HlaMin

Author: Hla Min (Lifelong Learner)

  • The Making of HMEE

    Early supporters of the Project

    • Sayagyi U Ba Than (GBNF)
    • Saya U Thaw Kaung
    • Saya U Soe Paing (my mentor at RIT and UCC).

    U Ba Than

    Saya U Soe Paing’s post on March 5, 2011

    I went to the University Central Library (UCL) on Tuesday and managed to get scanned photos from the Eng Student Annual Magazines for the academic years 51-52, 52-53, 56-57 and 60-61. Photos include photos of Sayas and students of that year. From these when can know about the Sayas at that year. We can also identify the students at that year.

    Saya U Sein Hlaing (Professor of Electrical Engineering) was a final year student in 1951-52 and became an A/L (Assistant Lecturer) starting 1952-53.

    Saya U Tin Swe (Lecturer, EE Department) was a student in 1951-52 and 52-53. He was a member of the Eng Student Union and the victorious Prome Hall football team.

    Ex-Burma Selected Footballer U Chan Tha (Chief Engineer, Roads, Rangoon Municipal) was the Captain of the football team.

    U Khin Si, husband of RIT Finance Officer Daw Yin Yin Htway and part time lecturer Textile, and his brother U Tin Si were also members of that victorious team. The brothers were also outstanding tennis players and excelled at the Doubles event. Their partnership won RU as well as national championships.

    The 1956-57 magazine contains photos when the new Leik Khone Engineering Buildings were inaugurated in 1956 Nov by HE U Ba Swe, Prime Minister at that time.

    In the 1952-53 magazine I found out that Mr. Robert Hole (ex-EE, Highways, PWD,PWC,CC; uncle of Percy Maung Maung and uncle Bobby to me) was the English editor. I called Uncle Bobby and requested him to write something about his engineering student days, his teachers and fellow students. He agreed and asked for about three weeks time.

    I need to go back and to the UCL to get more info from the RIT handbook 1966-67 and photos from the Hlyat Sit Sar Saung.

    Saya U Ba Than (Professor of Mechanical Engineering) has donated some of his Engineering College photos to the MES library and I need to go there to check up on the photos.

    Best wishes
    SP (Saya U Soe Paing)

