The Clock Tower
Bhupi Sherchan (1936 – 1989)
SUMMARY
In this poem, the speaker describes an elderly pensioner's behavior. The poem compares Ghantaghar, the aged, retired senior vet, to a clock tower. He has given all of his possessions to his relatives and is old and despised. All his military equipment is gone. The elderly pensioner owns two mementos from his time in the service as a result of his jealousy. They consist of an antique hat and a huge, spherical pocket watch with an archaic design. The clock tower is comparable to a senior veteran on pension who is enduring the lonely, arduous days of old age. It wears headgear resembling an old vet's and has a clock on its neck. It stands brooding on the bank of the Ghantaghar for all time.
The clock tower image serves as a poignant metaphor for the elderly man's loneliness. The old guy has the same fate as the clock tower, which is aging, uncared for, and anticipating its demise. The poetry has made the terrible truth of aging evident. In honor of his son, King Pratap Malla constructed Ranipokhari in 1727 BS. It served as a solace to his wife. The old man is therefore soothing (lessening) his anguish by gazing at the lake while remembering his past.