This magnificent temple, Borobudur was under the volcanic ashes for around 500 years, till some Duch official discovered its existence!! On 26th October, 2006, I went to the this Buddhist temple near Jogjakarta, Central Indonesia.
This temple was built around 1200 years back which involved thousands of artists over several years. After few years, people left this monument mysteriously and they have forgotten about it. There was a volcano eruption near the temple, by which it was completely covered with ashes, subsequently forming a mountain.
After many years of its discovery, UNESCO spent 7 years cleaning and treating each piece before keeping it back in its place.
I along with my friend left Jogjakarta in the morning and reached the temple in around 1 hour. We have paid 10 USD (I think) since we were foreigners, and another 5 USD for the guide for a two hour trip. We need not bargain for the guides, because we will get guides at the official counter after paying the amount. They are very decent, don’t make a fuss and don’t ask for tips etc. The temple was built in 9 floors, 6 square and top 3 circular. We have started on the first floor and the guide was showing the pictorial story of Buddha carved on the stones. I started showing him each piece and asking him to tell the story. He told that we have to cover all the floors to get the complete story which takes around a week. So after the carving where Buddha was born, we climbed straight to the 8th floor.
That day was a holiday due to Ramadan, and the temple was crowded with local people. We met a Bangladeshi who is studying in a nearby town. Finally its worth seeing the mighty monument which did not use any mortar. There were many sovunier shops along the road to the temple.
I surprise, when I look at the history, where people spent enormous amounts of time, money and effort to build mighty monuments like this which might be useful to few generations. These actions would have increased their pride, self confidence and worth. These provided a means of entertainment, spiritual satisfaction, cultural identity and human interaction.
But things, which contributed to Human Development survived through generations. They have not only sustained but improved, replicated and transformed human lives. Some examples are Scientific Inventions, education, transportation infrastructure, Astronomy, communication and many other things we use in our day to day lives.
On the way back, we went to Silver Ware shop, since Jogjakarta is famous for Silver craft. The workers display how they make silver in their shop, but due to holiday, none was present. I brought ankle lace for my beautiful wife, which actually costed twice than in our country.
This temple was built around 1200 years back which involved thousands of artists over several years. After few years, people left this monument mysteriously and they have forgotten about it. There was a volcano eruption near the temple, by which it was completely covered with ashes, subsequently forming a mountain.
After many years of its discovery, UNESCO spent 7 years cleaning and treating each piece before keeping it back in its place.
I along with my friend left Jogjakarta in the morning and reached the temple in around 1 hour. We have paid 10 USD (I think) since we were foreigners, and another 5 USD for the guide for a two hour trip. We need not bargain for the guides, because we will get guides at the official counter after paying the amount. They are very decent, don’t make a fuss and don’t ask for tips etc. The temple was built in 9 floors, 6 square and top 3 circular. We have started on the first floor and the guide was showing the pictorial story of Buddha carved on the stones. I started showing him each piece and asking him to tell the story. He told that we have to cover all the floors to get the complete story which takes around a week. So after the carving where Buddha was born, we climbed straight to the 8th floor.
That day was a holiday due to Ramadan, and the temple was crowded with local people. We met a Bangladeshi who is studying in a nearby town. Finally its worth seeing the mighty monument which did not use any mortar. There were many sovunier shops along the road to the temple.
I surprise, when I look at the history, where people spent enormous amounts of time, money and effort to build mighty monuments like this which might be useful to few generations. These actions would have increased their pride, self confidence and worth. These provided a means of entertainment, spiritual satisfaction, cultural identity and human interaction.
But things, which contributed to Human Development survived through generations. They have not only sustained but improved, replicated and transformed human lives. Some examples are Scientific Inventions, education, transportation infrastructure, Astronomy, communication and many other things we use in our day to day lives.
On the way back, we went to Silver Ware shop, since Jogjakarta is famous for Silver craft. The workers display how they make silver in their shop, but due to holiday, none was present. I brought ankle lace for my beautiful wife, which actually costed twice than in our country.
No comments:
Post a Comment