    U Soe Paing

    HMEE Project

    HMEE-2012 Team

    Notes

    HMEE Book
    CD Supplement
    • An academic usually spans two years. To save space and time, I had loosely used the end year instead of the start year and end year. Using that notation, Saya U Sein Hlaing is from the Class of 52; Saya U Tin Swe and U Chan Tha are from the Class of 53; U Aw Taik Maw is from the Class of 54.
    • In the early days, there were no Instructors (but only Assistant Lecturers) for the Faculty of Engineering. They are Gazetted officers.
    • Some of our sayas (Saya Dr. Aung Gyi, Saya U Min Wun, Saya U Maung Maung Than, Saya U Khin Aung Kyi, Saya U Aung Khin, Saya U Thit, Saya U Thein Lwin, Saya U Soe Paing) applied for “States Scholar” before graduation.
    • Some (Saya Allen Htay, Saya Dr San Hla Aung, Saya U Htin Paw, Saya Dr. Ba Lwin, Saya U San Tun, Saya U Tin Hlaing) joined the faculty and were selected to do post-graduate studies.
    • Grapevine says that the Halls would aggressively seek outstanding athletes (footballers,…)
    • U Chan Tha is also Past Captain and Gold of RUBC Gold. He attended RUBC Regattas (including the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of RUBC). I was a contributing editor for the commemorative issue.
    • Ko Percy Maung Maung and his younger brother Ko Hugh Maung Maung are old crocs. Ko Percy is a class mate of Saya U Soe Paing at SPHS (St. Paul’s High School) and Stanford University.
    • Ma Gilmore Hole, daughter of Mr. Robert Hole, was a sayama at UCC, DCS and ICST. Due to declining health (and some loss of memory), Mr. Robert Hole could not fulfill his promise to write about RUESU and the olden days.
    • Saya Dr. Yan Naing Lwin (Emeritus Professor of Physics at Western Illinois University) e-mailed me a copy of the “Burmese state scholars in ’54”. The list was published in one of my early updates. The list includes Saya U Sein Hlaing, Saya U Tin Swe, …
    • Ko Benny Tan (M 70) used to have two copies of the “RIT Handbook”. One was loaned indefinitely by an alumni. I published the list of permanent and part-time sayas and sayamas from that handbook in one of early “RIT Alumni International Newsletter” updates.
    • Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War, EE) may have old copies of “Hlyat Sit Sar Saung”, RIT Annual Magazines, commemorative Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saungs for SPZP-2002, SPZP-2007 and SPZP-2010, commemorative Swel Daw Yeik Magazines for Shwe YaDu and SPZP-2016. Saya served as Chief Editor and/or Publisher for the above mentioned publications.
    • Saya Charlie Kaw (Tex, GBNF) is believed to have brought along with him the projects of his final year students when he migrated to the USA.
    • “History of University Engineering Education in Burma/Myanmar” was published in time for SPZP-2012. Due to resource constraints, there were inadvertent errors and missing names/captions for the photos. Ko Ohn Khine (M70) translated Section 1 and summarized Section 2 in English. The translations were provided in the companion CD compiled by Ko Ohn Khine and yours truly.
    • Saya U Aung Hla Tun (Met, National Literary Award winner) headed the team (see attached photo). Saya feels that the younger generation could/should “correct” the book and enhance it.

  • SPHS Std. VIII (A)

    Academic year : 1960 – 1961

    Std. VIII (A)

    Seated : William Win Kywe, Alan Saw Maung (Khin Maung Bo), Brother Anthony, Saya U Sein, Brother Felix, Saya U Nyunt Maung, Saya Beatson, Brother Xavier, Thein Wai, Min Oo

    Standing (1st row) : Stanley Shwe Gyi (Thein Lwin), Hla Min, Han Tun, Tommy Chit Maung (Naing Win), Tommy Aung (Tun Tun Aung), Herbert KCL, ???, Brownie Way (Aung Thu Yein), Tommy Aung, Bernard Taylor, Gallant Leong (Han Thein)

    Standing (2nd row) : Michael Lim, Sean Young, Edward Chow, ???, Freddie Ba San (Myo San), Victor Chaw (Aung Chaw), Maung Maung Kyi, Henry Wong (Than Win), Nay Lin, Eddie Nyunt, Robert Kyi (San Maung), Than Win

    Standing (3rd row) : Arthur Kyi (Aung Kyi), George Khin Maung (Khin Maung U), Victor Nyunt (Nyunt Wai), Sebastian Law Kee, Win Maung, Than Htay, Edwin David, Orlando Thein, Jerry Hin Hwa (Htin Paw), Edwin Ngwe (Aye Ngwe), Peter Pe (Aung Kyaw)

    Standing (4th row) : Bo Ni, Kyaw Win, Robert Myint Win, Caesar Yang (Yin Sein), Aung Khin, Aung Kyee Myint, Chu Pu Thein, Anthony Lourdes, Willie Soe Maung, Tin Tun, Richard Pe, ???

