Harp of India by Henry V. Derozio

 

The Harp of India is well known patriotic poem by H.L.V Derozio, a great Indo- Anglian poet. Here Derozio plays a glorious tribute to the rich tradition of the art of Indian poetry. The poem  Conveys the poets deep anguish at the decline of the age old art under the slavish shackles of British supremacy.

Though Derozio had very little of Indian blood in him, his father had the ancestors of Indian while his mother was an English. His upbringing in Indian greatly inspired in him Indian themes and sentiments. He is modern Indian first poet to  give expression to his patriotism in verse , the first to sing his freedom, the first to contemplate an intellectual renaisance for an ancient civilization through a new perception.

In the present poem Derozio-an ardent admirer of Indian rich heritage,  cultural and tradition-laments the decline of the rich tradition of Indian literature during the British rule in India. The Britishers made the Indian poets list less and they found nothing inspiring to compose literature except the misery of the nation. The poet play a rich tribute to the Indian writer of the past who had enriched the Indian literature with their classic and enduring literary works. The poet express his wish to revive and rejuvenate , through his humble poetic efforts , the richness and glory of Indian literature.

The poem is in the form of sonnet. The poet starts the sonnet with a rhetorical question as to why the glorious tradition of Indian poetry lies neglected like a broke  harp by on the leafless and urittered branch of a tree. The poet recollect that the state of Indian poetry was once rich and glorious like the sweet melodies of a Harp. But now the  melody is heard no more. The breeze blows over the broken Harp of poetry without drawing any melody from it. The prevailing condition of the poetic inspirations to remain mute as if bound by the fetters of silence. The art of poetry thus, lies neglected , silence and abandoned like a ruined monument in the vast wilderness like a ruined monument in the vast wilderness of the desert.

The poet recollection that the art of poetry , in the hands of the poets of greater genius than his own, had produced remarkable achievements. Subsequently,  the remarkable work of poetry brought accolades and wreaths of appreciation to their creators.

The poet laments that the poets of literary genius of the past now lie cold in their graves and the once famous poetic art lies abandoned. However,  he expresses his desire to revive the dying art of poetry of his country with his humble poetic abilities.

The poem begins with a metaphor of a urittered flower on a urittered bough. The poet imagine the wretched and miserable condition of India to a withered bough. The another suggestion images of this poem is to image of music , silence has bound the whole country and so people are neglected , mute and desolate. The poet has tried to make a fine relation between the past and the present , between tradition and modernity. At the end the poet is at the opinion that the music of the Harp.