The photo was taken in Std VIII (A) in SPHS (St. Paul’s High School).
Many have now retired.
The photo was annotated mainly by Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint with minor revisions by me.
The teachers include Brother Peter, Brother Gerald, U Nyunt Maung and Mr. George Chapman.
Front Row: Robert Ba Maung (Chief Engineer, Mercantile Marine, now living in Liverpool), Commander Myint Ngwe (Burma Navy DSA 6th. batch), Robert Gale@Khin Maung Oo (BE (EC), Biomedical engineer BPI, now in Charlotte, North Carolina), Dr. Khin Zaw (PhD (Moscow), Retired Rector, Institute of Education, third cousin of TOKM), Wilbert Hoe@Dr. Thein Myint (Senior Ophthalmologist London)
Second Row: Dr. Harry Kyaw Tun (DDS – Dental Surgeon studied in East Germany but now in united Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall), Dr. Ho Shak Lim (FRCP, Senior Physician Hong Kong), Dr. Kyaw San Win (Retired Medical Superintendent, Yangon Orthopedic Hospital), Dexter@Thaung Lwin (BE (EC), Senior IT Engineer IBM Rangoon & Singapore, Retired, Past Captain and Gold of RUBC), Dr. Myo Aung Khin (Retired Manager, Immunization Programme, Dept. of Health)
Third Row: Prof. Saw Naing (Professor of Medicine, IM1), Tin Maung Aye (Deputy Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, younger brother of Dr. Aye Maung Than, DSMA), Col. Hla Myint@Michael (OTS 31st.batch, Retired Colonel (Infantry) & Chief of Security (Police, Secretariat)), Home Ministry), Dr. Myint Tun@Henry Cho Tun (PhD Birmingham, in Chemistry residing in LA, winner of Matthew Hunter Medal RASU), Prof. Min Lwin (Professor in Orthopedics), Dr. Herbert Liou (Hong Kong)
Fourth Row: Prof. Than Toe (Rehabilitation & Physical Medicine. RGH), Lt. Cmdr. Aung Shwe (Burma Navy)
Last Row: Myo Myint (BE (EC), RUBC Gold, Mathematical Genius, Retired from PPIC, elder brother of Dr. Ba Han Texas), Than Htut (BE (Mech), RUBC Gold, Heavy Industries & Defense Industries), Mor Eng Way@Aye Ngwe (Retire d. Senior Radiologist, Former Commander. US Navy, Walter Reed Hospital), Nyunt Tin@ George Chiong (Retired Prof of Paed. Anesthesiology, Chicago – he is the second of four brilliant Chiong brothers, the eldest Chiong Boo Chiong @ Dr. Hla Shwe, Ph.D in Nuclear Physics, College Dean)
Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint (SPHS60, IM1 67) had a replica of U Ba Kyi’s painting of Kisagotami in his office in the Children’s Hospital. It helped him in consoling parents who lost their child.
Our Families
Our families were close Dhamma friends and supporters of Dat Poung Zon Aung Min Gaung Pagoda and Mon Sayadaw U Thilawuntha.
He took care of my sons when they were young.
His Writings
He contributed posts about the Seven Siblings
U Tin Tut
U Kyaw Myint
U Myint Thein
Dr. Htin Aung
Daw Khin Mya Mu
Daw Khin Saw Mu
Daw Tin Saw Mu
He chronicled the Medical pioneers and/or his mentors.
His Book
He acknowledged the success of his colleagues and former students.
He air-mailed me a book (compiled and published by his colleagues and former students) from Australia. The postage cost a lot more than the price of the book.
Sad Loss of Manuscripts
Before U E Maung [Professor of Burmese, University of Rangoon] died, he asked me to bring out exercise books with writings by [my paternal aunt] Daw Khin Mya Mu. In the books were transcript of many “Kyauk sar” and translation into Burmese of hundreds of stone scriptures from all over Burma. When I asked him why they were not published, he told me that no printing press [in those days] have fonts for the ancient writings. [Thus] they were all unpublished.
The sad thing was when Dr. Htin Aung [Rector, University of Rangoon, Ba Dway] left Burma, he had also left not only his books but drafts of books he wanted to finish and publish, mainly in history.
U E Maung donated his house and belongings to Tipitaka Sayadaw. When he passed away Dr. Tha Hla was given the task of selling the property and have as cash donation for Sayadaw. We were not informed but later on when I asked, I was told that except for some books, the handwritten documents were not saved anywhere. Felt very sad about losing the handwritten books.
Only some books were chosen to be donated to the Burmese Department of Rangoon University.
His Classmates from Std. VII(A) in SPHS
The photo was taken in Std VIII (A) in SPHS (St. Paul’s High School).
Many have now retired.
The photo was annotated mainly by Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint with minor revisions by me.
The teachers include Brother Peter, Brother Gerald, U Nyunt Maung and Mr. George Chapman.