    Notes

    • Some became doctors :
      Khin Maung U (1st in Burma),
      Myo San (3rd, GBNF),
      Nyunt Wai (4th),
      Thein Wai (5th),
      Win Kywe,
      Orlando Thein
    • Some became engineers and/or computer scientists :
      Hla Min (7th),
      Maung Maung Kyi (11th),
      Aung Thu Yein (13tn, GBNF),
      Aung Chaw
      Khin Maung Bo,
      Kyaw Win,
      Than Win,
      Tin Tun (GBNF)
    • Some became priests or monks :
      Bernard Taylor : served as Missionary in Philippines
      Edwin David (GBNF) : served as Priest of St. Mary’s Cathedral Church
      Aung Chaw (Ashin Ukkamsa) : spent vassa in Sagaing Hills and Thone Gwa
    • Some were members of the SPHS Marching Band :
      Bernard Taylor,
      Bo Ni ,
      Jerry Hin Hwa,
      Orlando Thein
    • Some were Soccer Selected :
      Eddie Nyunt,
      Jerry Hin Hwa
    • Some left before Matriculation :
      Edward Chow,
      Robert Kyi
    • A few have same names :
      Than Win,
      Tommy Aung
    • Khin Maung U (1st in Burma) retired from FDA in USA.
      He shares medical knowledge in his Reports (over 1000).
    • Min Oo (2nd) retired as Professor of Mathematics, McMasters’ University, Canada.
      He received his doctorate from Germany.
    • Myo San (3rd, GBNF) took early retirement as a Surgeon.
    • Nyunt Wai (4th) was Professor of Physiology at IM(1) and IM(2).
      He later taught at a Malaysian University.
    • Thein Wai (5th) moved to USA after graduating from IM(2).
      Aung Khin, his older brother, had kidney transplants, but passed away.
    • Hla Min (7th) is a Life Long Learner.
    • Maung Maung Kyi (11th, GBNF) studied Chemical Engineering (with specialization in Pulp and Paper) at Dresden University.
      He worked for Sittang Paper Mill and PPIC before moving to Wales, UK.
    • Aung Thu Yein (13th, GBNF) is an Electrical Engineering (specializing in Communications and Electronics).
      He worked for MOC and Schlumberger.

  • RU 3

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    Photos

    • It is important to preserve and share old photos.
    • Before the advent of digital cameras and smart phones, it was not simple and cheap to take photos (let alone process them).
    • In my younger days, I had a Box Camera, and later Yashica Mat. Unlike my uncle and a cousin brother who are experts in developing films (in a dark room), I had to pay 25 to 50 pyas per print at a Studio (e.g. Ahuja). Later, there emerged professional photographers (e.g. Maung Maung Nhyat and his brothers) and freelance photographers (e.g. Dat Pone San Aung, Dhatu Kyaw Lynn, Maung Maung Soe).
    • Only those who won contracts had permission to take official photos at the Convocations. It was not compulsory to take and pay for the photos. Some, who did not order the photos, found their photos being displayed as examples of “Do not walk like this” and similar fun messages.
    • In the posts, there are individual photos and group photos (e.g. fresher welcome, farewell, graduation, newspaper clippings). Some have captions and dates. It is sad to note that some photos remind of people that are GBNF (Gone But Not Forgotten).
    • In the early days, Color photos had to be sent abroad for processing. Our wedding photos were taken with the color film given to me by my elder brother. They were then sent to a friend who was studying abroad. The color photos faded over time.
    • With the advances in technology, even small children can take reasonably good photos. The photos can be edited (e.g. crop, color-adjusted).
    • Some unscrupulous people have “doctored” photos and presented them as “evidence” of news. One unethical researcher “duplicated” data to “get favorable results”.

    Dr. Thwe Oo (UK)

    • Shared her memories of growing up (until she matriculated) in the Main Campus.
    • Described the harrowing experience of the “U Thant Ah Yay Ah Khin” (especially the fear for her father’s safety).
    • Her father Saya U Khin Maung Nyunt (History, Assistant Registrar under Rector Saya Dr. Maung Maung Kha and Registrar Sayama Daw Sein Sein) was Warden of Sagaing Hall at the time. Per Sayagyi’s request, he and his Hall Tutors tried to persuade the throng of student protesters — some holding sharp objects — marching on to the Convocation Hall, but to no avail. They had to go along with the crowd and try to minimize the crowd inflicting damage on the Campus property.
    • She fondly remembers her father play tennis with his close friend Joe Ba Maung (Burma Tennis Champion in Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles).
    • She also had good rapport with the Swimming Instructors and friends at the University Swimming Pool.
    • Her mother is Sayama Daw Mya Mya Nu (Zoology, fondly known as Mya Lay of the “Lay Sisters”).
      Her aunts are Tin Lay, May Lay and Than Lay.

