| Source: AFP http://en.newsbharati.com |
Kabul, May 3:
Afghanistan, which achieved global notoriety for cultural barbarism
when the Taliban blew up the ancient Bamiyan Buddhas, this week, opened
an exhibition highlighting the country's rich Buddhist heritage.
In sharp contrast to the religious
intolerance behind the destruction of the Buddhas 11 years ago, the
immaculate exhibition is on display in the National Museum, itself
rebuilt with international aid after being destroyed by civil war.
Overlooked by living history represented by the ruins of the neoclassical Darulaman
Palace on a neighbouring hill - also a victim of war - the interior of
the museum is a sanctuary of quiet arches and marble floors in a violent
land.
In the entrance hall is a replica of the
Great Buddha of Bamiyan, one of two giant standing statues carved into
Bamiyan cliffs in Afghanistan's central highlands in the sixth century.
But the polyurethane copy is a poor
substitute - unlike the surviving treasures dating from the second
century AD that dedicated museum staff managed to hide and protect
through 30 years of conflict and turmoil.
One statue shows a lean-torsoed Buddha,
reflecting the art of the ancient Greeks introduced by Alexander the
Great, who staged one of the many invasions of Afghanistan over the
centuries, said museum curator Surkh Kotal.
Others show damage inflicted by Taliban
fanatics who destroyed many of the museum's artifacts before their
regime was overthrown by US-led troops in 2001 for harbouring Al-Qaeda
leader Osama bin Laden.
Among the items spared - many hidden in
secret vaults outside the museum - are relief carvings depicting the
Buddha's life and other artifacts from former Buddhist monasteries in
Afghanistan, mainly south of the Hindu Kush Mountains.
One of those behind the protection of the treasures is museum director Omarakhan Massoudi, who joined the museum 34 years ago.
“I'm happy we preserved some
masterpieces through a difficult time in our country," Massoudi told
AFP, recounting how a decision was made to move major works to secret
locations in 1989 as Soviet forces withdrew and civil war loomed.
During that war, some 70 percent of the
museum's artifacts were looted and smuggled into neighbouring countries
to find their way onto the black market, he said.
The museum, along with the palace on the
hill, was largely destroyed as rival warlords unleashed artillery and
rocket fire on the capital in a brutal struggle for power.
Then came the Taliban, Islamic
hardliners who swept to power in 1996. Towards the end of their rule
they destroyed more than 2,000 artefacts, Massoudi said, and blew up the
Bamiyan Buddhas as "idols" in March 2001.
"We have repaired more than 300 statues. Some are on display and we will continue this activity in the future," said Massoudi.
The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas
was "a big tragedy because they were a part of our history, a part of
our culture", he said.
Afghanistan, lying on the famed Silk
Road trading route connecting east and west, absorbed Buddhism from
India and the religion flourished for hundreds of years before the
arrival of Islam in the eighth century.
Now, the practice of Buddhism has
virtually disappeared from a country where more than 99 percent of the
population proclaim themselves to be Muslim. But the museum is dedicated
to keeping the nation's history alive.
"We have to be proud about this very
rich heritage of Afghanistan, and we need to transfer it to the next
generations," said Massoudi.
In a country still at war, with 130,000
US-led NATO troops helping the government of President Hamid Karzai
fight a Taliban insurgency, it is still unsafe for the museum to display
some of its most important possessions.
The famed and priceless 2,000 year-old
Bactrian Gold collection of more than 20,000 gold ornaments, hidden by
museum staff during the civil war, has been touring the world since
2006.
But closer to home, the ruined grandeur of the Darulaman
Palace - clearly visible from the museum - stands as an enormous
exhibit reflecting a less than glorious period in the nation's history.
