 |
The two of them stared stonily at me. I stared right back.
Standing in front of the temple, dressed gaudily, and armed, they looked a bit frightening. There was nothing I could say to them. This was Bangkok, Thailand and I was a foreigner.
" You look vaguely Indian", I thought. " Who are you?"
"Potetors of the tempe", said my guide. " They guar agen evi
spiri."
I nodded wisely. Dwar-rakshis. Hamar gaon mein bhi aise aise cheez hain.
|
 |
Here too, every temple had them; the dwar-rakshis stared at me as I walked in.
Inside, Buddha ignored me, either staring into space way above my head, or in mystic meditation, or even - in one temple - sleeping! I come to your house, O
Gautama, to house after house, and is this how you greet me, treat
me? What a host! No wonder Indians did not like thee. Buddham sharanam
gachchami, but returning me.
Perhaps, it is because I do not meet the high standards. Clad in my light cotton T-shirt (bought off the streets yesterday), and pair of almost-torn shorts, I agree I did not look too respectable. Especially compared to Him, draped in gold,
emeralds and jewels. Why had I mistaken him for a mendicant, a man
who threw away his material millions for spiritual search? And that thick gold draping, wasn't it unbearable in this heat? Or was that his style
of penance?
|
  |
Leaving such strange spiritual questions behind, I sweated my way along the streets, watching the carved figurines dance out of the
walls, onto the floors and ceilings. Enough, I've seen all the temples - Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Wat Naut, Wat Phra Keuw, Wat Dhammakaya, Wat Raut, Wat Gaubhil - all the standard unpronounceable places, big and small. {I am not sure of the speelings, I write from memory. Please check with guidebooks. Some of these were quite small, and not named in most guidebooks; they lay just next to larger temples, some
inside some of the huge temples. Check those names carefully. Some are gems. Do try and find them.}
|
 |
I crossed the river - Chao Phraya - for one, Wat Arun, the temple of the dawn, which is best shot at sunset. A muddy brown river that made me think of the Ganga/Hooghly as a pure white flow, it has gobbled up many a boat crammed with passengers. This boat was more than full, and I found people praying as we crossed the river towards the tall temple that dominated the view. It covered the horizon with its huge number of steps that took my breath away.
|
 |
As did the view from the top, the city spread out along the river, which
separates the Thonburi side, and the colourful open market below, selling knick-knacks, toys, clothes - lots of good-buys especially T-shirts with pictures of Tintin, Calvin and Hobbes, and "Main Bhi Bangkok Gaya
Hoon".
Alas, no carbon copies of carvings here. This is a uniquely Thai concoction:
Graphiti. 1 Rice Paper: 2ft
by 1 ft, frayed at the edges, lots of carbon (graphite pencils might do). Place rice paper on temple carving, use pencil to trace and shade until shape appears clearly. Add frame, glass to taste. Price: 300
baht. Serves one
quite right if you buy at that price. Because that's the price of anything you
pick on the street market. Anything. Yes, anything. Ask price/ show a vague interest and a calculator appears like magic, the fingers press "3", "0", "0" without waiting for the eyes to confirm. "Thee anded
onee". Walk away. Calculator follows, dancing behind you, leading the woman holding it. "250",
"200" ... I bought a set of five of those carbon copies for a total of 250
baht; I knew I was cheated, but I didn't have more time and patience. Not sure if that was the rah kah poot tai dai (Thai speaker prices).
Speaking
Thai numbers did seem to help a bit.
|
 |
Where did I buy them? Was it at Chatuchak? Siam Square or Sukhumvit Road? Oh, got it.
In that nondescript lane near the house that Jim built. The silk magnate. Jim Thomson, or some such Brit
name {must check with Herge; he would know how to spell it}. Jim built a silk empire, a super-Thai house (which is
now is must-see museum - though a bit expensive. Save your millions and click here.). That son of a Brit was an explorer who settled in Asia,
married a Thai woman and got lost in the woods in Malaysia. But he built a neat house, with harmony, and a lot of money, and slaves, I guess.
How/ why did he disappear ? No one knows, though I think he was too much of an
explorer to stay married.
|