    Dr. Nyan Taw (SPHS63)

    • Matriculated in 1963 from St. Paul’s High School.
    • RUBC Gold
    • Joined the Zoology Department
    • Did his graduate studies in Marine Biology in Tasmania, Australia.
    • Worked for PPFC (People’s Pearl and Fisheries Corporation)
    • Worked overseas on UN and Government projects.
    • He is happy to see posts about the simple but heroic act in 1941 (before he was born). His mother Daw Marie Hla Taw helped Bogyoke Aung San escape the net of the Police Commissioner who had placed Five Rupee / Kyat reward on Bogyoke. An actress has been selected to portray his mother in the movie about Bogyoke.

    Htein Win

    • Took photos of the Ah Yay Ah Khin (mostly from a saya’s house in the Main Campus).
    • Gave the photos to some friends and to an organization overseas (for storage).
    • With the Pwint Linn era, he was able to get back the archived photos from overseas.
    • Managed to get articles from some of the participants in the Ah Yay Ah Khin.
    • Ko Khin Maung Zaw bought a book from Myanmar and then mailed it to me.
    • In November 2019. I was invited to attend the 5th Irrawaddy Literary Festival in Mandalay. I met Ko Htein Win who had a book stall at the Festival. He gave me an autographed copy of the book about 8-8-88.

  • Computer Studies in Burma

    Evolution

    • Universities’ Computer Center (UCC)
    • Department of Computer Science (DCS)
    • Institute of Computer Science and Technology (ICST)
    • University of Computer Studies in Yangon (UCSY)

    ICST (Institute of Computer Science and Technology) was founded in 1988. It was later renamed as UCSY (University of Computer Studies in Yangon). The 30th Anniversary was celebrated in Yangon on March 20, 2018.

    Saya U Soe Paing was my mentor at RIT and UCC. Saya U Soe Paing, Saya U Myo Min and Saya U Ko Ko Lay (GBNF) helped Saya Dr. Chit Swe (GBNF) found UCC (Universities’ Computer Center). The details can be found in Saya Paing’s article “Computer Ah Sa UCC Ga).

    We used to call our four Sayagyis as Saya Chit, Saya Paing, Saya Myo and Saya Lay.

    UCC Project was conceived in the mid-60s when Saya Chit headed the Mathematics Department at the Institute of Economics. The initial scope was to get a grant for a digital computer for IE, but the scope was expanded to cover selected Universities and Institutes.

    The UCC Department was launched in 1970 with Saya Chit as Founder/Director and the three sayas as Managers of Computer Systems, Computer Operations and Computer Applications departments.

    I posted 40+ blogs on “Memories of UCC” during a trip to Myanmar and also wrote a “summary” for use by UCSY.

    Computer courses (academic, training, orientation …) were given at UCC under the leadership of Saya Chit (who served a dual role as UCC Director and Mathematics Professor) and the help of visiting Professors (mostly Computer Scientists) from US, UK, Europe …

    Saya Chit was succeeded by Saya Dr. Tin Maung (GBNF), who continued and elaborated on Saya Chit’s Vision and Mission.

    Saya Chit later retired as Rector of RASU, taught for some time in Bangkok, and migrated to Australia. Saya Chit continued to supervise Burmese/Myanmar doing graduate studies in Oz.

    In 2006, we paid respect to Saya Chit and Saya Dr. Freddie Ba Hli (former DG of UBARI, former Natjonal Advisor, UCC Board Member, GBNF) at Saya Zaw’s house with Mohinga and delicacies prepared by Ma Kyawt. Saya gave me his hat. Hope that hat can transfer Saya’s brain and work ethics to yours truly.

