Revered Brahma Image Returns To Erawan Shrine

[george]

Revered Brahma image returns to Erewan Shrine

BANGKOK: -- Religious rites and celebrations for Bangkok's revered image of the four-headed Hindu God Brahma will bring joy to the vicinity of the Erawan Shrine Sunday morning.

Restoring the sacred image and objects of adoration after the statue was destroyed by a mentally-ill man in March, caretaker Prime Ministerr Thaksin Shinawatra will preside at the ceremonies at 11:39-11:59 a.m. Sunday..

After a meeting on the restoration of the Brahma image, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister Surakiart Sathiratha Friday said that it took some two months to recast and restore the image of the God.

The celebrated image will be moved from the Fine Arts Department in the central province of Nakhon Pathom to Bangkok on Sunday morning in a sacred floral procession which will stop at Lak Muang (City Pillar), the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and a Brahma temple for a religious ritual before moving on to the shrine near the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel.

Dr. Surakiart said in addition to many Thais expected to be present at the shrine on Sunday, many visitors and dignitaries from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia Brunei would attend the ceremonies to pay their respect to the God.

--TNA 2006-05-19

[george]

Update:

PM to preside over statue ceremony

BANGKOK: -- Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will preside over a ceremony to re-install the revered Brahma statue at the Erawan Shrine tomorrow. Over the past six weeks the embattled Thai Rak Thai leader has delegated his work to his deputy Gen Chidchai Wannasathit, following a series of street protests led by the People's Alliance for Democracy.

So far, he has not made clear whether he will fully resume his duties, leading to speculation about his role.

The Brahma statue reinstallation ceremony is one of the first functions he will carry out to mark his comeback.

The statue was smashed on March 21 by a mentally ill man who was later beaten to death.

The statue, which has been restored by the Fine Arts Department, will be taken to the shrine in a procession starting early in the morning, Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said.

The procession will make three stop-overs at the City Pillar Shrine, the Emerald Buddha Temple and the Brahmin temple near the Giant Swing, where worshipping and lustral water pouring ceremonies will be performed.

The statue will arrive at the Erawan Shrine, in the grounds of the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, at 11.39am, where the installation and worshipping ceremony, to be presided over by Mr Thaksin, will be performed. It is expected that hundreds of worshippers from places such as Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore will attend the ceremony.

Municipal police and police officers will be deployed to ensure security and to direct the flow of traffic, said Mr Surakiart.

Phloen Chit-Mater Dei school and Ratchawithi Road will be closed to traffic from 11am to 12 noon.

--Bangkok Post 2006-05-20

[jdinasia]

Amazing .... a Photo-op and the "I am unemployed" PM will oversee it?

This is gonna be an amazingly busy traffic day down there! I wonder if the skytrain will even stop there

Edited May 20, 2006 by jdinasia

[ratcatcher]

Update:

PM to preside over statue ceremony

BANGKOK: -- Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will preside over a ceremony to re-install the revered Brahma statue at the Erawan Shrine tomorrow. Over the past six weeks the embattled Thai Rak Thai leader has delegated his work to his deputy Gen Chidchai Wannasathit, following a series of street protests led by the People's Alliance for Democracy.

So far, he has not made clear whether he will fully resume his duties, leading to speculation about his role."

THE Bangkok Post

So The Caretaker will be in all his glory. Right in the heart of downtown Bangkok. This guy sure knows how to earn his paycheck. Bowing and scraping and smiling coyly to the cameras while mouthing platitudes like" I'm still unemployed you know,talk to Chidchai" or some such crap.

The man just has a teflon coating. Unbelievable! But then some say G.W.B. is the same?

[Sandstone Art]

And he could not stay away much longer because he need to SAVE Thailand from more difficulties!

So, going by his 'first' role in presiding over the ceremony to re-install the revered Brahma statue at the Erawan Shrine this morning after his 'political break' , he knows about the tons of reporters and crowd there. What a better way to score some brownie points from the public!

Let's see what other new blunders he will make in the coming days to get trashed by he media

[britmaveric]

Good the icon will be back - there will be many happy people.

