line by line explanation of 'bangle sellers' by sarojini naidu (for icse class 10)
Answers
The first stanza makes it clear that a group of bangle sellers are on their way to a temple fair so that they could make some money by selling bangles. Though they have carried the loads of bangles, they are not unhappy. That is why, the load of bangles, to them, are 'shining loads' meant for 'happy' daughters and wives. The multicoloured bangles are beautifully described as rainbow-tinted 'circles of light'. By repeating the word 'happy' the poet has emphasized the human element of the product. The daughters who expect to be married soon wear bangles to express their happy longings. The wives who wear bangles to express their happy longings. The wives who wear bangles express their happiness and contentment in their martial life.
Stanza-2
The second stanza describes the bangles of various colours. Some of the bangles are silvery and blue and as misty as mountain mist. They are meant for the virgin girl who has countless longings for married life. Some are as pink as buds that bloom on the calm surface of a forest stream. Some of these bangles are shining green whose freshness is close to the vivid beauty of the new born, tender leaves. All these kinds of bangles are suitable for unmarried girls. Their colours express their tender longings.
Stanza-3
In the third stanza, the narrator says that they have yellow bangles which look like corn fields. They are suitable for a bride on her marriage morning. Some fiery red bangles are like the flame of her marriage fire. They are expressive of the passion in her heart. They create a light ringing sound as the bride walks. They are shining and delicate, as the laughter of the bride (as she is getting married) or her tear (as she sweeps at the separation from her parents).
Stanza 4
The fourth stanza describes the bangles meant for housewives or mothers who have given birth to their children. Some of these bangles are purple in colour and some are gold-flecked grey. All these bangles are meant for the married woman who is middle-aged, and whose hands have cared, loved, blessed and brought up her fair sons, and who has proudly served her family and has the honour of sitting by her husband's side at religious ceremonies.
HOPE IT HELPS YOU
Stanza One:
Bangle sellers are we who bear
Our shining loads to the temple fair…
Who will buy these delicate, bright
Rainbow-tinted circles of light?
Lustrous tokens of radiant lives,
For happy daughters and happy wives.
The poem begins with the speakers introducing themselves as bangle sellers who sell their articles at the temple fair. They call out to the people to buy their bangles. These hawkers describe their bangles as delicate, bright, rainbow-tinted circles of light. They advertise by questioning who will buy these bangles for their daughters and wives.
It is important to note here that though the speakers of the poem are several, it appears as if there is a single speaker. This is due to the fact that they all have the same purpose and are thus seen singularly as a ‘class essence’. Also, the Bangles here are called ‘lustrous tokens of radiant lives‘. It shows us the Indianness of the poem, where bangles are bought on special occasions and are associated with happiness and prosperity.
Stanza two:
Some are meet for a maiden’s wrist,
Silver and blue as the mountain mist,
Some are flushed like the buds that dream
On the tranquil brow of a woodland stream,
Some are aglow with the bloom that cleaves
To the limpid glory of new born leaves
The second stanza onward, the speakers talk of the kinds of bangles they have. Some of these bangles are suited for a maiden’s, that is, a young unmarried woman’s wrist. They are Silver and Blue in colour like the mountain mist. Some of them are ‘flushed’, that is pink and light red in colour like flower buds growing beside a woodland stream. Still others are green and glowing like the transparent beauty of new born leaves.
In Indian society, bangles have an important cultural and religious place. Different coloured bangles are worn by women in different stages of life. Blue, Silver, and Green are generally worn by young maidens. It is interesting to note that the poet here uses the words ‘flushed like the buds that dream.’ The word ‘buds’ here is suggestive of chastity. ‘Buds that dreams‘ present before us an image of young girls dreaming of marriage. In this stanza, the poet presents the stage of youth in a woman’s life.
Stanza Three:
Some are like fields of sunlit corn,
Meet for a bride on her bridal morn,
Some, like the flame of her marriage fire,
Or, rich with the hue of her heart’s desire,
Tinkling, luminous, tender, and clear,
Like her bridal laughter and bridal tear.
In the third stanza, the bangle sellers say that some of their bangles are yellow like ‘fields of sunlit corn‘. Bangles of this colour are perfect for a bride on her bridal morn. Some of the bangles they have are bright red. They represent the flame of a newly turned bride’s marriage fire, that is, the passion of her newly made relation. The red bangles also stand for her heart’s desire. The bangles are ‘tinkling, luminous, tender and clear’. They express both her joy of starting a new life with her husband and the sorrow of leaving her parents behind.
What we find striking is the use of the words ‘bridal laughter and bridal tears.’ These words convey the whole of a woman’s transition in life from a maiden to a wife and all the emotions attached with it in a single line. This stanza marks the transition of life from a maiden to a wife.
Stanza Four:
Some are purple and gold flecked grey
For she who has journeyed through life midway,
Whose hands have cherished, whose love has blest,
And cradled fair sons on her faithful breast,
And serves her household in fruitful pride,
And worships the gods at her husband’s side.
In the final stanza of the poem The Bangle Sellers, the speakers continue to advertise their bangles. They shout that some of their bangles are purple and gold flecked grey. These are suited for a middle-aged woman who has ‘journeyed through life’. They are for her who has raised her children well, and has remained faithful to her husband and family. These bangles are, they say, perfect for she who has maintained her household with pride and ‘worships the gods at her husband’s side‘.
In this stanza, the poet writes down what she perceives as the qualities of a good wife. Such a woman is truly deserving of the purple and gold flecked grey bangles in her eyes. Here we should pay attention to the word ‘sons’ used to mean offspring. While it could be a happy coincidence, it could also suggest the ingrained attitude of male preference in the society of Sarojini Naidu’s times.
The poem, ‘The bangle Sellers’ is a celebration of the female life. It shows us the various stages of a woman’s life and attempts to represent the Indian culture and the role of bangle sellers in the traditional set up.