    Saya Chit was a room mate of Saya U Ba Than during their study days in UK.

    DCS (Department of Computer Science) was established with Saya Lay as Professor, U TAG (EC69) as AP, and yours truly as Lecturer.

    ICST was founded in 1988 with Saya DTM as Rector, Saya Lay as Professor, U TAG and yours truly as AP, and several others as Lecturers.

    Time flies.

  • Student Casualties

    ကြွေလွင့် သွားသော ကျောင်းသား (တချို့)

    ကိုအောင်ကျော် / ဗိုလ်အောင်ကျော်
    Ko Aung Kyaw / Bo Aung Kyaw

    • December 20, 1938
    • Third RU Students’ Strike
    • Baton နဲ့ ရိုက်ခံ ရ။ Hit by a police baton
    • ဂုဏ်ပြု။ Honored as Bo Aung Kyaw
    • ဗိုလ်အောင်ကျော်လမ်း။ Street named after him
    • ဗိုလ်အောင်ကျော် ကျောက်တိုင်။ Statue

    ကိုအောင်ခင်
    Ko Aung Khin

    • July 7, 1962
    • RUBC ရန်ကုန်တက္ကသိုလ်လှေအသင်း က အပြန် Stray Bullet မှန်။ Hit by a stray bullet on his way back from Rangoon University Boat Club
    • သတင်းစာ မှာ 17th Casualty လို့ ဖေါ်ပြ။ He was listed as the 17th Casualty for 7th July

    ကိုဖုန်းမော်
    Ko Phone Maw

    • March 13, 1988
    • ပဥ္စမ နှစ် အင်ဂျင်နီယာ ကျောင်းသား။ 5th Year Engineering Student
    • Stray Bullet မှန်။ Hit by a stray bullet
    • ဂုဏ်ပြု — ဖုန်းမော် နဲ့ စိုးနိုင် နေ့။ Day remembering Phone Maw & Soe Naing
    • Burma Human Rights Day

    Notes

    RU Students’ Strikes

    • 1920 ပထမ။ First Strike in 1920
    • 1936 ဒုတိယ။ Second Strike in 1936
    • 1938 တတိယ။ Third Strike in 1938

    Dark Days in July

    • July 7, 1962
      RU တဝိုက် သွေးမြေ ကျ။ Blood shed around Rangoon University
    • July 8, 1962
      သမဂ္ဂ အဆောက်အဦး ဖြိုခွဲ။ Demolition of RUSU Building
    • July 19, 1947
      အာဇာနည် နေ့။ Arzani Nay / Martytrs’ Day

    Newspapers

    သတင်းစာများ

    • Most were nationalized
      အများစု ပြည်သူပိုင်သိမ်း
    • NAB (News Agency Burma)
      selected news for publication

  • First Panglong Conference in March 1946

    ပင်လုံ အစည်း အဝေး
    Panglong Conference

    Organized by O.U.H.P (Organization / Office of the United Hill People)

    တက်ရောက်သူ များ
    Attendees

    • ဆာမောင်ကြီး
      Sir Maung Gyi
    • ဦးသိန်းမောင်
      U Thein Maung
    • ဦးအောင်ဇံဝေ
      U Aung Zan Wai
    • ဦးဖိုးဟန်
      U Po Han
    • ဦးတင်အေး
      U Tin Aye
    • ဦးထွန်းမြင့်
      U Tun Myint
    • သခင်ဝတင်
      Thakin Wa Tin
    • ဦးစိန်
      U Sein
    • ဦးထန်လျံ
      U Thang Lian
    • ဦးတိုက်ဝဲလ်
      U Taikwel
    • ဗိုလ်မှူး ရှမ်းလုံ
      Major Shan Lone
    • ဗိုလ်ကြီးမန်တုံးနုံး
      Captain Mang Tung Nung
    • ဦး Thang Lian
    • စော်ဘွား များ
      Sawbwas / Saophalongs
    • ဒူးဝါး များ
      Duwas
    • မိသားစု (တချို့)
      Family members

  • Cartoons

    Sayings

    • Laughter is the best medicine (Feature in Reader’s Digest)
    • It takes less nerves to smile than to frown.
    • A Cartoon a day keeps the blues away.
    • Cartoons have no age boundaries.

