The Bangle Sellers

 

Sarojini Naidu’s poem ‘The Bangle Sellers’ is a musical verse. It is the song of the men or women who are selling bangles in the fair of a temple. The sellers describe the bangles as “rainbow-tinted circles of light” and beautiful symbols of happy lives to attract their buyers. They also describe these bangles and they can be compared with various objects of nature. And, in the process, they also give an account of various stages of the life of a woman and which bangles are suitable for each stage with appropriate reasoning. The poem ends up becoming a musical masterpiece. This poem is an excellent example of Naidu’s love and respect for Indian Culture.

In the first stanza, the bangle sellers say that they are going to sell their bangles in the village temple fair. They describe the bangles as ‘circles of light’ and say that these are the symbols of happiness of the wives and daughters in Indian society.

In the second stanza, they describe blue, silver pink (flushed) and green bangles which are suitable for a maiden’s wrist. They compare the blue and silver bangles to the mist on the mountains flushed ones to the buds and green bangles to newborn leaves These bangles signify sensitivity.

In the third stanza, the sellers talk about the bangles which are fit for a bride’s hands. Those are yellow like sunlit corn, red like the holy fire of marriage, and tinkling, luminous, tender and clear like her bridal laughter and bridal tears. Bangles of these colours represent emotion and desire.

The fourth stanza describes the suitable bangles for a middle-aged woman, who has crossed ‘life midway’ and is a responsible wife and a loving mother. Those bangles are purple and gold-flecked grey indicating a sense of maturity.

The poem brilliantly and soulfully explores the imagery associated with bangles and the implications for women’s roles in a traditionalist Indian social setting. The speaker makes strong connections between the bangles and their role in providing “happy daughters and happy wives.” The subsequent stanzas describe lush and natural imagery, the beauty of the bangles and their precious values. Some of these descriptions invoke the passion of “marriage’s fire” and, in the last stanza; help to bring to light the socially accepted role of women in this setting. The purple and grey bangles, flecked with gold colour symbolize a woman who “serves her household in fruitful pride, and worships the gods at her husband’s side.” The grey colour indicates the maturity that comes with age. It is not very clear in the poem if the bangle seller is a man or a woman, and perhaps, some level of meaning might change if one plays with the gender of the speaker.