INDIAN WEAVERS

Let's start with a riddle.

What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?

Can we name the job of the following manual labourers?

Weaver: a person whose job is weaving cloth and other materials

Poet: Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini Naidu (born in 1879, Hyderabad, India—died in 1949, Lucknow) was a 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.

Mahatma Gandhi called her :The Nightingale of India", because of colour, imagery and lyrical quality of her poetry. Her important poems include: Palanquin Bearers, In the Bazaars of Hyderabad, The Soul's Prayer, To India, Indian Dancers, The Pardah Nashin etc. She is remembered for promoting women's emancipation through her work and her writing.

‘Indian Weavers’ explores the inevitability of death while celebrating the cycles of human existence and experience.

Weavers, weaving at break of day,

Why do you weave a garment so gay?

Blue as the wing of a halcyon wild,

We weave the robes of a newborn 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.

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.

Central Message:  Every individual life is finite, but life itself continues forever.

Themes: 

The Cycle of Life: The poem explores the different stages of human life—birth, marriage, and death—showing how each phase is an essential part of the cycle of life.

Celebration and Mourning: Happiness and sadness are part of our life. 

Transience of Life: Life is not permanent. 

"Indian Weavers" is a beautiful poem by Sarojini Naidu that uses the craft of weaving to symbolise the different stages of life. The poem is divided into three stanzas, each representing a different time of the day and a significant life event. In the first stanza, the weavers create a bright blue garment for a new-born child, symbolising birth and the beginning of life.

The use of rhetorical questions causes a change in the poem's voice, as the weavers answer in the last two lines. The simile comparing the clothes to the colour of a bird's (Halcyon) wing is important because birds symbolise freedom and potential. This is appropriate since the clothes are for a newborn child who has their whole life ahead of them.

In the second stanza, they weave a colourful marriage veil for a bride, representing the joy and celebration of marriage.

The repeated phrase "weavers, weaving" at the start of each stanza reminds us that weaving is a skill that takes years to master. The poet uses a simile to compare the clothes to a peacock's feathers. Peacocks are known for their beautiful feathers, so this shows how beautiful the wedding garment is. However, unlike the earlier bird, peacocks don't fly much. This could show that the people wearing the clothes are older and less free than children.

In the final stanza, the weavers make a white shroud for a dead man, symbolizing the end of life.

Naidu uses the alliteration of "s" sound in the first line of this stanza to make it feel mysterious which fits because the clothing is for a dead person. The moonlight adds to the sad feeling because it represents the end of life. In this stanza, the simile compares the fabric to a feather instead of a live bird. This shows the lack of life, unlike the earlier mention of living birds. The word "white" also emphasises death, as it represents the absence of colour, mirroring the loss of life and energy.

The poem illustrates how the traditional craft of weaving is intricately linked with the significant events in a person's life: birth, marriage, and death. Each stage is represented by a specific garment, showcasing the beauty and depth of Indian culture and tradition. Through this metaphor, the poem emphasises the cyclical nature of life and the role of cultural practices in celebrating and mourning its various phases.

Note: A refrain is a phrase or line that is repeated at regular intervals throughout a poem. Here, 'Weavers, weaving'' is repeated in order to produce an emphasis. 

‘Indian Weavers’ is a poem by the renowned poet, Sarojini Naidu. The poem has been taken from the poet’s first volume poetry ‘The Golden Threshold’, published in 1905. It consists of three stanzas, or quatrains, with two rhyming couplets each. This poem is a metaphor for the three stages of human life - birth, youth and death. The poet depicts Indian weavers, who weave tirelessly at different times, while simultaneously describing the three stages of human life, from birth to death, just as the weavers weave from dawn tonight. The poet chooses three different time settings - the weavers weave the new-born baby’s garments in the early morning, the queen’s marriage-veils in the evening and the dead man’s shroud at midnight.

New Words

Garment: a piece of clothing

Gay:  bright, merry, and happy

Halcyon: a tropical Asian and African kingfisher with brightly coloured plumage.

Robe: a long flowing outer garment.

Solemn: formal and dignified.

Shroud: a layer of something that covers or surrounds something.