THROUGH THE LENS: Sunrise Over Angkor Wat

Our first glimpse of Angkor Wat was at an unearthly hour of 4.30AM. Having slept fitfully to get up early, we made our way in the darkness to the temple and walked across the temporary causeway with just a torchlight to guide us on our way. The idea was to grab a place before the hordes of tourists landed to have a glimpse of the much vaunted sight. To our dismay we noticed that there were already scores of people who perhaps were camping in the place overnight! Sensing our disappointment, our guide gently shepherded us away from the crowd to a corner of the vast lotus pond. I gingerly made my way over the squishy ground and positioned myself on the edge of the pond. If someone had to obstruct my view he’d risk the chance of getting himself trapped in the pond!

We waited patiently for the next several minutes. The sky was still silky black and the stars were shimmering above. A deep silence of anticipation enveloped us. All eyes were on the horizon to catch the first glimpse of the rising sun.

Slowly a streak of blue light began to emerge on the horizon. The dim sky brightened moment by moment to outline the majestic structure. In a perfect second the sun peaked above temple caressing it with glorious veins of light. The temple towers and the swaying palm trees glowed in the early morning light and the sky bust into a melange of beautiful hues. The jewel of the Khmer empire was splendid in all its glory.  

It was possibly one of the most surreal spiritual experiences I have ever had in my life.
It is a moment that lingers within, even after the clicks of a hundred cameras faded away. It took a few minutes for the beauty of it all to sink in. There are scores photos floating around of "sunrise over Angkor Wat". I am almost wary of adding more to the pot .... but I guess each one is so different and each one of us sees the sunrise differently. I tried to take a few from different angles around the Temple area .... and that was not easy either as there were hundreds of people (if not thousands) also trying to do the same! Have a look at some of my ‘captures’ at: photos.app.goo.gl/kbuBZ6rIw3YlHywR2

Standing by the lotus pond
Gazing at the horizon
As I watch the play of light
The colors
Seep through the sky
Onto me
Waking up
Timeless songs
Of an undying past

Or in the words of the famous Hindi poet Bhawani Prasad Mishra..

सूरज का गोला
इसके पहले ही कि निकलता
चुपके से बोला, हमसे – तुमसे, इससे – उससे
कितनी चीजों से
“मेरे साथ – साथ सब निकलो
घने अंधेरे से
कब जागोगे, अगर न जागे, मेरे टेरे से?”

The ball of Sun,
before it steps out
Whispers to me, to you, to this and him,
to many other things,
Step out with me,
from the total darkness,
when you will be awake, if not, from my request?

Kindly post your comments here rather than in the Google Photos!