India & Laos' National Monument

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"The Ramayana is also the common heritage of our entire(South Asian)

region, and each of our cultures have found unique ways of depicting

it." PM Vajpayee

India & Laos' National Monument

Compiled from various sources including Laos' Indian Embassy Site and

various Travel and Tour websites.

 

Interaction between India and the Lao PDR dates back to the reign of

King Asoka. According to a legend, as early as the 3rd century BC,

emissaries of King Asoka brought a relic of the Buddha to Laos, which

is believed to have been placed beneath the That Luang temple in

Vientiane. The Wat Phu temple in Champassak Province (Southern Laos)

is a standing example of the rich cultural interaction between India

and Laos in the 7th and 8th century A.D. In many ways, the Wat Phu

temple is considered to be a precursor of the Angkor Vat group of

temples in Cambodia. In a recent excavation, Hindu religious icons

like the Shiva Lingam have been discovered in an area close to the

Wat Phu. Similar icons were also found in the northern province of

Bokkeo (bordering Myanmar).

 

The impact of these traditional and cultural links is clearly evident

even today in various aspects of the Lao religion, with both Buddhist

and Hindu influences, language (with roots in Sanskrit and Pali), art

and architecture, philosophy, customs and social ethos. Lao PDR has

developed, almost as a fine art, its own version of the Hindu epic

Ramayana in ballet form.

 

 

Pha Tat Luang (Great Sacred Reliquary or Great Stupa) is the most

important national monument in Laos, a symbol of both the Buddhist

religion and Lao sovereignty. Its full official name, Pha Jedi

Lokajulamani, means World-Precious Sacred Stupa, and an image of the

main stupa appears on the national seal. Legend has it that Ashokan

missionaries from India erected a thaat or reliquary stupa here to

enclose a breastbone of the Buddha.

 

Since then Pha That Luang have been refurbished over times by

different kings of Lan Xang Kingdom. During the 18th and 19th

centuries, the stupa was severely damaged by Burmese and Siamese

invaders and then it had been abandoned and restored during French

colonial ear in 1900. Before restoration for about 30 years, Louis

Delaporte, a French explorer and architect had sketched details of

Pha That Luang; later between 1931-1935 they were used for the

reconstruction of Pha That Luang. It is an interesting religious

attraction for all visitors - for it is built to encode meaning of

Buddhism.

 

The Indian Embassy organised many functions during the Prime

Minister's visit to Laos in November 2002, including a Bharatanatyam

performance by a 10-member group led by Smt. Saroja Vaidyanathan

which took place on the 6th of November 2002 at the Lao Prime

Minister's banquet, and later at the National Cultural Hall on the

same evening. In a move to promote Indian paintings in the Lao PDR,

Shri Vajpayee inaugurated an exhibition of Madhubani paintings in

Vientiane on 7th November. While inaugurating the exhibition, PM in

his speech commented, "While driving through your country, I have

been struck by the evidence of the shared history and cultural

heritage between India and Laos. Your stupas and pagodas remind us

that Buddhism is a symbol of our common past." The PM added, "The

Ramayana is also the common heritage of our entire region, and each

of our cultures have found unique ways of depicting it." The External

Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, who accompanied the Prime Minister,

observed that though the present exhibition of Madhubani paintings

were done in paper, in their original form artists had used the walls

and floors of mud houses in villages as their canvas.

 

Shri Vajpayee visited the Buddhist temple of Wat Sisaket, where more

than 450 large and over 10,000 small Buddha statues belonging to the

5th and 6th centuries have been preserved. He also laid a wreath at

the Monument of the Unknown Soldier.

 

 

India and the Lao PDR share friendly and cordial relations, set on a

solid historical cultural basis and reinforced by mutually beneficial

exchanges in the political and economic spheres in more recent times.

India's principled role in Laos as the Chairman of the International

Commission for Supervision and Control (ICSC) in Indo-China from 1954

to 1975 is still remembered fondly and appreciated both by the

government and the Lao people.

 

 

At present, cultural cooperation between the two countries is

governed by a Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) signed between India

and Lao PDR in January 1996, and subsequently extended regularly.

 

On the cultural front, both sides agreed to extend the duration of

the existing Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) for a further period

of two years from 2002-2004, through an exchange of letters.

 

Indian dance troupes have been visiting Laos from time to time. A Lao

Cultural group gave performances in India in 1989 and later, in 2002.

During 1997-98, two dance performances and one photo exhibition in

various Lao cities were organised. As part of the 50th Anniversary of

India's Independence, two dance groups, i.e. Shankarananda

Kalakshetra and the Bharatanatyam exponent, Ms. Leela Samson visited

the Lao PDR. A photo exhibition on India was organised in Vientiane

and Luang Prabang during 1998-99. Similarly, a photo exhibition

entitled "Footsteps of the Buddha: Buddhist Monuments and Sites in

India" was organised in Vientiane at the prestigious National

Cultural Hall in July 2000. On August 18, 2000, a ten-member group

from Sri Idagunji Mahaganapathi Yakshagana Mandali Keremane presented

a dance-drama on "Vaalivadha" (The Death of Vaali), an episode from

the epic Ramayana, in Vientiane.

 

The Mission in cooperation with the Lao Ministry of Information &

Culture organised an Indian Film Festival from October 9 to 15, 2000

in Vientiane. Six Indian films Gandhi, Mohra, Deewar, Purab Aur

Pashim, 1942 - A Love Story and Kabhi Haa Kabhi Naa, were screened in

the Film Festival at the National Culture Hall.

 

In 2001, two Film Festivals, including a retrospective of Raj

Kapoor's films, were organised by the Embassy, as well as a

Bharatanatyam performance by the 5-member Padmini Dorairajan troupe

in Vientiane and Luang Prabhang. A Book Exhibition with over 2000

volumes was held in September 2001, the first ever such exhibition in

the Lao PDR. In January 2002, a Bhangra & Giddha troupe performed at

the National Culture Hall, followed by a Kathakali dance drama in

February 2002. In June 2002, a Film Festival featuring Yes Boss,

Maine Pyaar Kiya, Karan Arjun, Ghulaam and Deewar was held.

 

Embassy organised many functions during the Prime Minister's visit in

November 2002, including a Bharatanatyam performance by a 10-member

group led by Smt. Saroja Vaidyanathan which took place on the 6th of

November 2002 at the Lao Prime Minister's banquet, and later at the

National Cultural Hall on the same evening. In a move to promote

Indian paintings in the Lao PDR, Shri Vajpayee inaugurated an

exhibition of Madhubani paintings in Vientiane on 7th November. While

inaugurating the exhibition, PM in his speech commented, "While

driving through your country, I have been struck by the evidence of

the shared history and cultural heritage between India and Laos. Your

stupas and pagodas remind us that Buddhism is a symbol of our common

past." The PM added, "The Ramayana is also the common heritage of our

entire region, and each of our cultures have found unique ways of

depicting it." The External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, who

accompanied the Prime Minister, observed that though the present

exhibition of Madhubani paintings were done in paper, in their

original form artists had used the walls and floors of mud houses in

villages as their canvas.

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