3.1 Coromandel Fishers

_Sarojini Naidu

Paraphrase of the poem:

The poem ‘Coromandel Fishers’ is a depiction of fishermen’s life of Coromandel coast. The meaning of the title is that fishermen living in Coromandel coast. The poetess describes vivid, clear and lively life of fishermen.

The first stanza describes morning life of fishermen. The fisherman is calling other fellow fishermen to rise because it is morning time. There is morning light everywhere. It is time for them to get up. At the morning time there are no signs of wind. The wind was moving during the night. At dawn it becomes still. It lies asleep in the arms of dawn like a child. Now it is the right time for them to start their day’s work. They should gather their nets from the shore and set their catamarans free. They should be armed with their equipment and go on fishing. They consider themselves as the kings of sea. They should move in the sea to catch the leaping wealth of the tide. Here the expression ‘leaping wealth’ refers to large quantity of fish during tide.

The second stanza describes the attachment of fishermen towards the sea. They are eager to go to the sea. They do not wish to delay in moving towards sea. They thought that they should hasten away in the track of sea gull’s call. They should follow the path shown by sea gull. The fishermen think that the natural objects are with them like their relatives. Sea is their mother. Mother feeds children. In the same way sea provides fish to fishermen. Sea is the source of food or livelihood for fishermen. The cloud is always with them like brother so they think that

cloud is their brother. The fishermen have to live in the company of sea waves. They consider sea waves are their companions. They can’t live without them; the fishermen wonder that after sun set, they could go anywhere that sea god drives them. They are quite confident about sea God; Sea God holds the storm and saves lives of fishermen.

In the concluding stanza, the poetess describes landscape and seascape. The fishermen think that landscape is a sweet place. One can enjoy sweet and loving shades of coconut trees; However, the scent of the mango grove provides comforts to them. The sands at landscape are sweet during full moon night. They like to listen the familiar sounds at the shore. In short, landscape is a sweet thing i.e. a thing of pleasure for them. However, they think that seascape is sweeter than landscape. They like the touch of sprays of waves. They like to watch the dance or movement of foam in the sea. They request each other to row their catamarans to the edge of the horizon where the sky mates the sea.

Warming Up!

Chit-Chat:

1. What time do you get up in the morning?

Ans: I get up at 5 a.m. in the morning.

2. What time do you go to bed?

Ans: I go to bed at about 10 at night.

3. Where do you spend your holidays?

Ans: I spend my holidays at the hill-stations as well as sea beaches.

4. What adventures do you like – boating, trekking, scuba diving, mountaineering or something else?

Ans: I like adventures like boating as well as mountaineering.

5. After you finish your education, would you like to work close to nature? What would you like to do?

Ans: I would like to work close to nature after I finish my education. I would like to work as Tourist guide. I would like to arrange trips to nature parks, hill-stations and sea beaches.

Expanding Horizons

(a) Write as many words as you can, related to the following. You should have at least twenty words each. You may refer to your geography textbook or other sources for that purpose. Then try to find English words/items for the ones you have written.

Sea

Sea animal
Fathom
Waves
Sea plants
Crocodiles
Fish
Tide mark
Marine life
Harbour
Ship
Tide
Voyage
Storm
Sea woods
Depth

Wind

Breeze
Storm
Cyclone
Weather
Climate
Rain
Cold
Monsoon
Stream
Winter
Windfall
Windmill
Wind direction
Wind cheater

Sky

Sun
Clouds
Rainbow
Moon
Vacuum
Atmosphere
Astronomy
Planets
Satellite
Space
Universe
Cornets
stars

https://www.high-endrolex.com/12

Land

Rock
Water
Planes
Mountains
Valleys
Forests
Regions
Rivers
Oceans
Continent
Deserts
Gulfs
Plateau
soil

(b) Prepare a bilingual glossary for each of these topics.

Ans: The students should complete this activity with the help of their teachers.

(c) Arrange the glossary in two ways:

(1) According to the alphabetical order of letters in your mother tongue.

(2) According to the alphabetical order ‘a-z’.

Ans: This is a project-based Activity. The students should complete this activity under the guidance of their teachers.

Margin Questions

1) As the seagull flies away calling it appears as though he is showing the way – what does the way lead to?

Ans: As the seagull flies away calling it appears as though he is showing the way leads the fisherman to the sea where plenty of fish can be caught.

2) Who holds the storm by the hair?

Ans: The sea God.

3) What type of boat do the fishermen use?

Ans: The fishermen use catamaran boats.

English Workshop

1. Answer the following questions.

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

Ans: There are three stanzas in the poem.

(b) How many lines are there in the poem?

Ans: There twelve lines in the poem.

(c) List the rhyming words in each stanza.

Ans:

First stanza: light-night, free-sea

Second stanza: call-all, drives – lives

Third stanza: grove-love, glee-sea

2. You know that many poems have rhyming words or rhymes at the end of the lines in each stanza. The pattern of rhyming is usually shown with the help of small letters such as ‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’, etc. This pattern of rhyme is known as the rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme of each stanza in this poem is aabb. Verify.

Ans: Yes, it is correct that the rhyme scheme of each stanza in this poem is aa bb.

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

(a) leaping wealth of the tide: fish

(b) kings of sea: fishermen

(c) at the fall of the sun: at the sun set

(d) the edge of the verge: horizon

4. Match the following.

Column A	Column B (Answers)
(a) the wind	child
(b) dawn	mother holding her child
(c) Sea	mother
(d) cloud	brother
(e) waves	comrades

5. Find and write the lines in the poem that refer to.

(a) early morning:

Rise, brothers, rise the wakening skies pray to the morning light.

(b) Evening:

What though we toss at the fall of the sun where the hand of sea-god drives?

(c) Full moon light:

And sweet are the sands at the full O’ the moon with the sound of the voices we love.

6. Write the lines that show that the fishermen are not afraid of the sea or of drowning.

Ans: He who holds the storm by the hair, will hide in his breast our lives.

7. 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.

Landscape	Seascape
1) Sweet is the shade of the coconut glade, and the scent of the mango grove.	1) But sweeter, O brothers, the kiss of the spray and the dance of the wild foam’s glee.
2) And sweet are the sands at the full o’ the moon with the sound of the voices we love.	2) Row, brothers, row to the edge of the verge where the low sky mates with the sea.