English Literature - Indian English - SITA poem - Toru Dutt - Annotations

SITA – Toru Dutt

Annotation Lines:

1.       Three happy children in a darkened room

What do they gaze on with wide open eyes.

Introduction:

The above lines are extracted from the poem “Sita”, written by Toru Dutt. She is one of the famous Indo-Anglian poets of the 19^th century. She was influenced by the British Romantics. She wrote her poetry, Novels, and stories both in French and English. Her life was a mix of joy and agony. Her best original work is “Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan” from which the poem ‘Sita’ has been extracted. She too died at the age of 22.

Context: Toru Dutt in her poem ‘Sita’, describes the ashram of sage-poet Valmiki, who wrote Ramayana. She also describes the sadness of Sita who was left by king Rama and is presently staying at Valmiki’s Ashram. The sorrowful story is narrated by Toru Dutt’s mother every night during their bed time. The three children Toru herself, her sister Aru Dutt, and her brother Abju Dutt used to listen to this story with tears in their eyes.  

Meaning: The three happy children – Toru Dutt, Aru Dutt, and Abju Dutt, in their bed room are listening to the story of Sita from their mother. Before their eyes, they could visualize the Ashram of Valmiki and Sita.

Comment: ‘Sita’ is an exquisite rendering of Toru Dutt. The poem begins as a nature description but finally strikes the pure elegiac note. Finally, Toru Dutt expresses her futile desire to listen to the story again along with her brother and sister. But, the desire cannot be fulfilled as the two died by that time.

2.       Three happy children in a darkened room

What do they gaze on with wide open eyes.

Introduction:

The above lines are extracted from the poem “Sita”, written by Toru Dutt. She is one of the famous Indo-Anglian poets of the 19^th century. She was influenced by the British Romantics. She wrote her poetry, Novels, and stories both in French and English. Her life was a mix of joy and agony. Her best original work is “Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan” from which the poem ‘Sita’ has been extracted. She too died at the age of 22.

Context: Toru Dutt in her poem ‘Sita’, describes the ashram of sage-poet Valmiki, who wrote Ramayana. She also describes the sadness of Sita who was left by king Rama and is presently staying at Valmiki’s Ashram. The sorrowful story is narrated by Toru Dutt’s mother every night during their bed time. The three children Toru herself, her sister Aru Dutt, and her brother Abju Dutt used to listen to this story with tears in their eyes. 

Meaning: The three happy children – Toru Dutt, Aru Dutt, and Abju Dutt, in their bed room are listening to the story of Sita from their mother. Before their eyes, they could visualize the Ashram of Valmiki and Sita.

Comment: ‘Sita’ is an exquisite rendering of Toru Dutt. The poem begins as a nature description but finally strikes the pure elegiac note. Finally, Toru Dutt expresses her futile desire to listen to the story again along with her brother and sister. But, the desire cannot be fulfilled as the two died by that time.