[george]

Update:

Thais crowd streets to cheer return of Hindu statue

BANGKOK: -- Thousands of Thais braved the rain to watch the return of a Hindu statue worshipped by people of many religions after it was smashed two months ago by a mentally-ill man.

People lined the pavements and crowded the streets to cheer as white-hatted priests lifted the four-faced statue of Brahma to its former place of honour at a central Bangkok shrine, snarling the Thai capital's notorious traffic for hours.

Vendor Boonsom Amorn, who travelled from Pathum Thani to witness the event, said any inconvenience was worth it.

"I am very satisfied," she told Reuters, her hands raised in a "wai" to respect a statue that many Thais believe can grant anything from a child to a fortune.

"I hope that the country will be living in peace from now on. Buddhist tourists can now come back to Thailand."

The statue of Brahma, venerated by Hindus as the creator, has drawn tourists from around Asia to the shrine beside the five-star Erawan hotel, where U.S. President George W. Bush stayed during a state visit in 2003.

A sign at the shrine says it was built 50 years ago to protect the Erawan hotel because the foundation stone was laid on an inauspicious day.

To mark the occasion, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra became the first Thai to pray at the statue since a Muslim Thai used a hammer to smash the statue on March 21 before he was beaten to death.

Two cleaners at the shrine were arrested and charged with his murder.

Thaksin, walking a step ahead of a minder who held an umbrella over his head, said little to bystanders a day after declaring to local reporters he was returning to work to keep the country from sliding into further difficulties.

Thai musicians pounded drums garlanded by flowers as people danced in the rain, holding incense sticks aloft while waiting for their turn to pray.

"I was shocked when the statue was destroyed," said Anon Kuntiranon, a 21-year-old Bangkok office worker also awaiting his turn as the rain dotted his glasses. "Now, he is back to help give us moral support."

--Reuters 2006-05-21

[Jai Dee]

Restored Brahma image returns home

The image of Brahma is carried by devotees yesterday on its way to the shrine at the Grand Hyatt Erawan as hundreds of bystanders look on. The image had undergone two months of repairs after being damaged by a man with a hammer.

An internationally renowned image of Brahma returned to its shrine at the Grand Hyatt Erawan yesterday after two months of repair work.

Hundreds of Thai and foreign devotees braved heavy rain to witness the image’s return and cheered loudly when it was reverentially placed in the shrine at 11.39am.

The statue had to undergo repairs after 27-year old Thanakorn Pakdeephol attacked the plaster figure with a hammer shortly after midnight on March 20. The man, who was believed to be insane, was later beaten to death by a group of angry bystanders.

While the image was undergoing repairs, paid for by the government and the Erawan Shrine’s operator, the Than Tao Mahaprom Foundation Erawan Hotel, devotees had to make do with pictures of the Hindu deity, who symbolizes impartiality, kindness, mercy and forgiveness.

“Our craftsmen rebuilt the new statue by incorporating every piece of the damaged statue in the new one. The statue is strengthened with stainless steel mesh. Most materials are made in Thailand,” said Arak Sanghitakul, the director general of the Fine Arts Department.

The image was transported from the Fine Arts Department on Nakhon Pathom Road to the Erawan Grand Hyatt, at the junction of Ratchadamri and Phloen Chit roads, early yesterday morning.

On the way, the procession stopped at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and other holy sites while religious ceremonies were conducted.

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra oversaw the ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Erawan.

Accompanying Thaksin were several other senior politicians, including caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, Senate Speaker Suchon Chaleekrua and Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin.

Many of those attending the ceremony had come from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and even Brunei.

A replica of the image is also being made out of nine metallic elements, including iron, gold, silver, mercury and copper. It will be housed at the National Museum.

The Erawan Shrine, also known as Thao Maha Prom shrine was built in 1956, a year after the original Erawan Hotel was built.

Source: ThaiDay - 22 May 2006

[Jai Dee]

A Worshipper pays his respects at the Erawan Shrine after the statue was replaced - The Nation

[jdinasia]

absolutely beautiful .... glad to see it back!