'Coromandel Fishers' summary

Sarojini Naidu is a poet whi belongs to an era of struggle, slavery, and freedom fighting. She was a part of the Indian freedom movement and become the first woman president of Indian National Congress.

The poem 'Coromandel Fishers' is about the fishermen, yet it metaphorically reflects the poet’s desire for free India and thus she encourages the people of the nation to hasten their struggle.

The poem consists of three stanzas having four lines each. The rhyme scheme of the poem is AABB.

Sarojini Naidu in the poem, 'The Coromandel Fishers', has described the beauty of nature and the folk culture of the Coromandel Coast of India. It depicts the relationship of fishermen with nature. Nature stands as a symbol of beauty that expresses the optimistic view of life.

        She asks the fisher folks to wake up and offer their prayers to the morning light. The wind is calm and quiet like a child that sleeps soundly after crying the whole night. She asks the fishermen to gather the nets and set their catamarans free and set out into the sea to gather the leaping wealth of the tide as they are the kings of the sea. She asks the fisher folks not to delay and quickly set forth in the track of the sea gulls call.

She comforts the folks by saying that the sea is their mother, the cloud is their brother and the waves toss their boats at sunset and drive them far, God who controls the storm will protect their lives from its rage.

She also says that the coconut glade gives shade and the sweet fragrance of the mango grove is soothing. Moreover the sight of the sands on a full moon night is very beautiful, mixed with the voices of the birds early at dawn. But beyond all this, the kiss of the spray and the dance of the wild foam in joy is far sweeter. So she asks the fisher folks to row their catamaran to the edge of the borders, the horizon, where the low sky appears to unite with the sea.