The Erawan Shrine in Bangkok
Almost always engulfed in chaotic clouds of burning incense and fossil fumes is the Erawan Shrine, a popular place for all visitors to extend gratitude for their resent good fortune or at the very least, a hope of receiving some great news. Getting the right lottery numbers would be a good start. The shrine houses the deity Phra Phrom represented by the four-faced Hindu creation god Brahma. Remarkable as it may seem to some, the shrine is also shrouded with a string of unfortunate misfortunes as well as a few calamities thrown in for good measure. In the very early hours of 21st of March 2006 a terrible misdemeanor did occur.
What happened on that fateful day was truly tragicApparently a 27 year-young Thai-Muslim man alleged to be mentally ill, grabbed hold of a hammer and proceeded to smash the Brahma statue to pieces. Well! he would have wholly succeeded if not being apprehended and subsequently beaten to death by a couple of enraged bystanders. To be more precise it was two street sweepers who were later arrested and charged with the fatal beating.What I meant by the phrase he would have wholly succeeded was not entirely correct because Thanakorn Pakdeepol as was his name, did succeed in smashing Brahma's four-faced head, torso, six arms and weapons. However what he failed to conquer, was part of the lap and base of the statue. Did I mention that the statue was hollow inside. The job would have been a lot harder had the statue been solid. I can only think that Thanakorn must have suffered a misfortune of justice for him to rage revenge on the helpless statue.
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