Critical appreciation of H.L.V. Derozio's To India: My Native Land.

 

Critical appreciation of H.L.V. Derozio’s “TO INDIA: MY NATIVE LAND”

 

My country! In thy day of glory past

A beauteous halo circled round thy brow,

And worshipped as a deity thou wast.

Where is that glory, where that reverence now?

The eagle pinion is chained down at last,

And grovelling in the low dust art thou:

The minstrel hath no wreath to weave for thee

Save the sad story of the misery!

Well let me dive into the depths of time,

And bring from out the ages that had rolled

A few small fragments of those wreaks subline,

Which human eyes may never more behold;

And let the guerndon of my labour be

My fallen country! One kind wish from thee!

INTRODUCTION OF TO INDIA: MY NATIVE LAND:

To India: My Native Land poem is written by Indian poet Henry Louis Vivian (H.L.V. Derozio) in 1828. H.L.V. Derozio was a radical thinker and was a true patriotic. To India: My Native Land is one of the most famous and notable work by H.L.V. Derozio. The poet shows pain and love for his country India. This is a very thematic poem. He was very hurt and pained by the fact that his country India was under British rule.

 

ABOUTH THE AUTHOR OF TO INDIA: MY NATIVE LAND:

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (H.L.V. Derozio) was born on April 18, 1809 in Kolkata, India. He was a poet and Assistant Headmaster at Hindu College, Calcutta, a radical thinker and one of the First Indian educators to disseminate western learning and science among the young men of Bengal.

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was son of a Portuguese Father and Indian Mother, Derozio was influenced by the English Romantic Poets. He began publishing patriotic verses when he was 17. His writings brought him to the attention of the intellectual elite of Calcutta. In 1826 he was appointed instrument at Hindu College, where his reportedly brilliant teaching influence his students and won him their loyalty. In 1828 his students organised the Academic Association, a debating society that drew both Britishers and Indians to discussion of religion and Philosophy.

In the spirit of English Rationalism Derozio criticized the social practises and religious belief of orthodox Hinduism. Accused of irreverence by his student’s orthodox Hindu parents, he was forced to resign by the directors of Hindu college in 1831.Derozio died on December 23, 1831 due to cholera. Long after Derozio’s death his influence lived on among his former students, who came to be known as Young Bengal and many of whom became prominent in social reform, law, and journalism.

 

CRITICAL APPRECIATION OF TO INDIA: MY NATIVE LAND:

In this poem, To India: My Native Land every word of Derozio expresses out his patriotism in his heart for his country. The poet envisages his native land i.e. India which in the past had a supreme position in the world but now the country has been dishonoured to the most extend. The poet in this poem expresses his grief over the lost glory of India which has lost its grandeur. India was being worshiped by other, her prominence was beyond comparison. The poet says that India is a country which had a glorious past and had the capabilities of providing spiritual leadership to the other nations but now India was enslaved. She has been overpowered by a foreign power. After being overpowered by the foreign power the state of the country is pathetic and such dilapidated condition hurts the poet. She has lost her honour and prestige.

The panorama of the country appears dark to the poet as the past glory of the country has vanished completely. The poet says the India is now suffering just like an eagle suffers when it is chained. He desires to dive into the past so that he could bring the fragments of India’s glorious past and grandeur them to inspire the current generation and countrymen to fight against the foreign power for their motherland’s lost glory honour and prestige. He wants people to remember the golden period of our country.