19

The Temple Bell

an
ite
le
fo
r 4 THE TEMPLE BELL
-B. SUGATHA KUMARI
ho
ias
nal LAnalyse the symbolism in the poem.
The Temple Bell is an exploration of man's spiritual
and which
et self in a materialistic world that is devoid of depth
limited to futile self-seeking activities. The temple has
now

The fallen into disuse. With its bat-infested sanctum, lamp

im
holders with empty hands and the crouching banyan tree,
loss
the temple now signifies spiritual disintegration and also
and
of heritage. The lamp of spirituality has gone out.
the
However, the flame of God is not snuffed out from
poet

conscience of man. Even in the face of dissipation and spiritual

and moral depravity, a feeble sound of the bell's tinkling
can
the
awaken his spiritual self.
oet be heard. Man consciously does not
on The tinkling sound is the work of no human hand. He pays
ast no attention to the latent spirituality in him, and it is dying
tunes",
"shattered but to
em away. Man's self, calls out in
no

inside him
in avail. He himself cannot heed his call. The Godcarried
has turned to rock and the rouges who stealthily away
the god are his own misdemeanours and sacrileges. The
flutters around
hordes of bats are man's own conscience that
sha in the ruins.
cast in
it The poet reminds us that the human soul was
in bronze in
he the image of God. It was moulded like the bell,
on the smelting heat and was placed in God's corridor with
prayerful palms. The fragrant flowers and bright shining
of the
amps and the scandal paste are all resplendent images
20 Malavalam Poetry the
in
Twentieth Con
ent
human self itself. Slowly, man s spirituality has bee beThe
destroved. The bell has cracked and sings to the wind's
vo
but no one hears it. The
jarring baritone of commerciali 2.E
and scramble for power, and the lurid
songs of modern d
movies, all of which are
symbols of the materialistic worl, of a
has made the sound of the bell frail and feeble. But the
even
the darkness, dissipation, and
spiritual bankruptcy, the be
continues to toll as though to herald a new dawn. It CO.
als mi
hints at the glory of the resilient
spirit of man and the nee CrC
to persist on the
path of duty without worrying
about the spa
fruits of labour.
the-
By presenting a bell that sings of its ha
creation, the 1Kkne
own
poet hints at the necessity of worshipping one's creator
also realising that we all have a little God inside of and
us. It is in
our own mind that God
dwells, it is to our own divinity thatto
is an integral Wit
part of the larger universe, that we appeal to
in of
our
prayers. By our own hands and thoughts we create
idols, the
the for
bells,the Gods. The gleam ofour conscience
be extinguished: When the bell cannot IO
tinkles, the life spirit of the
temple awakens. The vibrant and
electrifying mood o
religious festivity of past days is brought alive by the alc
of the bell, but it has no tinkling h
impact on the mind of man.
Through powerful symbolism the pòet suggests that the
the bell inside us, our own Th
conscience holds the image
god in it. Therefore the poet bows his head not to ol
but to the bell, his own conscience any idol pr
that is the abode of God
The embers of SW
godliness can be rekindled in our minds if we en
wish to do so. We need not to look for
God anywhere else the
The bell that refuses to
stop tolling is our own conscience tha
and we should pay heed to it.
The Autograph Tree 21
2Examine the conflict between the past and the present in the poem.
The Temple Bell' mourns the loss of the glorious past
ofa temple and pictures it in its inglorious present as it suffers
he onslaught of negligence and materialism. The best days
f the temple having come to an end, it is in a dilapidated
condition. The holy sanctum is infested with rats and the
mighty banyan tree that embodies the glory of the temple is
crouching to its roots. The temple pond that once had
sparkling and rejuvenating water is now moss-covered and
the statues of the lamp-holders have no more lamps in their
hands that will emanate the light of spirituality and
knowledge.
The deplorable condition of the temple is compared
to that of a "muni kanya", a recluse who lives in isolation
with no interaction with mankind. That is the pitiable plight
ofthe temple in the modern era -it is cut off from the souls
for whom it was built. The hands that once rung that bell,
no longer touch them and it is left to the wind to keep it
inkling. The piety of the people have been replaced by the
materialism and megalomania. The Gods have now been left
alone in the dark. The bell has not forgotten its duty or
dharma and continues toll, but the people have no realisation
f their duties. Although the bell remembers its makers and
the process of its making, men have forgotten their creators.
The bleak present of the temple is contrasted with its
llustrious past when the conch used to be blown, the
processions carried God's golden idol, gold decked elephants
Swayed in rows and men congregated in the yard and the
entire temple shines with the radiance of worship. But when
the poet folds his arms in prayer to the bell, there is a hope
that the splendid past of spirituality shall come again and
man's conscience will once again respond to the voice of his
Gods or rather his own conscience that is the dwelling place
of Gods.