Give a brief comparative study of Toru Dutt and Sarojini Naidu as

Give a brief comparative study of Toru Dutt and Sarojini Naidu as poetess.

Ans.

Toru Dutt and Sarojini Naidu hold the most respectable place in Indo-Anglian literature. They have been widely praised for their great poetic excellence. The credit of popularizing Indo-Anglian poetry goes to Toru Dutt and she did commendable service in her short span of life. In fact, the path of Sarojini Naidu was paved by Toru Dutt and Sarojini would perhaps have done nothing without Toru Dutt. She guided her in the field of portraying Indian traditions in poetry. Sarojini learnt from her the interpretation of Indian life, culture and landscapes. But neither of them can be awarded a lower place than the other as the interpreter of Indian life.

Both of them faithfully portrayed true India before the Western world. It is another thing that while Toru Dutt performed this work by using great Indian legends, Sarojini chiefly dwelt on the activities of the middle and the lower class. Their approach to this side is different. The whole Indian life painted by Toru Dutt has been included in the Ancient Ballads. The characters have highlighted the outstanding characteristics of Indian society. There are great virtues like filial love, faithfulness and obedience which form the basis of Indian epics. At the same time, Toru has also introduced the universal facts of Indian philosophy. From place to place, there are certain references to the ways of the world and the philosophic comments in that context. She frequently talks about the immortality of soul, transitoriness of the world and temporariness of worldly joys and pleasures. Thus, although she was trained in Western culture, she never ceased to be an Indian. Her love and fascination for the Indian legends is an ample proof of her bent of mind. On the other hand, Sarojini did not have such a love for Indian legends. She chiefly concentrates on Indian masses. In her poems, there are varied pictures of that Indian society which we find around us everyday. She sings of Indian weavers, Indian springs and summers, Indian love stories, attract her much. There are Indian streets, markets, religious ceremonies and the people at work. At the same time, it is also remarkable that she talks of the oneness of all the religions. She sings of Hinduism but of Islam also with the same love and force. Thus, she brings to light the secular spirit of Indian culture. The freedom fighters find an honourable place in her poetry. Her patriotic poems have become very popular in Indo Anglian literature. She has written love lyrics, folk songs, songs of spring and such other aspects of common Indian lite. As a painter of these scenes, Sarojini is uncomparable in Indo-Anglian poetry and certainly better than Toru Dutt.

In the field of art also, both of them are quite different. Toru is a narrative artist. Her narrations and descriptions are superb. She has recreated the whole scenes like a master artist and her poems are, therefore, comparatively longer. But Sarojini is primarily a singer and a lyrical poetess. She is such a great singer that she has been honoured as Nightingale of India’. Toru Dutt possesses a marvelous gift of story telling. She has drawn lifelike characters, develops her poems through dialogues and thus maintains the dramatic effect throughout. In the beginning, she creates interest with the help of suspense which runs unabated. In this reference Savitri and Lakshman are particularly noteworthy. Sarojini Naidu writes short lyrics full of emotions and sentiments. She does not delineate characters like Toru Dutt. In the sphere of lyrical poetry, she is supreme. Her poems are marked for rhythm, melody and musical flow. In fact, Sarojini’s genius is lyrical which ring in our memory for a long time. She uses beautiful similes and metaphors and this enhances the charm of her songs. “Sarojini wove Indian birds and flowers in the texture of her poems.” She does not talk much about Indian philosophical principle, they are spontaneous overflow of emotions.

Love is the subject in the poems of both, Sarojini and Toru Dutt. They talk of firm love which does not alter ‘when it alteration finds’. Savitri is the best example of Toru’s concept of love. Her love for Satyavan may be love at the first sight but in spite of persuasion from her father and Narad, she does not change her mind. This is ideal conception of love. Like her, Sarojini is also an eminent poetess of love. Although she also does not talk of physical love anywhere, it is not highly idealistic. She seems to believe that physical love leads to spiritual love. In this field, she is the follower of Shakespearean concept who believes that true love is the complete identification of two loving souls. The love in the poems of Sarojini is based on self surrender and dedication. This is quite obvious in the love of Radha Krishna. Some of her great love poems are Song of Radha, A Rajput Love Song and Indian Love Song. One more difference between these two great poetess is that Toru Dutt did not write much on love. Her only great love poem is Savitri but Sarojini deals with this subject on a larger scale. Both the spiritual and physical aspects of love have been included. The pain of separation in the heart of the lovers has been perfectly revealed. Toru Dutt is incapable of all such emotions and here Sarojini is certainly superior to her.

Nature occupies a permanent place in the poems of both Toru Dutt and Sarojini. Toru Dutt deals with nature a background to human action as we see in Savitri. She is a minute observer of nature and paints even its sounds and colours quite vividly. Sometimes these scenes are sensuous. Some of the poems like Lotus are a beauty in scene paintings. But generally she is in love with only calm and tranquil aspects of nature. Sarojini, on the other hand, is highly romantic in nature pictures. She has written many poems on nature. The range of Toru Dutt is limited while that of Sarojini is wider. There are beautiful and colourful spectacles spread in her lyrics. Nature for Sarojini is not only a background but a source of place and solace-

Here shall my soul find its true repose.

As artists, both Toru Dutt and Sarojini Naidu have their distinguished place in Indo-Anglian literature. They are the masters in their own spheres. While Toru Dutt is a great narrative artist, Sarojini is the greatest singer and lyric poet. Toru adopts simple, easy and graceful style for which she has been sometimes criticised. But the poetic style of Sarojini is marked for spontaneity and emotional flow. We find abundant and suitable use of similes and metaphors which make it charming. Thus, both these poetess possess exceptional qualities in their own fields. Toru produced small quantity of literature because she died early. Still she has left a stamp as an interpreter of Indian life and ideals. The poetic career of Sarojini also was brief because she dedicated her life to the service of the country.