Apsaras of Angkor Wat
March had
just begun, summer was still a few weeks away, but the sun was harsh and the
temperature had climbed to 36 C. After an enjoyable though hectic day of visit
to Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, and Bayon temples, and a forgettable visit in the
afternoon to the Floating villages; the tourists heaved a sigh of relief when
they were ushered into Marakot Restaurant for dinner over a cultural
performance culminating in Apsara Dance.
Queen
Sisowath Kossamak had revived and modernised the Khmer Classical dance form,
and her grand-daughter Norodom Buppha Devi had established the Royal Ballet of
Cambodia which in 2003 was included by UNESCO among World’s Intangible Cultural
Heritage. As Prima Ballerina, Norodom Buppha Devi herself led the dance troupes
to several countries in the world.
Apsara dance
is heavily influenced by Indian classical dances including Odissi and
Bharatanatyam.
“Renowned
for its graceful hand gestures and stunning costumes, the Royal Ballet of
Cambodia, also known as Khmer Classical Dance, has been closely associated with
the Khmer court for over one thousand years. Performances would traditionally
accompany royal ceremonies and observances such as coronations, marriages,
funerals or Khmer holidays.”[i]
The
auditorium-cum-dining hall was large enough to sit 250 diners with enough space
for the buffet tables at the far ends of the hall. In the courtyard outside the
hall, live food counters took orders from customers and served a variety of hot
dishes – local as well as international cuisine.
The dining
tables were not theatre style; but ran along the length of the hall
perpendicular to the elevated stage. Every diner had a clear view of the stage,
though they had to crane their necks to catch
vignettes of the show while enjoying the multi-cuisine dinner. Those who were rather
excited paused eating, and stood up briefly to capture a few photos or a video.
The Show which
lasted for about one and a half hours - more than enough time for food, second
and third helpings, chat, pics, and videos - comprised a series of
performances, some by a few, and others by a larger group. Traditional Martial
Art, folk stories, and Reamker (as Ramayana is known in Kamboja Desha)
episodes. The Apsara Dance was the final performance, the icing on the cake.
Seven beautiful Apsaras in traditional costume with the Prima Ballerina in the
middle gracefully enacted classical mudras and gently swayed to the beats of
the band playing on ancient instruments.
When the
Show ended, the diners having already feasted lavishly stood up and applauded
enthusiastically as the Apsaras assembled at the front of the stage in a row
and bowed gracefully. The troupe’s helper brought out from the side-wings a Tip
Box with glass panes revealing the USD, Euro, and Pound notes presented by
previous customers.
“You’re
welcome to come up to the stage for a photo with the Apsaras,’ the organiser
announced.
‘I want a
pic,’ said a senior citizen to a friend. ‘A souvenir, actually,’ he added, a
bit apologetically.
‘Why not?’
‘Is there a
charge for that? How much?’
‘No idea.
Why don’t you go up and do what other souvenir-hunters are doing?’
The
gentleman, seated towards the back of the hall raced up to the stage by when
all slots had been taken except the last one beside the seventh Apsara at the
farthest right. He had given his excellent camera-phone to his friend in the
hall who clicked several pics.
From the
stage, the souvenir-collector beckoned to his friend to get ready for the next
pic, moved speedily to the Prima Ballerina, and finding beside her a hefty gora
who had already been clicked, tapped him on his shoulder with as much
politeness as possible under the circumstances, and before the hapless tourist comprehended
the scene, had parked himself beside the PB. His friend did click the memorable
pic for the souvenir.
‘How much
did you pay?’
‘On my way
up, I had checked with the theatre staff. No charges, but a tip was welcome. I
had a 10-US dollar note in my front
pocket which I put in the box.’
~~~
Every year
more than 2.5 million tourists visit Angkor Wat, reckoned the largest temple
complex in the world, with an area of 402 acres. For perspective, St. Peter's
Basilica, Vatican City has a total area of about 120 acres.
Angkor Wat temple - originally dedicated to Vishnu and later converted to a Buddhist temple - was built in the 12th century AD by the Khmer king Suryavarman II, the name meaning ‘He who is protected by the Sun’; but he was not related to any Indian dynasty!
Indian tourists feel justifiably
proud since this largest Hindu temple in the world was built in a country which
had never been a colony or a vassal of any Indian kingdom. Remarkably, Indian
culture deeply influenced life and culture in several south-east Asian
countries – Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malayasia, Myanmar, and
others; without any political dominion or ambition by the traders from India.
William Dalrymple in his book The Golden Road calls this Indo-sphere.
Angkor Wat
is a massive temple complex with exquisite sculptures, particularly the large
carved wall panels with scenes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Tourists
are also enamoured by the sculptures of graceful Apsaras reminding them of the
wizardry of India’s master sculptors of Konark, Khajuraho, and other architectural
monuments who had scripted poetry in stone.
Apsaras are
water-nymphs (Aps means water in Sanskrit) symbolising fertility (Water
is the prime source of life); celestial entertainers in Indra’s Swarga; spouses
and partners of Gandharvas, the heavenly musicians; and prominently feature in
Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Bharat-Varsh is named after Bharat, son of Shakuntala who was abandoned by her mother
Menaka, an Apsara, and raised by Kanva, a rishi.
Ta Prohm
Ta Prohm
(Grandfather Brahma) temple is known for the gigantic tree roots that dangle
down over its entryways, walls and terraces, and is popular with tourists after
Hollywood star Angelina Jolie filmed here part of her movie Tomb Raider.
Ta Prohm is
under renovation by Archaeological Survey of India[ii].
Mr. Chittaranjan, Assistant Director, and his six colleagues graciously took the visitors around the monument a few parts of which they have renovated with several years
of meticulous expertise and dedicated work.
Shri D.S.
Sood, who spent nearly fifteen years at Angkor Wat for the ASI project had made
an excellent presentation to ‘Saturday Club’ at Bhopal a few months ago.
‘Before Ta
Prohm was assigned to ASI for restoration, it was managed by the French
archaeologists. They had recovered several broken statues of Apsaras in the premises
and had concluded that these statues were in the Hall of Entertainment in Indra
sabha, and they had named it the Apsara Hall. However, our work revealed that
Avalokiteswara presided over the Hall, and not Indra. Sadly, the statue had
been decapitated during the years of rampage and plunder, though the headless
statue still seats in his iconic meditative asana. Instead of Apsara Hall, a
more apt name for the hall may be ‘Hall of Meditation’ since the apsaras on the
walls were paying homage to Avalokiteswara. Apsaras in this hall were not
placed for entertainment, they were auspicious symbols of water, clouds, rain,
fertility and life.’
***
[ii] The conservation and restoration of Ta Prohm is a
partnership project of the Archaeological Survey of India and the APSARA
(Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem
Reap).
