There is one person whose contributions made a whole lot of difference for women in the country where they were simply seen as “caretakers” and “nurturers" and that person is none other than Sarojini Naidu.

Born on February 13th, 1879 in Hyderabad. Sarojini Naidu was an Indian political activist and a great poet. A follower of civil rights, women's liberation, and anti-imperialistic ideas, she was a significant figure in India's struggle for independence from British colonial rule.

Naidu's work as a poet earned her the title of Nightingale of India. She was the first Indian woman to be president of the Indian National Congress and to be appointed as an Indian state governor. She was a leading figure in the National Movement of India where she started following Mahatma Gandhi.

She fought for the freedom of India during the modern India period. She is known for her poems on patriotism, love and death. She was a poet and a speaker who took an important part in Indian politics. In 1916, she fought against the British for the rights of farmers in Champaran, Bihar, who were forced to grow indigo instead of the food crops that they required for their survival.

She also went to England as one of the members of the All India Home Rule deputation as a delegate in 1919. One of the major aspects of Sarojini Naidu’s role in India’s freedom struggle was during the Salt Satyagraha movement where she participated with many women protesters at Dharasana Salt Works in Gujarat.

Sarojini Naidu is one of the most notable poets of India known for the rhythmic and harmonious nature of her writings, using many rhymes and verses filled with rich imagery. So here we are with our 25 Sarojini Naidu quotes that have some messages by the nightingale herself. So let's begin with the first one.

1. We want deeper sincerity of motive, eater courage in speech and earnestness in action.

We need to have intense honesty and seriousness in our achievement of goals and sincerity in our actions.

2. A country’s greatness lies in its undying ideals of love and sacrifice that inspire the mothers of the race.

A country's greatness is established on the foundations of its love and sacrifice.

3. To quench my longing I bent myself low by the streams of the spirits of Peace that flow in that magical wood in the land of sleep.

The spirit of peace that flows like streams in the land of sleep quenches her intense desire and longing for serenity. She has waited for this for quite a long and all she desires is her calm and peace.

4. One needs a Seer’s Vision and an angel’s voice to be of any avail. I do not know of any Indian man or woman today who has those gifts in their most complete measure.

One needs a seer's vision and a sweet voice to be of any help or benefits.

5. My heart is very weary and sad and alone, For its dreams like the fluttering leaves have gone, And why should I say behind.

My heart is weak and unhappy alone. It looks like ambitions like fluttering leaves have gone.

6. Oh, we want a new breed of men before India can be cleansed of her disease.

We expect men to behave in a new manner as soon as the country is getting independence.

7. Sense of justice is one of the ideals of Isle Of man because as I read Quran I found those dynamic principles of life to notice but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited to the whole world.

Sense of justice is the main objective of the Isle of man because of the vibrant principles that it offers.

8. Shall hope prevail where clamorous hate is a rite?

Shall expectations prevail where noisy disgust is a ritual? It is almost impossible. You can't aspire when there is only wrath as a result.

9. The nations that in fettered darkness weep. Crave thee to lead them where great mornings break.

It implies the victory and glory that is to be achieved. Since after a night of misery, comes the morning, bearing with it, the hope for a better tomorrow and the hope for glory is being understood in these lines.

10. The new has come and now the old retires. And so the past becomes a mountain cell. Where lone apart old hermit memories dwell.

As newer things come to us, we start forgetting the older ones. We shall have to start with a fresh beginning.

11. In a consecrated calm, forgotten yet. Of the keen heart that hastens to forget old longings in fulfilling new desires.

In our holy stillness, there is our heart that stimulates us to forget our old cravings in the establishment of our new desires.

12. Hark to a voice that is calling, to my heart in the voice of the mind.

Listen to the voice that is calling to the heart by the voice of my mind.

13. I am not ready to die because it requires infinitely greater courage to live.

Life has its struggles which require bravery and vigour. Thus it needs much more courage to live than to die.

14. I say it is not your pride that you are a Madrasi, it is not your pride that you are a brahmin, it is not your pride that you belong to south India, it is not your pride that you are a Hindu, that it is your pride that you are an Indian.

It doesn't matter from which caste, creed or culture one belongs, what matters is that everyone is a citizen of India and there should only be pride in that they are Indian.

15. Nay, do not weep; new hopes, new dreams, new faces,
The unspent joy of all the unborn years,
Will prove your heart a traitor to its sorrow
And make your eyes unfaithful to their tears.

Do not cry, new wishes, new dreams will take place. The unspent years of joy will happen and there will be no sorrow left.

16. She is twin-born with primal mysteries, and drinks of life at Time’s forgotten source.

The girl is poised against a changing world, and yet represents a sense of permanence in a world that is mutable. She has some simple secrets and her life is just a source of missed times.

17. Time will not pause or tarry on his way, Today that seems so long, so strange, so bitter, Will soon be forgotten yesterday.

Time will never wait for anyone nor does it stop ever. Today that seems to be so long and awful will turn into a forgotten yesterday and you'll move ahead with life.

18. As long as I have life, as long as blood flows through this arm of mine, I shall not leave the cause of freedom.

As long as I'm alive, I'll fight for freedom till the last breath left in me.

19. When there is oppression, the only self-respecting thing is to rise and say this shall cease today, because my right is justice. If you are stronger, you have to help the weaker boy or girl both in play and in the work.

Whenever there is coercion it is better to vanish things. And if you're stronger than you should help the weaker ones.

20. Nay, do not grieve tho' life be full of sadness,
Dawn will not veil her splendour for your grief,
Nor spring deny their bright, appointed beauty
To lotus blossoms and Ashoka leaf.

21. Nay, do not pine, tho' life be dark with trouble.

Work hard. Life will be full of obstacles and you've to overcome them all.

22. A country's greatness, sacrifice and love depend on the values of the country that it holds.

A country's integrity is everything. It is the most important thing in the foundation of any country.

23. Profane, not the shrines I have raised in the clefts of my heart.

It is about one's wisdom that came with the years of hardship.

24. Once in the dream of a night, I stood
Lone in the light of a magical wood,
Soul-deep in visions that poppy-like sprang;
And spirits of Truth were the birds that sang.

Once in the imagination of a night, I was the only one standing in the night and the essence of the truth were the birds that sang.

25. Shall sweet love prosper or high dreams have a place. Amid the tumult of reverberant strife.

Shall a sweet love prosper or the membrane of struggles will be surrounded by.

Sarojini Naidu quotes tell us that she was not just a poet but an amazing storyteller. Her verses have a deep meaning and their connotations are quite mysterious. She used to play with her words. She was a great leader and a great orator.

Even knowing the fact that how the women of that time were treated, she stood up and stood against all the odds. Where there were only a few chances of women to get into politics, she was the one who was actively participating in it and was struggling for the freedom of India.

Despite her contributions to the freedom struggle, her contribution to literature has been phenomenal. She was an extraordinary personality and it is very well reflected by the Sarojini Naidu quotes.

Her writings were generally based on love, sacrifice, for the country. Her patriotic verses were also quite popular. She got her education from Madras, London and Cambridge University. She has an attractive literary life. Her first volume of poetry, The Golden Threshold (1905), was followed by The Bird of Time (1912), and in 1914 she was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Her collected poems, all of which she wrote in English, have been published under the titles The Sceptred Flute (1928) and The Feather of the Dawn (1961). She was a considerable writer and still, her writings have the same freshness. Stay cheered up with these beautiful Sarojini Naidu quotes.

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25 Sarojini Naidu Quotes With Message From India's Nightingale