St.

Karen's Secondary School, Patna

2021-2022
WEEK: 12

Class: 8 English Literature

In the Bazaars of Hyderabad

Content 12.1

In the Bazaars of Hyderabad

"In The Bazaars of Hyderabad" is an early 20th-century English poem

written by Sarojini Naidu (1879–1949) (also known as The Nightingale of
India), an Indian independence activist and a poet from Hyderabad, India.
The poem is written in five stanzas, and was first published in the year
1912 from earlier days.

In The Bazaars of Hyderabad

by Sarojini Naidu
Country: India
Language: English and Hindustani
Publication date: 1912

About the city

The city of Hyderabad had a mixed culture of the Hindu and the Islamic.
The goods sold by the Bazaar vendors (i.e. the merchants, vendors,
maidens, peddlers, goldsmiths, fruit-men, musicians, and flower-girls) cater
to the need of every segment and faith of the society. The poet provides a
panoramic view of the colors, sounds, smell, and sights of an Indian
Bazaar. She has also used vibrant rhymes to describe the magnificence of
the bazaars and also the products sold in the bazaars.
Style
In this poem Sarojini Naidu describes the magnificent things of life along
with common scenes in the bazaars of Hyderabad; The poem is set in the
form of conversations between customers and vendors. Sarojini Naidu has
repeatedly asked questions in every stanza about the different kinds of
goods sold in the bazaar. Naidu presents the scene of the music produced
by traditional instruments played by the musicians and the chantings of the
magicians, the various fruits being sold by the fruit-men, the weighing of
saffron, lentils and rice by the vendors, and other depictions of different
wares which are sold in the bazaar. The poet has used vibrant rhymes to
describe the magnificence of the bazaars and the products sold.

Poetic device
Each line of the poem contains a rhythm and a beat, and the sequence of
the phrases "What do you" and "O ye" marks the rhyme scheme of the
poem. The poetess often repeats these phrases, to create a musical effect,
to emphasise a point, and to lend unity to the poem. The conversation form
of poem, that is set in the form of question and answer between vendor and
buyer, makes the readers feel that they are present in the Bazaar. To
present the pictorial scene of the bazaar, Naidu uses rich sensory images
and a vibrant sense of touch, sound, smell, sight and taste.

Themes
Folklore is one of the central subjects in the poetry of Naidu. In The
Bazaars of Hyderabad is associated with one such subject, the charm and
enthusiasm of a traditional Indian bazaar in the city of Hyderabad are
presented in this poem. Naidu had enthusiastically described the Bazaar
with merchants and vendors selling a diverse range of wares. The poet
stops over at the galleries arranged by the merchants, traders, hawkers,
goldsmiths, fruit sellers, peddlers, magicians, musicians, and flower girls.
The poet describes the experience of conversation between the seller and
the buyer, here the poet questions the sellers about what they are selling
and who in turn answer politely, explaining their products. Emotional moods
are stirred by the poet when Naidu makes the readers feel that the bazaar
life also witnesses both sorrows and joys. Wedding and festival occasions
bring joy in the Bazaar’s life when people buy jewelry, garlands, fruits, and
children crowding near the magicians. The sorrow and sadness is
witnessed when common public kitchens are arranged when the nobles or
soldiers die and when flower girls are seen weaving masses of white
flowers to be used for the dead people’s grave.

Another theme in the poem is the Swadeshi movement, though not

specifically mentioned in the poem. The poem was written during the Indian
independence movement.By this poem Naidu proves that India is rich in
tradition and there is no requirement of foreign products. Through the
poem, Naidu encourages the Indians to buy goods from their traditional
bazaars and she urges the country men to take part in the Swadeshi
movement and boycott all foreign goods.