Question

Write the summary of the poem "The Palanquin Bearers" by Sarojini Naidu . What is the meaning of the line "She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream"

Answer 1

The poem The Palanquin Bearers is woven around the custom of carrying a bride in a palanquin by palanquin bearers.  As they walk, they sing along. The palanquin bearers are delighted to carry the bride and don't feel the weight. The poem uses a number of comparisons with a flower, dew drop, pearl and the like. The bride carries a mixed feeling as she is leaving her parents and moving onto a new chapter in her life. 
The poetess uses rich imagery to strike the apt comparison. A number of similes are used to show how delicate and light the bride is. She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream  reveals that the bride is as light as a bird that passes a stream skimming through the foam of the stream.

Answer 2

The poem ‘Palanquin Bearers’ gives a description of the scene of a bride being taken to her husband’s place after marriage in a palanquin. The bearers are quite happy and proud of the task given to them that they feel neither tired nor the weight on their shoulders. Instead, they feel privileged and are quite happy about doing their job.

The bearers compare her in many ways. One comparison is to that of a star among the dew drops, while another comparison says she is as gentle as a tear drop. The bride is brightly dressed like a beam of light reflecting among the waves. The palanquin bearers sing as they carry her to entertain the bride throughout the journey.

“She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream” is the description given by the bearers to indicate how tender and delicate the bride is. When she sits in the palanquin, she looks so graceful and the sight is as very pretty to see. One is reminded of the sight of a bird sitting on the ripples formed in a stream.