On the spur of the moment I decided to visit Cambodia
a fairly known country in South East Asia for two reasons. My guiding beacon
was the world famous Angkor Wat the largest Hindu temple in the world whose
name has been like a lighthouse to the marooned travelers floating in the cities
of modern monstrosities that snare unsuspecting tourists nowadays.
Cambodia as a country is not seeking to entice
tourists with its glitzy cities or sky hugging towers or gaming destinations.
But what it is offering to the perspicacious tourists is something as simple as
its history! It’s a grand celebration of its history and believe me it’s a
history which many countries shun if it’s not in line with its current national
ethos. Cambodia is 95% Buddhists but it celebrates its Hindu ancestry with such
pomp and gaiety that would put any Indian (Hindu) to shame. Everywhere you see
a celebration of Hindu symbols and divinity and appreciation of a culture that
was of their forefathers few centuries ago. Cambodia as a country and Angkor
Wat in particular is a unique experience in syncretism. It’s a melting pot
where its Hindu origins are effortlessly fused in its present day Buddhist
moorings. When you enter the hallowed ruins of Angkor Wat you can visualize the
grandeur and scale with which it must have reverberated in its times of glory.
It retells Indian stories about Hindu Gods and celebrates Hindu epics Ramayana
and Mahabharata. It will delight any visiting Hindu when they feast on these wondrous
monuments and the intricate craftsmanship that adorn the temple complex. I am
sure majority of Hindus would blush at the ease with which the guides in Angkor
Wat tell you about our religious epics. I was flabbergasted when I heard some fellow
Maharashtrian trying to correct our Cambodian guide about a particular aspect
of our epics admonishing him that these were epics of our country.
The most wonderful aspect I found was the respect
accorded by ordinary Cambodians to these monuments of yore. They treat them
reverentially and protect them as befits a national treasure. Indians need to
learn from Cambodians how to treat their national monuments & respect their
cultural heritage.
The second reason for the visit to Cambodia was of
course the infamous killing fields which is a living reminder to the horrors of
the communist plague ‘Khmer Rouge’
that wiped out millions of innocent Cambodians. It saddens your heart to see
the havoc and plunder ushered in by his deviant ‘Red Army’ which unleashed a reign of terror during their short
rule from 1975 to 1979. All youths passionate about the communist ideology
should visit Cambodia to understand how pernicious this ideology is, which has
impoverished millions across the globe while retaining the fig leaf that it
protects the interests of the workers. Not only these thugs murdered their own
countrymen but also destroyed temples and killed the Buddhist monks. It is
apparent that communism as an ideology perpetuates rule by a cabal and aims to
destroy the religious belief of the people implanting in their mind devotion towards
a ‘Big Brother’
The excesses committed by the Khmer Rouge are there
for all to see and the way Cambodia has come of out this shameful period is
remarkable indeed. Even though this piece of history is inconvenient to say the
least, still Cambodia took this opportunity to present to the world the real
horrors of a communist experiment gone awry. The reverence with which they have
preserved the torture chambers particularly the ‘Toul Sleng’ genocide museum is remarkable and it fills your heart
with pathos to imagine that one human being can be so cruel to another just
because of a wrong belief. The mass executions that were carried out at ‘Choeung Ek’ popularly called ‘The Killing Fields’ is heart wrenching
to imagine and even infants were not spared and killed mercilessly by banging
their heads on tree trunks. The Buddhist stupa at the site which houses skulls
of the victims who were massacred is a solemn tribute by the people of Cambodia
paying homage to these unfortunate countrymen of theirs.
The contrast in history that is presented to a tourist
is so breathtaking that it can blow away one’s mind and stun your
sensibilities. At one end you have the majestic celebration of religious splendor in Angkor Wat and at the other end you are
taken to the depths of human suffering at The
Killing Fields. This variance is not easy to fathom and can make your mood
alternate from joy to suffering which is what I grappled with during my brief
visit to this beautiful country.