Front Row: Robert Ba Maung (Chief Engineer, Mercantile Marine, now living in Liverpool), Commander Myint Ngwe (Burma Navy DSA 6th. batch), Robert Gale@Khin Maung Oo (BE (EC), Biomedical engineer BPI, now in Charlotte, North Carolina), Dr. Khin Zaw (PhD (Moscow), Retired Rector, Institute of Education, third cousin of TOKM), Wilbert Hoe@Dr. Thein Myint (Senior Ophthalmologist London)
Second Row: Dr. Harry Kyaw Tun (DDS – Dental Surgeon studied in East Germany but now in united Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall), Dr. Ho Shak Lim (FRCP, Senior Physician Hong Kong), Dr. Kyaw San Win (Retired Medical Superintendent, Yangon Orthopedic Hospital), Dexter@Thaung Lwin (BE (EC), Senior IT Engineer IBM Rangoon & Singapore, Retired, Past Captain and Gold of RUBC), Dr. Myo Aung Khin (Retired Manager, Immunization Programme, Dept. of Health)
Third Row: Prof. Saw Naing (Professor of Medicine, IM1), Tin Maung Aye (Deputy Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, younger brother of Dr. Aye Maung Than, DSMA), Col. Hla Myint@Michael (OTS 31st.batch, Retired Colonel (Infantry) & Chief of Security (Police, Secretariat)), Home Ministry), Dr. Myint Tun@Henry Cho Tun (PhD Birmingham, in Chemistry residing in LA, winner of Matthew Hunter Medal RASU), Prof. Min Lwin (Professor in Orthopedics), Dr. Herbert Liou (Hong Kong)
Fourth Row: Prof. Than Toe (Rehabilitation & Physical Medicine. RGH), Lt. Cmdr. Aung Shwe (Burma Navy)
Last Row: Myo Myint (BE (EC), RUBC Gold, Mathematical Genius, Retired from PPIC, elder brother of Dr. Ba Han Texas), Than Htut (BE (Mech), RUBC Gold, Heavy Industries & Defense Industries), Mor Eng Way@Aye Ngwe (Retire d. Senior Radiologist, Former Commander. US Navy, Walter Reed Hospital), Nyunt Tin@ George Chiong (Retired Prof of Paed. Anesthesiology, Chicago – he is the second of four brilliant Chiong brothers, the eldest Chiong Boo Chiong @ Dr. Hla Shwe, Ph.D in Nuclear Physics, College Dean)
Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint matriculated from SPHS in 1960. Stood Sixth in Burma. Won Collegiate Scholarship.
MBBS from Institute of Medicine (1) in 1967.
MRCP from the UK
Founded the Alumni of Myanmar Institutes of Medicine.
Historian for Medical Education & Practice in Burma/Myanmar.
Connections
He treats me like a family member. Our parents were Dhamma friends and sponsors of Dat Paung Zon Aung Min Gaung Pagoda and Sayadaw U Thilawuntha (Mon Sayadaw).
He was the teacher of my spouse. He took care of my then young sons.
He and his team from Rangoon Children Hospital would visit UCC to help conduct some survey (e.g. Perinatal Survey), perform computations to interpret the results.
His name was one of the candidates for determining the length of the name field used for the Burma Population Census in the 70s.
In 2006, I visited Sydney, Australia to attend three Reunions (a) RIT (b) UCC (c) SPHS. He came from Brisbane to attend the SPHS Reunion at Olympic Park. The host was Dr. Than Naing (Bonny Kywe, SPHS66, Geology).
There are several Postsabout his extended family : his father, uncles, aunts, cousins, colleagues and students.
Book Present
He mailed me from Australia a copy of the book “Tribute to Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint : The Journey of a Peripatetic Paediatrician“.
The book was published by a group of his former students (including my cousin nephew Dr. Khin Tun (Peter Tin U, UK, GBNF) and/or colleagues as a present for his 70th birthday.
There are almost a hundred articles covering 600 pages.
5 articles on “Lest we forget”
6 articles on “Tributes”
33 articles on “Family and friends”
52 articles on “Words of tribute by friends, colleagues, and former students.
In 2006, he came from Canberra to the Olympic Park in Sydney to attend the Old Paulian’s Lunch Gathering hosted by Dr. Thann Naing (Bonny Kywe, SPHS66).
Member of the Civil Engg Volleyball team Ma Tin Aye, Myint Myint Than, Mya Sandar Bo …
Civil Volleyball Team
She rowed as Bow for RIT Crew which won the Inter-Institute Coxed Fours. Kyi Kyi Win (Stroke, GBNF), Myint Myint Than, … Ma Tin Aye (Bow), Ko Myint Than (Cox)
RIT Coxed Fours
She participated in the Tazaung Daing Mee Htun Pwe (Lighting the Candles)
She was a member of the Set Hmu Thadin Zin established by U Win Thein (M67, GBNF).
