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| Thursday, 14 October 2004 |
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'Child of Bamiyan' in search of Reclining Buddha wonder by Chandani Jayatilleke The imposing statues of the Buddha in Bamiyan in Afghanistan are etched in his memory forever. Having visited and seen the statues hundreds of times, he finds it difficult to accept the fact that they just do not exist any more.
Whenever he passes by the destroyed Buddha statues as the person in-charge of Bamiyan excavation, tears well in his eyes. And he shuts his eyes, unable to take in the pathetic scene of destruction. Prof. Zemaryalai Tarzi, a renowned archaeologist from France, says there's much to uncover in Bamiyan. He thinks it's his duty to do justice to this heritage. "I am a child of Bamiyan," he says. Prof. Tarzi has spent more than half his life, learning, researching and conducting excavations of Bamiyan heritage sites. His admiration for the Bamiyan heritage has a long history. His interest in it goes back to his childhood. Birth and education Born in Afghanistan, and educated in France with three doctorates, this renowned archaeologist says that there is a reclining Buddha statue in Bamiyan, yet to be found. For one of his doctorates, Prof Tarzi wrote a thesis on the Bamiyan archaeological heritage. It was so good that the university undertook to publish it. Prof. Tarzi is the author of some sixty papers and books.
The Daily News met Prof. Tarzi recently while he was in Colombo visiting his wife who is a senior official of the French Embassy in Sri Lanka. French speaking Prof. Tarzi works at the Oriental Archaeology Department of the University of Strasbourg. He is also the Director for the French Archaeological Missions for the Surveys and Excavations of Bamiyan. From 1973 to 1979, he worked as the Director General of Archaeology and Preservation of Historical Monuments of Afghanistan. He later directed the excavations in Bamiyan and Hadda on the sites of Tape Shotor and Tape Tope Kalan. As a result, the statue of Heracles in the niche V2 of Tape Shotor was dated by him as 2nd century A.D., a contemporary of the Schist sculptures of Gandhara. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, Prof. Tarzi together with his French wife, had to flee the country and seek refuge in France. On a mission Prof. Tarzi is currently on a mission to find the great 1,000 feet long reclining Buddha statue which is believed to be lying underground. In the absence of the famous Buddha statues which were destroyed by the Taliban, Prof. Tarzi's keenness to conduct excavations for the reclining Buddha grew even further. His dream became a reality when the French Government decided to send a team of archaeologists to start excavations in Afghanistan following the political developments in that country. In 2002, Prof. Tarzi conducted the first official and legal excavation in Afghanistan after 24 years of war. During the 2003 campaign he found the "Eastern Monastery" he was looking for. He unearthed seven Buddhist statues, confirming the existence of the monastery. The research work began in 1967 and the actual survey began in the mid and late seventies. It was interrupted for 24 years following the Soviet invasion and several civil wars. Prof. Tarzi and his team of archaeologists who have begun to dig into the archaeological site of the "Eastern Monastery" are confident that further excavations in the site will bring fruitful results. After the excavations since 2002, the team has been able to find evidence to believe that a Buddha statue is lying underground. The team then became more enthusiastic and vigourous. Following the excavations so far, the team has found the remnants of a monastery which is believed to have housed several thousand bhikkhus. Determined However, Prof. Tarzi says that this work is difficult given the complicated topography of the site and the many landmines still buried in the earth. "But I am determined and confident that we will reach our ultimate goal in the near future," he says. This year the excavations were done from July to September. And 10 clay heads representing Buddhist culture were found. Last year, there were seven clay heads. "Next, year, we will find more solutions," Prof. Tarzi says. The founder He is the founder of The Association for the Protection of Afghan Archaeology Inc. (APAA), which aims to protect the archaeology and cultural heritage of Afghanistan. "Our goal is to bring understanding and raise awareness. This ensures the promotion of the Afghan archaeological and cultural heritage. This goal is realised through teaching in schools and public venues across the world, including Afghanistan and in the Afghan and multi-cultural Bay Area community. "Also we work to promote and assist in the education of the international public about the inherent value of archaeological treasures to cultural identity, and to specifically focus on the plight of Afghan people regarding the loss of their cultural heritage, he said. Children's books Through this Association Prof. Tarzi assists in educating the younger generations as well as the older ones. He does this by publishing children's books as well as by providing training programs and education in Afghanistan to future archaeologists so they may become professionals of the trowel and skilled restorers. Provided with the necessary skills, tools and equipment they in turn may become self-reliant and efficient. "The future generation should learn about the archaeological heritage in Afghanistan and they should be told that it was the stupidity of human beings that was responsible for the destruction of this heritage," he says. Raising awareness in the Afghan and international communities about the unique and beautiful archaeological and cultural contribution, Afghanistan has made to the world and their protection, are among APAA's goals. A goal which has been Prof. Tarzi's for the past 40 years. Recently, Prof. Tarzi welcomed on the site his daughter, Nadia Tarzi, who is also the APAA vice president with the National Geographic Society team to produce a documentary on the archaeological heritage of Afghanistan. Prof. Tarzi had to accompany his daughter and explain certain archaeological terms and facts to the documentary group. "When I went near the destroyed statues, I became very emotional. I just couldn't bear that moment," he said. He ended up crying. |
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