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Sudha Jhunjhunwala
takes
us through the temples of Bangkok and acquaints us with history
During a recent trip to Bangkok, I found much to admire and absorb its interesting history. The Thais immigrated at the beginning of the first millennium from southern China into the Chao Phraya river valley where they mingled with the local Asiatic groups of Mon and Khmer. In the first century, Indian merchants started trading with Thailand and brought with them Indian art and architecture forms, along with religious and political ideas. Buddhism, also an export of India, took over and prevails to this day. One of the oldest cities of Thailand, Ayutthaya was founded by King Ramathi Bodi in 1350. A French traveller Abbe de Choisy said about Ayutthaya, "We went for a walk outside the town. I paused frequently to admire the strong great city, settled upon an island around which flowed a river three times the width of Siene." Two successive invasions by Burma in 1758 left Ayutthaya in ruins. The present King Bumibol Adulyadej Rama IX came to the throne in 1950 and established a unique monarchy. Due to extensive rural uplift programmes, supervised by the Royal family personally, the King and Queen are loved and worshipped by the people. Bangkok is a city of temples, 400 to be precise. The must-sees are listed below: The Grand Palace was constructed over the ruins of the first palace by King Rama V. He built a throne hall and a royal residence known as the Wat Phra Keo or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
The Buddha is quite small, 26 inches high and 19 inches wide. It is not even made of emerald but a form of jade. However, it is the most venerated Buddha of Thailand. It is mandatory not to sit with your legs pointing towards the Buddha. Every wall was covered with softly blending murals depicting stories from Buddha’s life. All temples are guarded by two large demons or "dwarpalikas". The temples have many-tiered roofs and are covered with rich burnished orange tiles. Glass mosaic, gilt painting, mother-of-pearl inlay work are so profuse that they transform it into a dazzling but not garish world. There is a miniature Angkor Wat Temple in the compound which reminds one that Cambodia was once a vassal state of Thailand. The oldest and largest temple in Thailand is Wat Po founded in the 16th century. Its present status of an open university was organised by King Rama III in the 19th century to bring religious and secular knowledge to the common man. King Rama I who founded Bangkok also restored Wat Po and rescued 1200 statues from the ruins of Ayutthaya and had them placed here, turning it into a veritable gallery of Thai art. But the temple that attracts most visitors is that of the Reclining Buddha. The statue is 150 feet long and 50 feet high covered with layers of gold leaf. It projects the dying Buddha as he attained Nirvana. The most artistic feature is the inlaid mother-of-pearl symbols that adorn the lotus feet of the Buddha. Murals adorn the roof and the upper parts of the massive building. The Marble Temple was built at the turn of the century with the help of an Italian architect by King Rama V. Italian marble has been used extensively. The statue of the Golden Buddha weighing more than three tons of gold is placed in a temple in Wat Traimit. It was found during the construction of a temple near the river in the 1950s. It was totally encrusted with stucco until it accidentally fell while being moved and its golden body was revealed. Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn is a towering structure on the bank of the Thonburi River. It dates from the Ayutthaya period and is Hindu in character. The ceramic tiles and fragments of multi-coloured porcelain give it a jewel-like look. The Royal Barge Museum displays some of the spectacular watercraft once used for royal processions, along the Chao Phraya river. The outstanding one is the gilded Suphana Hong Sa in which the king rides. This aspect of Bangkok is stimulating to the investigative traveller.
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