3.1 Coromandel Fishers

3.
1 Coromandel Fishers
Rise, brothers, rise; the wakening skies pray to the morning light,
The wind lies asleep in the arms of the dawn like a child that has cried all night.
Come, let us gather our nets from the shore and set our catamarans free,
To capture the leaping wealth of the tide, for we are the kings of the sea!
No longer delay, let us hasten away in the track of the sea gull’s call,
The sea is our mother, the cloud is our brother, the waves are our comrades all.
What though we toss at the fall of the sun where the hand of the sea-god drives?
He who holds the storm by the hair, will hide in his breast our lives.
Sweet is the shade of the coconut glade, and the scent of the mango grove,
And sweet are the sands at the full o’ the moon with the sound of the voices we
love;
But sweeter, O brother, the kiss of the spray and the dance of the wild foam’s
glee;
Row, brothers, row to the edge of the verge, where the low sky mates with the
sea.
-Sarojini Naidu
Meanings :
Wakening skies – (here) sun rises in the sky, the morning dawns
Catamarans – sailing vessels with two hulls
Hasten – to move or act with speed
Comrade – friend
Breast – (here) a person’s chest, especially when regarded as the seat of emotions,
heart, soul
Glade – clear open passage through a wood
Grove – small wood, a small group of trees
Track (of the seagull’s cry) – the path marked by seagull birds to the fishing spots as
they can tell where the fish are. Therefore, the fishermen always follow them
(Kiss of the) – shower of small drops of water
(dance of the wind) foam – froth, (here) the foam created by the agitaton of seawater ;
Sweeter – (here) having a pleasant feeling, being more pleasing, more delightful
Glee – a felling of happiness
Verge – border, horizon, edge
Mates – meets
Langauge Study
1. Match the following:
‘A’ ‘B’
a) The wind 1) Brother
b) dawn 2) comrades
c) sea 3) mother
d) cloud 4) child
e) waves 5) mother holding her child
Ans. A) the wind - child
B) dawn - mother holding her child
C) sea - mother
D) cloud - brother
E) waves - comrades
2. List the rhyming word in each stanza.
Ans. First stanza : light – night, free – sea
Second stanza : call – all, drives – lives
Third stanza : grove – love, glee – sea

3. Find and write the lines in the poem that refer to.
1) early morning 2) evening 3) full moon night
Ans. 1) early morning : Rise, brother, rise; the wakening skies pray to the
morning light.
2) Evening : What though we toss at the fall of the sun where the hand of the sun
where the hand of the sea-god drives?
3) Full moon light : And sweet are the sands at the full o’ the moon with the
sound of the voices we love;
4. In the last stanza, two lines refer to a landscape, and two lines refer to a
‘seascape’. Which are they? Copy them from the poem correctly.
Ans.
Landscape Seascape
Sweet is the shade of the coconut But sweeter, O brothers, the kiss of
glade, and the scent of the mango the spray and the dance of the wild
grove, foam’s glee;
And sweet are the sands at the full o’ Row, brothers, row to the edge of the
the moon with the sound of the verge, where the low sky mates with
voices we love. the sea.
5. What do the following expressions refer to? Write in a word phrase.
(Answers are given directly.)
i) Leaping wealth of the tide : fish
ii) Kings of sea : fishermen
iii) At the fall of the sun : at the sunset
iv) The edge of the verge : horizon

Appreciation of poem
Title : Corormandel Fishers
Author : This poem in written by Sarojini Naidu who is Called the ‘Nightingale of India’.
Rhyme Scheme : The rhyme scheme of the poem is ‘aabb’.
Favourite Line: MY favourite line from the poem are No longer delay, let us hasten
away in the track of the sea gull’s call,
The sea is our mother, the cloud is our brother, the waves are our comrades all.
What though we toss at the fall of the sun where the hand of the sea-god drives?
He who holds the storm by the hair, will hide in his breast our lives.
Theme/central Idea : The theme of the poem is that if we work together and if we have
faith in God and surrender to Him we can achieve anything.
Figure of Speech :
a) Simile – In the line “The wind lies asleep in the arms of the dawn like a child that has
cried all night,” the wind is compared to a child explicitly using the word ‘like’.
b) Metaphor – In the expression ‘Sea is our mother’, sea is compared to a mother.
Special Feature : “When human being come together for a purpose and put their faith
in God, they can achieve anything” – This is the moral principle of this poem.
Why I like the poem : I like this poem because it has a very strong message. It says that
If we have faith in God and surrender to Him we can achieve anything.
6. Answer the following:
(i) How many stanzas are there in the poem?
(ii) How many lines are thee in the poem?
(iii) Who holds the storm by the hair?
(iv) What type of boat do the fishermen use?
(v) Write the lines that show that the fishermen are not afraid of the sea or of
drowning.
(vi) As the sea-gull flies away calling it appears as though, he is showing the way-
what does the way lead to?

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3.

Catamarans – sailing vessels with two hulls

Hasten – to move or act with speed

Glade – clear open passage through a wood

Grove – small wood, a small group of trees

Glee – a felling of happiness

Verge – border, horizon, edge

1. Match the following:

a) The wind 1) Brother

e) waves 5) mother holding her child

Ans. A) the wind - child

B) dawn - mother holding her child

2. List the rhyming word in each stanza.

Ans. First stanza : light – night, free – sea

Second stanza : call – all, drives – lives

Third stanza : grove – love, glee – sea

1) early morning 2) evening 3) full moon night

5. What do the following expressions refer to? Write in a word phrase.

(Answers are given directly.)

i) Leaping wealth of the tide : fish

ii) Kings of sea : fishermen

iii) At the fall of the sun : at the sunset

iv) The edge of the verge : horizon

Title : Corormandel Fishers

Rhyme Scheme : The rhyme scheme of the poem is ‘aabb’.

b) Metaphor – In the expression ‘Sea is our mother’, sea is compared to a mother.

6. Answer the following:

(i) How many stanzas are there in the poem?

(ii) How many lines are thee in the poem?

(iii) Who holds the storm by the hair?

(iv) What type of boat do the fishermen use?

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