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Mahatma Gandhi and Sarojini Naidu at 1942 AICC Session. Photo unattributed –

Top 10 Unbelievable Facts about Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini Naidu wore many hats. As a social activist, she worked tirelessly to herald change and as a freedom fighter, she stood firm against the tyranny of colonial rule.

A celebrated poet, and playwright, she used poetry as a means to address social issues and empower women for a better India. A part of the glittering rhetoric in Indian literature, Sarojini Naidu has been regarded as one of the best India had to offer.

Her Indian-themed poetry and works have been regarded in high stance by all her readers. She has enjoyed the status of Nightingale by the sobriquet.

An activist, a poet, and an Indian politician- Sarojini Naidu, best known as the ‘Nightingale of India’ was a woman with boundless and prolific talents, a personality who people look up to and seek inspiration from even today.

1. Sarojini was born on 13th February 1879 in Hyderabad Sarojini Naidu aka Sarojini

Sarojini Naidu receives Gandhi on the Salt March, Dandi, 1930. Photo unattributed –

She was the eldest of eight siblings. She was born at her parental home Bikrampur. The place lies in present-day Bangladesh.

 Her parents were Aghore Nath Chattopadhyay and Barada Sundari Devi. Sarojini鈥檚 father was a political activist and the first member of the Indian National Congress (INC) in Hyderabad.

Her father was a doctorate of Science from Edinburgh University who settled in Hyderabad.

It was her father who founded and administered the Hyderabad College which came to know as Nizam鈥檚 College later on. He later became the principal of Hyderabad’s Nizam’s College

At a very early age, she developed a deep interest in writing. By the time she turned 12, she had written a play, Mahr Muneer, in Persian. This literary work impressed the then Nawab of Hyderabad hugely and he offered her a scholarship to study abroad.

At 16, she left for London to study at King’s College. While one of her brothers was a political activist, the other was a poet and playwright.

A child prodigy, Sarojini Naidu started her literary career at the age of 12. She gained recognition with her play, ‘Maher Muneer’. As a young child, she wrote a 1,300 line-long poem, ‘The Lady of the Lake’.

On her return, India was hit by the plague endemic. She worked diligently with people affected by the disease.

Recognizing her impressive work, the British government honored her with the 鈥淜aisar-i-Hind鈥� medal. 鈥淚n the Bazaars of Hyderabad鈥�, published in 1912, is one of her most popular poems.

2) Sarojini was a brilliant student who excelled in the field of writing and poetry as well as in the Indian political scene.

Sarojini Naidu 1964 stamp of India. Photo derived from India Post, Government of India –

A brilliant student, Naidu went on to study at King’s College in London and later at Cambridge University. Apart from her unmatched work in the field of writing and poetry, she is also greatly remembered for her contribution to the Indian Independence Movement and towards the causes of women’s empowerment and social welfare.

At the age of 16, she received a scholarship from the Nizam of Hyderabad and went on to study at the London Kings’ College.

With advice from Nobel Laureates, she stuck to Indian themes when it came to her writing style and became a revered poet of the 20th century.

3. The British government awarded her the ‘Kaisar-i-Hind’ medal for her work during the plague epidemic in India.

With Charlie Chaplin and Sarojini Naidu, during his visit to London, 1931 (a news bureau photo). Photo Source: eBay, Oct. 2008 –

However, after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, she returned the award in protest.

4. Sarojini got married at the early age of 19 years

The Minister of Panchayati Raj and Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar giving away the Fourth Sarojini Naidu Prize to one of the awardee for best reporting on Women in Panchayati Raj in New Delhi on October 2, 2004. Photo by Government of India –

At the age of 19, Sarojini Naidu married Dr. Govindarajulu Naidu, a doctor by profession.

5) An irreverent disciple of the Father of the Nation, Naidu referred to him as the ‘Chocolate-coloured Mickey Mouse’

Image of Sarojini Naidu. Photo unattributed –

While in one of his letters, Mahatma Gandhi addressed her as ‘Dear Bulbul’.

6) Between 1915 and 1918 she traveled across various locations, spreading welfare.

Mahatma Gandhi with Sarojini Naidu. Photo unattributed-

In 1917, she founded the Women’s India Association (WIA). India celebrates Naidu’s birthday (13th February) as National Women’s Day.

7) She was often referred to as the ‘Nightingale of India’ or ‘Bharat Kokila’ owing to her mesmerizing poetry

Jawaharlal Nehru addressing the Indian Science Congress, Lucknow, 3 January 1949. At left are Sarojini Naidu and K.S. Krishnan. Photo unattributed –

 Her rich literary works involved a lot of imagery and a plethora of themes. Because of the color, imagery, and lyrical brilliance of her poems, Mahatma Gandhi gave her the title 鈥淣ightingale of India鈥� or 鈥淏harat Kokila鈥�.

8) She was the first woman governor of the country

Sarojini Naidu. Photo Unattributed –

Following the footsteps of her father, who was a political activist, she also ended up as the first woman governor of the country.

Sarojini Naidu became the first Indian woman to assume leadership as President of the Indian National Congress party in 1925.

Later, she took part in the Salt Satyagraha, or Dandi March, a mass civil disobedience movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi against the salt tax imposed by the British, in the year 1930.

9. She was a person who fought for women’s empowerment in her country.

Group photo at Kashana Calcutta 1937. At “Kashana”, the house of Hassan Suhrawardy, Kolkata, 1937: Sitting (left to right): Aruna Asaf Ali, Nellie Sengupta, Sarojini Naidu, Shahbanu Begum, and unknown. Standing (left to right): Unknown, Dr. Syud Hossain, Subhas Chandra Bose, Hassan Suhrawardy, and unknown. Photo by Annapurna Dutta –

An advocate of women empowerment, she believed the role of India’s women would be instrumental in the freedom movement.

After India’s Independence, Sarojini Naidu was named the first woman governor of the United Provinces, now known as Uttar Pradesh, in 1947. She remained in office for two years.

10) Sarojini passed away on 2nd March 1949 in Lucknow just two years after India gained independence

Sarojini Naidu ashes at Golden Threshold. Photo by Srikar Kashyap –

Her death was owed to her vetting a cardiac arrest at the Government House in Lucknow, while she was working in her office.

In the year 1961, more than a decade after her demise, Naidu’s daughter Padma published a collection of poems that were titled, ‘The Feather of The Dawn’.