    Early Cartoonists

    • Shwe Ta Lay
    • U Ba Gyan
    • U Heng Soon
    • U Aung Shein
    • U Pe Thein
    • U Than Kywe
    • U Ba Htwe
    • U Kyaw San (“Ka Sa”)
    • …
    • They published Cartoons in Burmese and English newspapers, magazines, books, …
    • The “Cartoon Festival” was held in U Ba Gyan Street (around Tazaung Daing).
    • In the mid 1950s, there was a rift between the two factions of AFPFL. Some cartoonists took sides and a “price war” started. The cartoons, which sold for 60 pyas were then given away at bargain prices (any where between 10 and 50 pyas).
    • There were two Gates during our RIT days.
      The RIT Main Gate was named “U Lu Paw” Gate (at the suggestion of Ko Win Thein (M67, GBNF). The Side Gate used by those that came be Bus and Rail was known as “Sin Ye Thar” Gate.
    • Ko Myint Soe (C68, GBNF) and Ko Myint Thein (M69, GBNF) are fondly called Maung Kabar or Kabar.
    • About a decade ago, my spouse paid K10,000 for xeroxed copy of old cartoons published in the Rangoon Times. Some are political satire.

    Engineer Cartoonists

    • There may have been engineer/cartoonists before Saya U Khin Maung Phone Ko (C 64), Saya U Aung Myint (Pet 69, GBNF) and U Myint Pe (M 72).

    U Khin Maung Phone Ko

    • Saya U Moe Aung (EE 63) mentioned that Saya U Khin Maung Phone Ko made his name in the media (e.g. Kye Mon Daily) with his “Vietnam” cartoons.
    • His signature “Phone Ko” emphasized the “Na Gyee” (Big Na).
    • He was a Patron of the RIT Cartoon Box.
    • He moved to Singapore.
    Ko Kyant / Aung Myint

    U Aung Myint

    • Saya U Aung Myint (Pet69) is known for “Kyant Ba Hone“.
      The character looks superficially like Nick Kelly, but the contents are different.
    • He served as President of the RIT Cartoonists Association.
    • He was a Patron of the RIT Cartoon Box.
    • He was called “Delta Tun Shein” for his likeness to Saya U Tun Shein (Mathematics).
    • Two of his early cartoons were about “Kar Ku La Thin Char” (Calculus) and the now obsolete “Slide Rule“.

      “Ah Ba, Kar Ku La Thin Char is fascinating.
      If you differentiate a Lada, you get a Sargalay.
      If you integrate a Sargalay, you get a Lada.”

      “Ah Ba, Slide Rule is fascinating.”
      “Lu Galay, Show me how to add 2 and 3 with your slide rule.
      “Ah Ba, I cannot do it.”
      “Then, show me how to subtract 2 from 3 with your slide rule.”
      “Ah Ba, I cannot do it.”
      “Lu Galay, Throw away your useless slide rule.”

    U Myint Pe

    • U Myint Pe (M72) has several hobbies.
    • He is one of the “Mike Khe” and “Pho So Chin”.
      He is admin of U70 musical group.
    • He performed as Lu Shwin Daw Seik Kyee of the Swel Daw Yeik Ah Nyeint at the Rangoon University Golden Jubilee Celebrations in 1970.
    • Under the patronage of Saya U Khin Maung Phone Ko and Saya U Aung Myint, U Myint Pe implemented the RIT Cartoon Box using an old telephone kiosk for posting RIT-related cartoons (weekly).
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    U Myint Pe’s sample cartoon

