With the blessings of Brahma

It was nine years ago that sculptor Pitak Chalermlao and the rest of the conservation team from the government’s Fine Arts Department had to rush to the Erawan Shrine after its statue of Brahma was smashed to pieces by a hammer-wielding man whom authorities described as deranged. It took two months to piece the idol back together.

Little did Pitak and his crew realise that they’d be back at the same spot, facing the same task, so soon afterward. Though essentially a Hindu shrine, it is sacred to the faithful of all major religions. It previously had been unimaginable that anyone would want to cause it harm. How could this happen again in less than a decade?

But there they were again yesterday at the Rachaprasong intersection, reassembling the shards, replacing the missing pieces, following last week’s bombing. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the blast that killed 20 people, most of whom were worshiping at the shrine.

“I was so sad to hear that the Brahma statue had been damaged again,” Pitak said, while at the same expressing relief that the injury done this time was quite minor in comparison to the previous attack in 2006, which nearly destroyed the icon.

The damage was so extensive last time that the statue had to be rebuilt almost from scratch at the Fine Art Department’s facilities in Salaya, Nakhon Pathom. This time the crew is able to repair the damage right at the shrine.

The team, led by Sahabhum Bhumtitterat, the department’s deputy director general, and including two sculptors and two experts in lacquerware and the decorative use of coloured-mirror tiles, will complete its work by September 3.

“On September 4 the government and the Thao Maha Prom Foundation will host a grand rite to reopen the shrine, with a khon performance by members of the Fine Arts Department,” Sahabhum said. The likeness of the Hindu god Brahma suffered damage to the chin, necklace, right index finger and right shin, he said, and the roof overhead was also affected.

The foundation is covering the costs of the restoration, estimated at Bt70,000.

Yesterday Pitak and his assistant, Manop Amornwutiroj, first said a prayer before entering the shine, which has been shrouded behind white sheets yesterday. An army of reporters and photographers watched as they began work and dozens of worshipers, kept outside the covered area, offered devotions. Security in the area was tight, with dozens of police officers and soldiers, but tourists also crowded around taking photos.

Pitak and Manop were quickly able to report that the repairs would be minor.

“The restoration this time isn’t complicated,” Pitak said. “Soon after the bombing we found the missing chin part. We were able to bore small holes in the leg, then injected plaster, and finally replaced the chin and smoothed it over with more plaster. For the destroyed parts, we’ll sculpt new pieces and attach them as needed.”

The plaster will take two days to dry, he said, and meanwhile the lacquer and mosaic experts can begin their work.

“Once the repairs are done,” said Yunee Theeranan, a master of mosaic techniques who also participated in the 2006 restoration, “we’ll coat the statue with rak, a traditional form of lacquer, and then old gold sheeting.

“The process is quite sophisticated. After rubbing on the first sheet of old gold, they’ll start applying smaller sheets one by one, three or four coats, and then use a small paintbrush to smooth the surface.”

The Erawan Shrine was erected in 1956 in the hope that it would end the misfortunes that dogged construction of the original Erawan Hotel. Since the hotel was to be named after the elephant that carried the Hindu god Indra, a Brahmin priest who was consulted advised that this “incarnation” of Erawan should also have a passenger – the Lord Brahma. The likeness of Brahma, formally known as Thao Maha Prom, was duly installed and, sure enough, the hotel’s bad luck ended.

The Department of Fine Arts cast and gilded the magnificent image of Brahma and it was unveiled on November 9, 1956. The Erawan Hotel opened at the same time to widespread acclaim and enjoyed global fame for 30 years. By 1991, however, unable to compete with more modern facilities, it was replaced by the far larger Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok.

The shrine has changed little over the decades. Recognised among the world’s “sacred destinations”, it remains an important place of pilgrimage for Thais as well as foreign tourists and is particularly popular among people seeking material assistance.

The Thao Maha Prom is regarded as a Brahma entity full of kindness, mercy, sympathy and impartiality, each of these virtues represented by the four faces of the image, radiating serene grace. 

With Thai Buddhism deeply influenced by Hindu beliefs, the Erawan Shrine has always been prominent among places of worship, drawing an unending stream of people paying respects from early morning to late at night. They make ceremonial offerings of floral garlands, fruit and teakwood elephants, all sold at the site, in the hope that their wishes will be fulfilled.

 On the night of March 21, 2006, however, a man armed with a hammer inflicted severe damage on the statue in a matter of minutes before being dragged into the street and beaten to death by furious devotees.

“It took two months to restore the statue from the dust,” recalled Pitak, also one of the sculptors who forged the statues of the Seven Great Kings of Thailand seen at Rajabhak Park in Prachuab Khiri Khan.

“It was hard recreating this huge statue when only the head and the base remained. We sculpted all the destroyed parts in plasticine first, and then in plaster. We also made a bronze mould as part of the restoration process. The mould is now at the National Museum.”

Pitak and his team sincerely hope this is the last time they have to undertake this job, but for now they take delight in knowing that all Thais – and people around the world – will be happy seeing the statue restored and back in its rightful place.