summary and questions and answers of the poem "palanquin bearers"
Answers
There is a custom of carrying a bride in a palanquin by the palanquin bearers and the poem ‘The Palanquin Bearers’ is so finely woven around this custom, which expresses the joy and pride of the palanquin bearers in carrying the newlywed princess to her in-law’s house and while walking they are singing along happily.
According to the palanquin bearers, the bride is so light that it feels like the princess is swaying, like a flower sways in the wind. She is sitting in the palanquin and is hearing their song. They consider the royal princess as a privilege instead of a burden to them since she is sitting and thinking about her future after marriage. Like a flower in the wind, the bride is moving from side to side.
They say that ‘she is like the bird that skims on the foam of a stream’ which means that a bird passes a stream skipping through the foam of the stream and the bride resembles of that bird because she is so delicate to carry. She carries a mixed feeling as she is leaving her parents behind and moving onto a new phase of her life. She is happy and contented to live and start a new inning with her beloved.
They are carrying her like a pearl on a string since she is precious and delicate like a jewel. In the dew of their song, the princess is hanging like a star. Like a ray of light is seen on the top of a tide, she appears to be jumping just like that. A tear roll down the eyes of a bride, in the same way, she falls. The bearers are carrying the princess as if she is dew or a teardrop. They are delighted to carry the bride and could not feel her weight because she is very tender.
In the poem "The Palanquin Bearers" the poet Sarojini Naidu talks about the feelings of the bearers who have to bear the 'noble burden' until the destination is reached. The palanquin bearers when feel exhausted and tired, they start to sing and shout in unison and change the position of the palanquin. Along with their songs and the movement of the palanquin, the lady sitting inside the palanquin too moves lightly and delicately.