Keeping the faith The reign of King Nang Klao (Rama III) from 1787 to 1851 is regarded as the golden age of Thailand when the Kingdom was at peace, art and culture flourished and the masses happy and content. And thanks largely to his acumen, commerce and trade also prospered, especially with China. The boom in trade and the wealth it generated was such that each year after sharing it among members of the royal household and apportioning a generous amount to his subjects and public projects, he was able to save a small sum that he devoted to temples, the centres of faith and learning. He left behind not just a well stocked national treasury, but a cultural legacy that is alive to this day in the temples of Bangkok and its vicinity. "The King's acumen for trade made the Kingdom very prosperous, perhaps the richest it has been during the reign of succeeding Chakri monarchs," said Prof Phaothong Thongchua, dean of Thammasat University's Faculty of Liberal Arts. "The sum the King managed to save was a meagre 800,000 baht in those days, 1847 to be precise, and he spent the money renovating 15 temples that were his favourite." We were visiting them and Prof Phaothong was there to fill us in. "How much should it be worth today?" I asked. "Umm...800,000 baht...150 years ago," After a while he replied, "Probably a hundred billion baht in today's money." My jaw dropped. This tiny part of his legacy was more than the 73-billion-baht the prime minister made selling Shin Corp that sent the entire nation into fits of rage. That was some revelation. The king was just keeping the faith. I was deeply touched by his grace and my admiration for him now knows no bounds. All in all, said the professor, the King built over 100 temples and renovated 200 others during his reign, financed largely from the booming trade with China. He incorporated Chinese architecture and art and blended them seamlessly with the classical design of Thai temples. Wat Rat Orot in Chomthong District of Bangkok is one such example. It was renovated when he was still crown prince. It was his pet project. He enjoyed decorating it to conform with his taste and style. The main chapel, ubosot, was rebuilt in Chinese style. Wooden stilts typical of Thai chapels were replaced by huge concrete pillars to shoulder more weight, allowing the ceiling to be pushed higher, which in turn made room for a bigger Buddha statue. This is something totally different from what is seen in temples from the Sukhothai and Ayuthaya periods. Colourful tiles and ceramics imported from China are the main decorative items on the outside. The white concrete building, a statue carved from stone and colourful ceramic decorations differentiate this temple from others built about the same time. But the interior decoration as well as Buddha statue remain typically Thai. We were told that Wat Rat Orot once had a statue of reclining Buddha. The walls of the chapel were adorned with knowledge pertaining to ancient medicine and healing through yoga. This was the first temple King Rama III renovated and it is believed to be the inspiration for the bigger Wat Pho that in tourist brochures is referred to as Temple of the Reclining Buddha. In terms of exterior lay out and decoration Wat Rat Orot is outstanding, but for interior decoration Wat Krua Wan is the one to beat. Wat Krua Wan on Arun Amarin Road was splendid. The walls of the ubosot were splashed with 500 murals depicting tales from the Jataka, each describing the 500 incarnations of Lord Buddha before he attained enlightenment. "The King paid one baht for each mural, hiring seasoned artists to paint them. It was an extremely expensive job," filled in Prof Phaothong. The murals, each 2x2 feet in size, would have fetched the painter a monthly salary equivalent to roughly 100,000 baht in today's money. I walked the chapel admiring murals painted in gold that glowed even though the lighting was dim. The episodes they depicted were from folklores - Maha Janaka, Vessantara, Jataka and others. However, I preferred the murals at Wat Rajasitharam, a royal temple where King Rama III spent his monkhood. Although the exterior of the temple was an exotic blend of Thai and Chinese architecture, inside the ubosot everything was distinctly Thai. The murals are stunning in both size and craftsmanship, easily one of the most beautiful found in temples in Bangkok. Behind the principle Buddha statue were the gods of sun and moon - both airborne - while giant fish, as per Thai folklore, supported the earth. On its north wall, they portrayed Buddha's life story: Prince Siddharttha getting his head shaved before abandoning palace life and worldly pleasures; Lord Indra waiting to take the locks to heaven; a thin prince meditating and suffering from pain; and the final triumph - attaining enlightenment. The most poignant mural is the one that captures the moment in which relatives hurl insults as Lord Buddha passes them. Another temple King Rama III renovated was Wat Nang Nong on Wutthakard Road, probably because it was in the neighbourhood of where his mother was in residence. Inside, the ubosot is decorated in Chinese style. The murals depict incidents from Chinese mythology. The doors are embedded with mother of pearl and 108 icons such as kirin and crane considered sacred by the Chinese. The most remarkable feature is the huge attired Buddha statue cast in bronze. The King had it built after a wish his mother, Chao Chom Manda Riem, had made came true. "When her son was born she had wished him to become king when he grew up," Prof Phaothong said. If the restoration of Wat Nang Nong was a way to express his gratitude for his mother, then he found a way to say the same on a grander scale for somebody else dear to him. Wat Chalerm Phrakiat in Nonthaburi was the last temple he built, dedicating it to his grandparents who presided over vast tracts of orchards and farms there. But it was not completed during his reign. Besides the grand layout and elegant architecture, what impressed me most were paintings in the ubosot whose walls were decked with patterns from tubeskirts his mother fancied. Everything in this temple was graceful. The main chapel, vihara and pagoda were neatly built, their size huge. Nagas made from colourful Chinese tiles popped their heads from the roof top. Renovated again recently, the temple almost looked brand new. Paintings higher up the walls still looked good, but the ones lower down looked worn, undone by the moisture seeping from the ground. Holes have been bored in the walls for better ventilation. Someone asked the professor whether the murals would last forever, "That was highly unlikely because they had already been around more than a hundred years. Moisture and air pollution will eventually take their toll. Given the conditions, the murals shouldn't last beyond your lifetime," he replied back. Prof Phaothong's words reminded me of murals on the eastern wall of the ubosot at Wat Rajasitharam. They show Mother Earth to the rescue of Lord Buddha as he is attacked by demons, while Rahu, who symbolises time, eating away at everything in sight, including himself. And the analogy couldn't have been more fitting. Below the murals, up to a height of a metre and half from the ground, nothing was left on the wall. Rot had set in and it was only a matter of time before the murals would be gone. TRAVEL TIPS Wat Rat Orot is located in Soi Ekachai 4 on Ekachai Road; tel: 415-2286 and 893-7274. Wat Krua Wan is located on Arun Amarin Road close to Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn; tel: 02-466-3653, 02- 472-6699 and 02-465-3565. Wat Rajasitharam is on Isaraphab Road, Wat Arun District; tel: 02-465-4527, 02-465-4646 and 02-466-6680 Wat Nang Nong is located on Wutthakad Road; tel: 02-468-6876 and 02-476-2612. Wat Chalerm Prakiat is located by Chao Phraya River opposite Nonthaburi pier. |