What do you sell, O ye merchants?
Richly your wares are displayed.
Turbans of crimson and silver,
Tunics of purple brocade,
Mirrors with panels of Amber,
Daggers with handles of jade.
What do you weigh, O ye vendors?
Saffron, lentil, and rice.
What do you grind, O ye maidens?
Sandalwood, henna, and spice.
What do you call, O ye pedlars?
Chessmen and ivory dice.
What do you make, O ye goldsmiths?
Wristlet and anklet and ring,
Bells for the feet of blue pigeons,
Frail as a dragon - fly's wing,
Girdles of gold for the dancers,
Scabbards of gold for the kings.
What do you cry, O ye Fruitmen?
Citron, pomegranate and plum.
What do you play, O musicians?
Sitar, Sarangi and drum.
What do you chant, O magicians?
Spells for the aeons to come.
What do you weave, O ye flower-girls?
With tassels of azure and red?
Crowns for the brow of a bridegroom,
Chaplets to garland his bed,
Sheets of white blossoms new-garnered
To perfume the sleep of the dead.
• Answer the following questions:–
1.Who had written the poem “ In The Bazaars of Hyderabad ”?
a)Elezabeth Barratte Browning
b)Sarojini Naidu
c)Rabindranath Tagore
d)Beucellish K Sangma
2.Sarojini Naidu was a __ poet.
a)English
b)American
c)British
d)Indian
3.Which of the following poems are written by Sarojini Naidu?
a)Golden Threshold; In the Bazaars of Hyderabad
b)The Blind of Times
c)The Broken Wing; The Sceptered Flute
d)all of these above
4.What do you mean by the term, ‘amber’?
a)brownish yellow colour
b)deep red colour
c)sky-blue colour
d)reddish-brown colour
5.What is being sold by the merchants?
a)turbans of crimson and silver
b)tunics of purple brocade
c)mirrors with amber frames
d)all of these above
6.What is being grinded by the maidens?
a)sandalwood, henna and spices
b)saffron, lentils and rice
c)herbs for medicines
d)dals and lentils
7.What is not being made by the goldsmith?
a)golden sword for the king
b)golden gridles for the dancers
c)golden wristlets, anklets, rings
d)none of these above
8.Which imagery does the ‘pleasant fragrance of sandalwood and henna; sweet smell of flowers ’ signify?
a)tactile imagery
b)olfactory imagery
c)auditory imagery
d)visual imagery
9.“Frail as a dragon-fly’s wing…” Which figure of speech does the line bear?
a)simile
b)metaphor
c)alliteration
d)imagery
10.Which imagery does the colours–red, white, jade, amber signify?
a)auditory image
b)tactile imagery
c)visual imagery
d)gustatory imagery
• Answers:–
- b)Sarojini Naidu
- d)Indian
- d)all of these above
- a)brownish yellow colour
- d)all of these above
- a)sandalwood, henna and spices
- d)none of these above
- b)olfactory imagery
- a)simile
- c)visual imagery
