This bell was commissioned by King Singu in
1778. It's an alloy of gold, silver, copper, iron & lead. It is 7 ft and 8
inches long and weighs 24 tons.
The Brits, who occupied Myanmar in 1885,
tried to ship this bell to England, but failed miserably. The boat they used
sank to the bottom of the river because of the bell's enormous weight. They
made several attempts to salvage the bell, none of which succeeded.
The locals knew better. They did the
salvage operations during the low tide, using bamboo rafts. The Brits
eventually decided to keep the bell in Myanmar.
It is a practice amongst the Burmese to
ring a bell after meditation. They feel blessed after the ritual and by ringing
a bell, they hope to spread the blessing.
Read about local food in Myanmar in my Yangon Journal 5.
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