“To India – My Native Land” - The Poem & Summary
“To India – My Native Land”
- Henry Louis Vivian Derozio
My country! In thy days of glory past
A beauteous halo circled round thy brow
and worshipped as a deity thou wast—
Where is thy glory, where the reverence now?
Thy eagle pinion is chained down at last,
And grovelling in the lowly dust art thou,
Thy minstrel hath no wreath to weave for thee
Save the sad story of thy misery!
Well—let me dive into the depths of time
And bring from out the ages, that have rolled
A few small fragments of these wrecks sublime
Which human eye may never more behold
And let the guerdon of my labour be,
My fallen country! One kind wish for thee!
“To India - My Native Land” is a patriotic poem by Indian poet Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, published in 1828 as part of his book The Fakeer of Jungheera: A Metrical Tale and Other Poems. It is one of the most notable works by Derozio, written during the period of Bengal Renaissance. The poem has been identified by historians as containing some of the first written examples of Indian nationalism, with the poem extolling "patriotism and a love of freedom".
In this poem, Derozio personifies India and talks to her in a monologue. Derozio talks about the glorious past of India. He tells her that in her days of glory, she used to be regarded highly, worshipped and was considered sacrosanct (“worshipped as a deity”). The poet is evidently unhappy with the British rule in India and refers to the same in the line “The eagle pinion is chained down at last”, where eagle refers to India. However, the British rule and internal weaknesses has brought the country slavery and demolished its pride and identity. She is “groveling in the lowly dust”. There was an acute sense of hopelessness due to lack of freedom and stagnation in the standards of living. Derozio says that there is nothing more to write apart for the then current situation of the country (“no wreath to weave for thee, Save the sad story of thy misery“).
Therefore Derozio wishes to bring back / write about the past of India (“ages that have rolled”) by “diving into the depths of time” and bringing back its glory (“small fragments of those wrecks sublime”). This glorious past may be forgotten with time and people may never get to see or read about again (“Which human eyes may never more behold“).
As a reward for his labour, Derozio prays to his country to grant his wish i.e. return of the past glory and pride.
The poet expresses a sense of personal loss in the downfall of his country, India. Addressing India, the poet says that in the old days, India was worshipped like a deity. Poet wonders where that glory and splendour have disappeared and regrets the fact that his motherland has now been reduced to the position of a slave of the British Empire. The author also mentions that the country has been humiliated and ashamed of herself grovelling in the dust. There was time when the country soared like an eagle in the skies but now the wings of that great bird have been clipped and it is chained. The poet has no wreath of flowers to offer the country but instead, he will dig into the past and will try to sing of some parts of that great history which is no longer available to the younger generation. The only reward author wants for his effort is that the country should have a kind wish for the author and the countrymen should love him. The author says that his last wish to all the Indians is to dive deep into the past and bring back the lost glory of India.