is one example of an image.

4. Complete the following sentences using the words given below. Do you recognize the similies used? whistle, lightning, rain

a. The chirping of the birds sounded as shrill as a _________________.

b. The drumming of the __________drops on the roof tops was like music.

Stanza 1 - Answer the following questions.

1. Complete the following sentences:

The weavers are weaving the cloth for _____________. They are compared

to______________________ because of the similarity of colour i.e. blue.

2. ‘Gay’ in line 2 means ‘bright’. Which mood of the weavers does it indicate? Tick

the right answer:

a. of cheerfulness

b. of frustration

c. of sadness

3. What is the similarity between morning time of the day and the birth of a child?

Stanza 2 - Answer the following questions.

1. What were the weavers weaving?

2. What time of the day is it?

3. We wear colours that reflect our mood. Give two examples

Stanza 3 - Answer the following questions.

1. What time is indicated through the phrase ‘moonlight chill’?

3. What is the similarity between death and cold night?

4. ‘Chill’ here means ‘unpleasant cold’. Which mood of the weavers does it indicate?

Tick the right answer:

a. of disappointment

b. of frustration

c. of sadness

Read the poem to your friend and enjoy its rhythm.

Rhythm in writing is like the beat in music. Do you know that in poetry, rhythm implies that certain words are produced more forcefully than the others? Some words may also be held for a longer duration. Rhythm is also created by repeating words or phrases, sometimes by repeating whole lines and sentences.

Listen to the poem again.

1) Note down the words and phrases repeated.

2) In the poem there is one voice asking a question and the other answering it. Listen to it once again. Whose voices are these?

DO YOU KNOW?

Sarojini Naidu (February 13, 1879 – March 2, 1949) was a child prodigy, a

freedom fighter, and a poet. Naidu was the first Indian woman to become the

President of the Indian National Congress, the first woman to become the Governor.

She was famously known as Bharatiya Kokila (The Nightingale of India).

She was very active in the Indian Independence Movement and encouraged women

to participate in political life.

Her poetry, originally published, in three volumes -The Golden Threshold (1905),

The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death & the Spring (1912), and The Broken

Wing (1915): Songs of Love, Death and the Spring. Two other volumes - The

Sceptred Flute: Songs of India and The Feather of the Dawn - were published

after her death