One of the popular spots that tour guides will take visitors to at the fabulous temple of Ta Prohm at Angkor, looks very different these days. Its next to the central section of the temple and originally focused on a photogenic face of a heavenly Devata, almost consumed by tree roots next to an inaccessible doorway. Just the enigmatic smile and the demurely closed eyes were on view when I took some pictures in 2018. Just three months ago, on my latest visit, the dead tree roots had been cut away to reveal an incomplete Devata, with only her face finished by the sculptors. The remainder of her headdress, upper body, arms and jewelry were never finished and her legs are missing – suggesting the sculptors would’ve chiseled away in-situ, but for whatever reason, this particular goddess was left incomplete. It left me wondering, what could we uncover behind the strangler fig tentacles and silk-cotton tree roots at one of the temple’s most photographed doorways.