    RIT Cartoon Box

    • The tradition was maintained by three (or more) generations of Cartoon Boxers.
    • Cartoon Box was “ordered close” by authorities after 1988.
    • The organizers of “Cartoon Box” spanning several years finally had a Grand Union prior to SPZP-2012. Most met face to face for the first time. They compiled selected cartoons from the RIT publications (Set Hmu Thadin Zin, Annual Magazines, Sar Saungs) for a book to commemorate SPZP-2012 and to re-display the Cartoon Box. Many manned the booth at SPZP-2012 and autographed the cartoon books.
    • The history of Cartoon Box is published in the Commemorative Issue of Swel Daw Yeik Magazine for SPZP-2012. U Myint Pe was a Contributing Editor.
    • Collection of RIT Cartoons was published in time for SPZP-2012. During my visit to Yangon in March 2012, U Saw Lin (C73, GBNF) gave me a xeroxed copy of “Selected RIT Cartoons”.
    • Pamphlet of RIT Cartoons distributed at Shwe YaDu in 2014 and SPZP-2016.

    Aw Pi Kye

    • Aw Pi Kyeh (Mann Bei) served as Secretary of the RIT Cartoonists Association. He later headed the Myanmar Cartoonists Association.
    • I met him twice during his visit to US : first at the San Francisco Bay Area Literary Talks in Fremont, Northern California and later in Los Angeles, Southern California.
    Aw Pi Kye’s Sample Cartoon

    Miscellaneous

    • Joker was also a contributor.
    Joker’s Sample Cartoon
    RIT Cartoonists
    • Saya U Thiha Latt was one of the last “Cartoon Box” organizers. He also helped with the design/type setting of “History of University Engineering Education in Burma/Myanmar”, “Swel Daw Yeik Magazine”, and “RIT Cartoon Collection”.
    Bagyee Myat Myo Myint
    • U Myo Myint (Bagyee Myat Myo Myint) is known for his Cover Designs, Pon Tus and Paintings.
      He also drew some cartoons for the RIT Magazine.
      One of them reminded me of three female friends who were known as “Half Size”, “Full Size” and “Double Size”. Sadly two : Sayama Daw Mya Mya Than (EP68) and Daw Nyunt Nyunt Zaw (T68) are GBNF.
      Another reminded of the several “Pho So Chin” and “Mike Khe” in the USA, Australia, Singapore and Myanmar.
      Yet another reminded me of some classmates who excel in extra curricular activities so much that they bade farewell to RIT before graduation.
    • There were dozens of RIT/YIT/YTU cartoonists. U Myint Pe published a partial list.
    • Maung Yit (Maung Maung Win, MoeMaKa) is one of the junior members of RIT Cartoon Box Contributors.

  • S. Arya (M62)

    Saya S Arya

    Saya S Arya

    Saya Arya passed away early morning (around 5 o’clock) on March 13, 2021 in Yangon.

    Saya Arya’s nephew (Ram Singh) told Saya Madan Chand (C70) about Saya’s demise.

    Received condolence messages from Sayagyi Dr. Aung Gyi, Saya Dr. San Hla Aung, Saya U Myat Htoo, Saya U Tin Htut, Dr. San Lin, and U Soe Khine.

    They expressed their shock and sadness.

    Sayagyi Dr. Aung Gyi felt that Saya Arya looked healthy for his age.

    Saya Arya is remembered for his kind heart, dedication to teaching and unique accent.

    He will be missed by his colleagues and former students.

    The Class of M62 include Saya Mao Toon Siong, Saya Dr. Tin Win, and U Aye.

    Saya’s Pon Tu was done by Bagyee Myat Myo Myint (U Myo Myint, M73).

    Thet Kyee Pu Zaw Pwe

  • U Khin Maung Zaw (EC76)

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    Early Days

    Ko Khin Maung Zaw (KMZ) attended St. Paul’s High School (SPHS). He graduated after SPHS was nationalized and renamed as No. (6) Botahtaung SHS State High School.

