The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-12-08
CHATS WITH THE BOOKWORM

1ord Bra fma moves in mysterious |
IS 10 work his ends, the devotees
vi MS: and in Saro5ini Naidu. the
Itrdu poetess, we have an example
= cbild. born to sing, whose vocation
.s 81 strong within her that train
no could not thwart it.
Soroiini Naidu, or more correctly
,-a,.adu. was born in Hyderabad in
,o-a of an ancient and learned Brah-
III family which designed her for a
,oientific career and planned her edu-
alton accordingly. However. when at
me age of eleven she wrote poem
instead of solving an obdurate alge-
,-osc equation, this course wisely was
,rtored and thenceforth her natural
,oetic instincts were carefully nur-
ured.
From 1895 to 1898 she studied in Eng
and where she was fortunate in meet
no MANY of the most eminent of the
Hteratf among them Gosse and Sy-
Mons who admired the girls verse
md gave her useful criticism. When
.he returned home, her own resolution
,trengthened by the broader English
,iew. she defied the vigorous opposi-
ion of her family and was married to-
mr. Naidu, sutton of wealth and tai.
ant but of inferior caste.
From her father Sarojini inherited
loftfness of endeavor and an Unsuitable
desire for perfection. Aghorenath
Chittopadhyay was a worthy son of a
long line of patrons from ages remote
Of Sanscrit learning, a great man and a
great dreamer, deep-yisioned and gen
erous, with a soul filled. as Pater says
Of Leonardo da Vinci. with curiosity
and the desire of beauty. In her som
LIDO fr>r, q =
we glimpse a splendid character.
It was Edmund Gosse who first adj
vised Mrs. Naidu to consign her early
efforts to the fire and to be a genu-
ire Indian poet OF the Decean, not a
clever machine-made imitator of the
English classics This she did, as
bravely as young de Maupassant when
he watched Flaubert burning his i'm
perfect but precious manuscripts, and
she set her goal the Interpretation of
her land to the English people. How
eminently well she has succeeded is
seen in her three books of verse: The
Golden Threshold with an introduce
ton by Arthur Symons), The Broken
Wing, and The Bird of Time with an
introduction by Edmund Gosse), all of
which are published by the John Lane
Co.
Mrs. Nafdu has profoundly the soul
of an Asiatic, and she reveals it with
all the skill and grace of an English
poet She has studied her models to
good effect: here and there a rhythm
or the turn of a phrase suggests
Swinburne Morris, Shelley or Tenny-
son; but she is always uniquely her
SELF but she has achieved a degree
of artistic perfection and a mastery of
technique which would be remarkable
in a poet to whom the language is ma
tive. 1 quote from Palanquin- Bear
erS:
Lightly, lightly we bear her along,
She sways like a flower In the wind
of our song:
She skins bird on the foam of a
stream
She floats a laugh on the lips of a
dream
Gaily o gaily we glide and we sing
We bear her along like pearl on q
string.
This is Swinburnian, to be sure; bu
it is exquisitely beautiful and has {
subtly charming music. Mrs. Maid,
is always exquisite. and she has tn,
power to enter into the very spirit o.
her theme and, in a phrase, to conjurs
up an host of fleeing images. II
Indian dancers, with it's sensuou:
rhythms, for example:
Now silent, now singing and swayins
and swinging, like blossoms tina
bend to the breezes or showers
Now wantonly winding, they flash, nov
they falter. and, lingering. Ian
guish in radiant choir;
Their jewe1-girt arms and warm, wav
ering, lily-long fingers enchan
through me1odious hours,
Eyes ravished with rapture. CELESTIAL,
painting. what passionate Dos
SONS ATTAINING with fire!
There is scarcely a. poem withou
some special distinction. Len is on
Of the finest modern lyrics, and Their,