AJAY KAMALAKARAN FINDS HIMSELF IN AWE OF THE ARCHITECTURAL MARVEL OF THE BOROBUDUR AND PRAMBHANAM TEMPLES ON THE ISLAND OF JAVA, INDONESIA.
Many photographers will tell you that the site of the Borobudur Complex at sunrise makes for incredibly stunning photography.
All you need to catch this on film is to leave the city of Yogyakarta by 4 am and pay an extra $ 20 dollars! I chose the more relaxed option and left the city after breakfast, in full knowledge that the light would still be good for photography once I reached the monument.
The 8th century Mahayana complex built by the Shailendra Dynasty is the largest Buddhist temple in the world. 3 circular platforms top 6 square ones to form the complex. " You should be proud of this temple as much as we are," said Rafiq, a guide who has been working at
the temple for over 20 years. " It was your ancestors who built this temple." I decided to play it safe and talk about the common heritage we shared as Indians and Indonesians.
The temple, which was abandoned in the 14th century, was buried in volcanic ash until it was discovered by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1814. ( This account of history is hotly contested.) Raffles was the British governor of Java during the period of the Napoleonic wars. Immense restoration work has taken place over the years to get the temple back to its original glory. It wasn't just the fury of Mount Merapi that damaged the temple. Dutch colonizers painted some of the 2672 relief panels yellow to preserve them. This of course had the opposite effect. Rafiq also told me that the Dutch removed 200 of the 502 Buddha statues and presented them as gifts to the King of Siam! Around 1400 panels narrate the story of Gautam Buddha and the Jatakas. There are also a couple of panels, which possibly explain the arrival of the builders to the island. On the main dome, there are 72 statues of Lord Buddha in stupas. Mount Merapi, which can be seen from Borobudur, poses a constant danger to the complex. Although it is highly unlikely that the temple will be swallowed by lava, the ash is strong enough to affect the panels.
The temple, which is the most visited tourist attraction in the country and is as much as a symbol of Indonesia as the Taj Mahal is of India. Visitors are required to wear a Batik Sarong while going inside to respect the sentiments of Buddhist pilgrims.
In fact, there are mass meditation and prayers at Borobudur on the full moon day on Vesak ( what we call Buddha Purnima in India).
Away from the volcano, but within driving distance of Borobudur is Prambhanam, the largest Hindu temple complex in the southern hemisphere. This 9th century masterpiece was built by the Sanjaya Dynasty, when Hinduism was the prevalent religion in most parts of modern day Indonesia.
The three main temples are devoted to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, but there are several temples dedicated to other Hindu deities like Nandi and Ganesha. Since the Javanese were believers in Shaivite Hinduism, the Shiva temple is the most imposing of the complex. An inscription dating back to 856 AD says that the original temple was built to honour Lord Shiva.
The smaller temples known as the perwara temples were probably built later.
Like Borobudur, Prambhanam was also abandoned and mostly forgotten in Java, which embraced Islam. Sir Raffles, who found the temple by chance, called for a full survey of the complex. A majority of the restoration work took place after Indonesia attained independence from the Dutch.
The highlight of a visit to Prambhanam is watching a performance of the Ramayana at night. With the illuminated temples in the background, over 200 ballet artistes perform the great Hindu epic in the Javanese language. Despite converting to Islam, the Javanese held on to the Ramayana and the epic is an integral part of Indonesian culture; far more so than in India.
What impressed me most about both these great temples is the zeal with which Indonesians respect and take pride in them. Tolerance and pluralism, however, have always been an integral part of the culture of Java and the other islands in the archipelago.
Visas 30- day visa on arrival ($ 25) available at the Yogyakarta International Airport. To avail of the facility, first time visitors need to either show a confirmed hotel reservation or a personal invitation from an Indonesian resident.
Flights The closest city to the temples is Yogyakarta and the cheapest way to get there is to fly there on Air Asia via Kuala Lumpur.
Hotels Guesthouses in Yogyakartas Mariloboro Street offer rooms with tariffs starting at around US$ 20.
Moving Around Several travel agencies offer a daily package that includes a visit to both temple complexes as well as a trip to the foot of Mount Merapi.
Strongly recommended Hiring the services of authorised guides at both temples. The complexes are large and filled to the brim with history and art and the knowledgeable guides will assist you in getting a real feel of the places.
Nearby Attractions The city of Yogyakarta is pleasant and a great place to explore Javanese culture in its purest form. Its also a good city for shopping and tasting the real Nasi Goreng.
The author is a travel writer. He blogs at http:// ajayinasia.
blogspot. com