Wind Chimes- The Oriental Connection

The word ‘wind chime’ is self-explanatory- It is a chime or a bell which produces music when the wind plays with it. Wind chimes have been around for centuries. They were predominant in South and South East Asia from centuries back. Due to globalisation, the wind chimes are becoming popular in the western countries including the US for the past few decades.
History shows that bells and chimes have been an integral part of form of worship of Asians. In India, all temples are adorned with many bells in every nook and corner. When the bells ring, they are believed to call upon God and to ward away evil spirits. Bells are also important in Buddhism. Buddhist temples have multitude of bells in different shapes and sizes in every part of their temples. They also believe that these bells bring them good luck.
Wind chimes are a variation of these bells. A wind chime is basically tubes made of wood, metal, glass etc. These tubes can be hollow or solid and they are hung either inside or outside a home or building.When the wind blows, these tubes strike against each other and produce melodious music.