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About The Book : The Golden Threshold is an off-campus annexe of University of Hyderabad. It is named after the renowned Indian poet and political leader Sarojini Naidu's eponymous first collection of poems. The building was the residence of Sarojini Naidu's father Aghornath Chattopadhyay, the first Principal of Hyderabad College now Nizam College. During the Chattopadhyay family's residence, it was the centre of many reformist ideas in Hyderabad, in areas ranging from marriage, education, women's empowerment, literature and nationalism. Specifically, the reformist ideas included more power for women in a time where politics in India, especially regional politics, was dominated by men. It also included ideas for involvement for women in the arts field. There were also many restrictions on marriage during this time period that persist to this day, such as inter-regional and inter-caste marriages. These ideas were progressive for the era, but brought a change in India in slow ways over time. The ashes of Sarojini Naidu kept at Golden Threshold, Hyderabad before immersion Golden Threshold was named after Sarojini Naidu's very first collection of poetry published in 1905. It now houses Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication of University of Hyderabad. About The Author : Sarojini Naidu (1879–1949) was an Indian political activist, feminist and poet. A proponent of civil rights, women's emancipation, and anti-imperialistic ideas, she was an important person in India's struggle for independence from colonial rule. She was also the first Indian woman to be the president of the Indian National Congress and to be appointed as governor of an Indian state (United Provinces). Naidu's literary work as a poet earned her the nickname the "Nightingale of India", or "Bharat Kokila" by Mahatma Gandhi because of the colour, imagery and lyrical quality of her poetry. Born in a Bengali family in Hyderabad, Chattopadhyay was educated in Madras, London and Cambridge. Following her time in England, where she worked as a suffragist, she was drawn to Indian National Congress' movement for India's independence from British rule. She became a part of the Indian nationalist movement and became a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and his idea of swaraj. She married Govindarajulu Naidu, a general physician in 1898. She was appointed the President of the Indian National Congress in 1925 and later became the Governor of the United Provinces in 1947, becoming the first woman to hold the office of Governor in the Dominion of India.