The Bells Are Ringing in Haridwar

by M. Mukundan

English 232 pages 1 edition

Haridwaril Manikal Muzhangunnu was published in 1972 to great acclaim, for it spoke to the alienated youth of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Yet the criticism against it was even greater, as the collection seemed to glorify the use of drugs and a way of life that was considered immoral then. With Ramesh and Suja, we travel to ancient Haridwar where the Ganga came to earth, where the marks made by Bhageeratha’s chariot wheels can still be seen and Bhima’s sweat can still be tasted in the water of the pond he dug-and where Ramesh finds himself unable to resist the call of the bells … The other two novellas take us back to Mayyazhi, that small area in Keralan which is still French at heart and where time has stood still for decades. Meetheledath Ravunni is led astray by the sight of the girdle that encircles Savitri’s slim waist and descends to an animal-like existence. As for Kunhikrishnan Thampuran, the honeyed skin of the oil-miller’s wife reduces him to an innocence that is child-like, unselfconscious. Simple and immersive, the stories in The Bells Are Ringing in Haridwar are a stark reminder of the socio-cultural breakdown of the 1960s and 1970s.