She was also an Organizer for Yangon SPZPs in 2012 and 2016.
C73 Group offered Soon in memory of the GBNF (including U Kyaw Lin, who passed away in Southern California)
During our school days we had to learn World History (Feudal system, Renaissance, …) and Burmese History (called “Yazawin”and renamed as “Thamaing”).
Later, after hearing from the Thin sayas, Myin sayas, and Kyar sayas, I became interested in some aspects of history :
History of computers and computing
History of Myanmar Engineering Education
“Truth or fiction?” about historical events
…
The British annexed Burma in three phases :
Rakhine (Arakan) and Tennasserim (Taninthayee) after the first Anglo-Burmese war
Lower Burma after the second Anglo-Burmese war
Upper Burma after the third Anglo-Burmese war
For some time, the British Governors would base their office in India and rule both India and Burma.
ICS (Indian Civil Service) examinations were held in India and UK. BCS (Burma Civil Service) succeeded ICS.
Formal history of Burma has been written by British scholars (e.g. Harvey, Luce) and later by native scholars (e.g. Dr. Kyaw Thet, Bohmu Ba Shin, Dr. Than Tun).
Informal accounts of Burma can be found in the works by Indians (e.g. Tagore), British (e.g. Maurice Collis, George Orwell) and Burmese (e.g. Dr. Htin Aung, U Po Kyar).
The conventional wisdom is that our neighbors entered the country in three phases.
Burmese archeologists and geologists found ancient sites and quite old fossils and bones to indicate that there were early inhabitants, but they could not completely counter the “migration theory” proposed by the British historians.
Pyu is an ancient civilization, and some Pyu sites are named as UNESCO Cultural Heritage Sites.
Some sayings
History repeats itself.
We should learn history so that we may not be stupid or dumb.
There is usually no single correct history. Often there are parallel, competing histories.
“Pazat Yazawin” and “theories” should be evaluated with the help of kyauk sar (stone inscriptions) …
Even in the peer-to-peer refereed papers, there are discrepancies and [unintentional] errors.
National Archive, Burmese History Commission, and Burma Research Society used to hold artifacts about Burmese History.
In High School Physics, we learned about Potential Energy and Kinetic Energy. We studied some old laws such as the “Law of Conservation of Energy”.
Energy comes in different forms (e.g. Mechanical, Thermal, Electric, Chemical, Nuclear).
Alternative energy sources (e.g. Solar, Wind) were marketed with Tax Incentives.
E = M C^2 (squared) is a overly simple explanation of the generation of nuclear energy.
The A-bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to debates on the appropriate use of nuclear energy.
Doomsayers feel that Apocalypse due to Nuclear War is highly likely.
Most countries initially do not care about environmental changes caused by the production and use of energy.
Some later care too much about the environment. The restrictions and bans (e.g. on the use of fossil fuels due to potential pollution) had economic bearing on some nations.
Trends include Renewable Energy, and Sustainable Energy.
Saya U Aung Hla Tun is the Lead Author for HMEE-2012 and HMEE-2018 projects.
Saya U Ba Than arranged with Saya U Thaw Kaung to provide access to the archives of RU Central Library by Saya U Soe Paing and team.
Saya U Tin U was interviewed by Saya U Soe Paing.
Saya U Khin Aung Kyi was interviewed by U Ohn Khine. Several volunteers assisted with other interviews.
U Ohn Khine and I compiled the CD Supplement for the HMEE book.
Details can be found in related posts.
Mr. Robert Hole was the English Editor for RUESU (Rangoon University Engineering Students Union) Annual Magazine. Daughter : Sayama Daw Gilmore Hole (UCC) Nephew : U Percy Maung Maung (classmate of Saya U Soe Paing at SPHS and Stanford University).
Saya asked Mr. Robert to write for the “History of University Engineering Education in Burma/Myanmar”. Mr. Robert asked three weeks. Said to say, Mr. Robert did not complete his assignment.
During my visit to Yangon, Gilmore invited UCC alumni to a mini-gathering at her house. We learned from Gilmore that her father had “memory retention problem”.
That is one reason I am sharing my memories before my memory declines.
History
History is appreciated in some countries.
In the USA, there are many museums (with Docents) and historical societies (with Historians).
I volunteered as a Docent at the Computer History Museum (CHM) for several years.
CHM has an “Oral History” Project to record interviews of pioneers, researchers, and notable people.
CHM also had live presentations: individuals and/or panels (with a moderator).
According to the Historian from Smithsonian, “There is generally no single, correct history. Often, there are competing parallel histories.”
We understand that there are pressing issues (e.g. rebuilding the alma mater and our beloved motherland to their former glory), but we also need to have historical facts compiled (in writing or in interviews) and preserved.
HlaMin 