TRAVEL TRAIL

Siam Society: a little known gem

'Knowledge gives rise to friendship's Motto of Siam Society since 1924

Raana Haider

Once you have had your fill of the hustle and bustle of Bangkok's street-life; the push and shove of the city's speciality - it's mercantile makeup; mingled with moneyed and materialistic minded Tuppies (Thai young upward professionals) at the countless shopping malls; consumed oodles of noodles and 'flied lice' - its rich gastronomic culture and done the Chao Phraya River cruise and seen the sights of architectural splendour - gilded wat pagodas and magnificent palaces - head for Siam Society.
   Located at 131 Asoke Road, Sukhumvit 21, close to everyone has by-passed it. Few consider making a halt at the sudden appearance of a traditional Thai housing complex - set-back from the busy Asoke Road. Its low-lying architectural spread stands isolated amongst high-rises that line the major thoroughfare. Its star attraction is the Siam Society that was founded in 1904 by a group of Thai and foreign scholars. In 1933, the Society moved to its present location on land donated by one Mr. A.E. Nana. Would this be the same Nana as that of the lane Soi Nana? The current main building opened in 1997 in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of His Majesty the King's accession to the throne of Thailand. The Siam Society remains under Royal Patronage with members of the Thai royal family as patrons. Royalty from Bhutan and Japan also grace the Siam Society.
   The Chalerm Phra Kiat Building houses the library, exhibition space, meeting rooms and office space. The Siam Society Library - the first non-private owned library in the country - contains some twenty-five thousand volumes in Thai, English, Chinese, Japanese, German and French. Rare books on Thailand and the region form an archival collection. Ancient palm-leaf manuscripts are stored here. Numerous international links include the John F. Kennedy Foundation in the United States. Armed with this amount of background information, I climbed the stairs to the librarian's desk - only to be told that the Library is to be closed in less than an hour's time.
   Working against time, I garnered that I had come across a goldmine of information - a vast repository of knowledge and every opportunity of a rich adventure for any book lover. With only one other interested individual and two staff members constituting the occupants of the room, I set to embark on a literary treasure hunt and swiftly scan some of the shelves. On the magazine stand, I located current issues of Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society/London, Bulletin of the School of School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS/London, Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society; Arts , Antiques - French School of Oriental Studies, Edinburgh Journal of Botany, Journal Asiatique.
   On well-organised stacks, I came across literary gems to gladden the heart and quicken the pulse of any researcher. I thumbed through the French-language leather-bound Journey of Ambassador of Siam in France. This was first published in 1685 and reprinted in 1985. In a measure of style common in its day, His Excellency travelled to Europe accompanied by eight Mandarins, twenty domestic helps and scores of others. The voluminous Encyclopaedia of Indian Iconography edited by Ramachandra lines one shelf. Mary Hass, Chairman of Linguistics at Berkeley, California produced the Thai-English Students Dictionary in 1964. This publication took over twenty years in the making and the first since World War II that incorporated modern English words.
   With a measure of delight did I come across A Survey of Asian Art by the renowned scholar of Persian studies - Arthur Upham Pope who lies buried in Esfahan in Iran. Whilst living in Iran in the late 1990s, I came to know of this man's lifelong devotion and pursuit of Persian studies. First published in 1938 by Oxford University Press, the book I thumbed through was published in 1964 and dedicated to 'Reza Shah Pahlavi', the last monarch of Iran who went into exile in 1979 following the Islamic Revolution led by Imam Khomeini.
   Whilst numerous current travel and guide-books on the South-Asian region lined the shelves, more captivating was 'A Week in Siam' by the Marquis of Beauvoir, a twenty-year old Frenchman who travelled around the world in 1867. The current edition appeared in 1986, although it was first published in 1870. Travelling some 15,000 miles in the region in the years 1894 to 1900, Major Davies wrote Yun-Nan: The Link between India and the Yangtze. I came across the series Cambridge History of China and the reputable Kodansha published nine volumes Encyclopaedia of Japan.
   The Library's wide reach is visible with it's stocking of Sacred Books of the East: A Life of Buddha. First published in 1883 in Sanskrit by Oxford University Press, this edition (1962) is the English translation of works by various oriental scholars. A foreword by President of India Radhakrishan appears in the later edition. Another heavyweight is the magnum opus The Ocean of Streams of Story by Charles Henry Tawney - another backdrop to much great literature. The full price for the set of ten volumes in 1968 was an amazing Rs. 90 only. The original work was in Sanskrit and written by Bhartrihari, a sixth or seventh century epic figure who was a Sanskrit poet, philosopher of language and grammarian. In his wisdom for all ages, he wrote: 'Knowledge is Man's highest beauty. Knowledge is his hidden treasure, chief of earthly blessings, bringing calm contentment, fame and pleasure.'
   Standing on the shoulder of a giant was another academic giant. Charles Tawney, Rector of Calcutta University and Librarian of the India Office from 1892-1903 undertook this major translation work. Tawney was a Hindi, Persian, Sanskrit and Urdu scholar. The publisher Motilal Banarsidass of Delhi, Patna and Varanasi - since 1903 - are leading publishers on oriental religion, arts, history, philosophy, yoga, culture, ayurveda, literature and linguistics. Noteworthy in the India of today, Patna and Varanasi are no longer leading centres of academia - in comparison to their status more than a century back.
