National_Geographic_Traveller_India_May_2017

In Focus | FESTIVE SPIRIT
In parts of Sukhothai,
it is an age-old tradition to
release paper lanterns, known
as the khomloi, into the sky
during Loy Krathong.
LIGHT AT THE END OF
THE FUNNEL
CELEBRATING LOY KRATHONG IN SUKHOTHAI, THAILAND
TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS BY SUGATO MUKHERJEE
Last year, I visited Sukhothai, in north-central
Thailand, timing my trip to coincide with
the annual Loy Krathong festival in November,
a festival of light which celebrates the Buddha.
It is celebrated throughout the country, though it originated in
Sukhothai. Here it is associated with the commemoration of a
13th-century battle, during which a Buddha statue allegedly
spoke to the Siamese army, boosting their morale as they fended
off Burmese invaders.
On the advice of my Italian host Paulo, who runs a guesthouse
in Sukhothai with his Thai wife, I travelled to Wat Si Chum,
the temple where Buddhist monks worship the speaking
Buddha from the legend. Few people witness the ceremony
here, which takes place before the larger public procession.
The nondescript temple is located on the northern fringes of
the manicured gardens and old stone Buddhas of Sukhothai
Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site 10 kilometres
from the city.
I followed a group of orange-robed monks, who entered
through a narrow slit in the temple’s wall. Inside was one of the
largest and finest Buddha statues I had ever seen. As the chants
of the monks reverberated in the conical temple, sunrays filtered
80 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA | MAY 2017