   As closing hour approached and on my way out, I caught sight of two ornately carved possibly Chinese-styled cupboards with the name 'James H.W. Thompson' engraved on a golden plaque. I asked the librarian if this was the same 'Jim Thompson' of Thai silk fame? It was. The James Thompson Foundation donated the two pieces of furniture to the Siam Society. A quick glance revealed leather bound Journals of Siam Society - the first one dating to 'January 1952.' The first issue appeared in 1904. Illustrative of the man's interest and passion were the following books: History of Asian Art, The Ming Wares of a Dynasty (in Thai), The Tang Pottery, Angkhor and Laos, Chinese Symbolism...
   Lack of time but persisting curiosity led me to look up later on the website: www.siam-society.org - if any books on Bengal featured in the Library. I was rewarded with details of four books. One British Gaborn Henry Damant collected Tales from Bangladesh (edited by Ashraf Siddiqui, Dacca in 1976). Damart had been in Bengal from 1872-1875. The Dutch in Bengal and Bihar 1740-1825 would be another literary gem. Om Prakash and D. Lombard have edited Commerce and Culture in the Bay of Bengal 1500-1800. Finally, B.Sahai and J.C. Fresh are the authors of The Art of the Pal Empire in Bengal.
   Searching for 'Dacca' yielded the following treasures: Nalini Kanta Bhattasali commemoration volume, essays on archaeology, art, history, literature and philosophy of the Orient, dedicated to the memory of Dr. Nalini Kanta Bhattasali, 1888-1947/Edited by A.B.M. Habibullah and Iconography of Buddhist and Brahmanical Sculptures in the Dacca Museum (Rare Reprint) by Nalini Kanta Bhattasali, M.A., curator...With preface by Mr. H.E. Stapleton...and with 83 plates, containing 10 collotype and 1246 half-tone illustrations and one map. A copy of A General Guide to the Dacca Museum is also to be found at the Library of the Siam Society.
   With considerable regret did I come to know that I had missed by a day a talk in the series 'A Siam Society Lecture' on 'Iranians Relations with Siam.' The speaker Dr. J. Chularatana has specialized in the history of relations between Thailand and Western Asian countries in the Ayuthaya and Ratanakosin periods, giving particular attention to Iranian and Muslim influences. Diplomatic relations between Siam and Persia - in the Safavid period - were established in the seventeenth century. Persian officials held office at the royal court of Siam.
   A second lecture being offered - also to be missed - following our departure from Bangkok - would be on 'Birds in Chinese Art' by Patricia Welch, an independent scholar in the area of Chinese art and symbols and a resident of Bangkok in the 1990s. Familiar with the sacrosanct nature of the number 'Five' in Chinese philosophy; equally applicable to categories of taste, colour, elements of nature and animals as well - according to the pamphlet on the above lecture. Animals were classified into five categories: animals with feathers, animals with hair, animals with shells, animals with scales and naked animals (which includes man). This lecture would cover 'animals with feathers' - birds - an image much incorporated in every sphere of Chinese art, architecture, sculpture, embroidery, carpets, hangings, porcelain chinaware, objects of art...
   A measure of the diverse range of topics covered in the 'A Siam Society Lecture' is evident in scanning their list of past lectures - all supported by the James Thompson Foundation. On Siam, one would have benefited from lectures on 'King Chulalongkorn and Grand Europe Tours', (a common destination for royals and non-royals alike and more so for rulers seeking means to industrialise and modernise their countries) or 'Hua Hin in the 17th Century'. Hua Hin emerged in the late nineteenth century as the second home for Thai royalty and nobility. The seaside retreat became an easy destination with the introduction of the railway linking Bangkok and Hua Hin. Looking beyond national boundaries, one would have enjoyed learning about 'Contemporary Bhutan and the Monarchy', 'Textile Art of Bhutan' or 'Health Care in China.' On a more esoteric level, one could lose oneself in 'Buddhism of Tibet' and 'Common and Uncommon Sense in Buddhism.'
   If lecture-based knowledge is one channel of information gathered - and one form of armchair travelling, Siam Society is privileged to offer the destination itself - in the form of study tours to different countries. Who would not want to avail of 'Xi'an and Chengdu: China's Ancient Glory'? Offered in May 2008, the week-long trip is led by Jim Stent, Advisor to Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center. A former member of the Siam Society, Stent works on issues relating to cultural heritage protection. Moving further away, one could join the study trip to 'Turkey's Classical Sites.' Here the tour leader was Khun B. Sampatisiri, no one less than the Vice-President of the Siam Society. Trips of Israel, Madagascar, Jordan and the enticing Silk Road are planned in the near future.
   Any next trip to Bangkok will include a visit to the Kamthieng House situated within the Siam Society complex. This is an ethnological museum consisting of traditional Thai teakwood houses that date from the mid-nineteenth century. We are told that here is an opportunity to see probably the finest surviving examples of traditional northern Thai architecture - what is promised as an oasis of serenity and tranquillity in the centre of the capital.
   It is the lookout for such hidden treasures that enhances one's exposure to another culture and another people. Even a glimpse of this rich heritage gives one a foundation, a base from which to see beyond the ubiquitous and branded trappings of any urban modern metropolitan and its ensuing mayhem - of which the sprawling city of Bangkok is as good an example as any. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: "The difference between landscape and landscape is small, but there is a great difference between the beholders."

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