    Due to disturbances, the convocation for his class took place in March of 1977. For simplicity (and consistency) we call his class as “Class of 76”.

    He played as the last defender in the RIT Hockey Team. Many from the team played for the University and All-Institutes Team. He coached Ko Thura Thant Zin, who was goalkeeper for the team. At RUBC, Ko Thura Thant Zin (RUBC) coached KMZ.

    He helped Ko Maung Maung Hnyut and his brothers (who were major players for the Graduation Photos).

    Hockey team

    UCC

    KMZ volunteered for some time at UCC. He usually did not need to bring his lunch (only an empty lunch box and a spoon). Several friends and some “ah ma gyis” would provide lunch for KMZ.

    He would take some courses at UCC, but flatly refused to do some assignments (e.g. COBOL).

    Moving abroad

    He worked in Singapore and then migrated to US. He has been in the Seattle region since his arrival in the US.

    When my company subsidized my vacation trip (for the successful completion of the project), we visited KMZ at his old house. He showed us around (including a day trip to Vancouver, Canada). He showed me his wine cellar. Since I do not drink, I ended up with his concoction (“ginger beer (or similar) with ice cream”).

    SPZP-2000

    SPZP

    We were lucky when we were planning for SPZP-2000. He was working four 10-hour week with the Technology and Architecture Group of Nordstrom (where he had the time and luxury to play around with several computer systems).

    Too bad for KMZ, he accepted the call of Saya U Soe Paing and me to set up a web site for RIT sayas and alumni. He would spend countless nights and weekends to code the web site.

    At SPZP-2000, he promised to have Version 2.0 of the web site.

    Good for KMZ, he had a wonderful job at Microsoft and also started a wonderful family.

    Initially, bad for us, he no longer had the time for RIT Updates.

    Post retirement

    Finally, good for us, he has retired and is providing tags and comments for my postings.

    He visited the San Francisco Bay Area in March 2018 to attend the retirement soon kyway of Ko Maurce Chee (M75). There was a pre-soon kwyay gathering at a Sea Food Restaurant in San Mateo.

    Presents

    He mailed me two books that he bought in Myanmar. One is about “U Thant Ah Ye Ah Khin” compiled by Htein Win (Photo). The other is a “tran-composition” of Saya Zaw Gyi’s poems about Pagan by Ah May Thar.

    He gave us a special present on our Golden Jubilee.

  • 1964 Matriculates

    I met three 1964 Matriculates on March 16, 2018 at the gathering hosted by Dr. Zaw Lin (David Chee).

    Dr. Min Lwin (Maurice, SPHS64)

    He spends time in the UK and Myanmar. He is visiting California. He is a cousin of U Win Maung (“Lake”) and Sayama Daw Khin Swe Aye. He stood 5th in the Matriculation of 1964 and was admitted to IM(2) as Roll Number Two (based on the ILA).

    Dr. Aung Win (Lam Peng Chiong, SPHS64)

    He is a retired Medical Doctor in Northern California. He was a few marks behind Dr. Cherry Hlaing and Dr. Lyn Aung Thet in the Matriculation of 1964. His ILA was perfect score and was admitted to IM(2) as Roll Number One (based on the ILA).

    Dr. Winnie Tan (SJC64)

    Spouse of Dr. Aung Win

    She is a co-founder of the ConBro (Convent and Brother Schools), which meets in San Francisco. Dr. Daisy Saw and Mabel Sha are the other founder members.

    Dr. Ruby

    She lives in Hong Kong and is visiting her sons in Northern California. She mentioned that her cousin Dr Cherry Hlaing is in the East Coast to attend her daughter’s graduation.

    Dr. Cherry Hlaing (SJC64)

    She was admitted to IM(1) as Roll Number One (with a perfect ILA score). She was selected as Luyechun for Inlay Khaung Daing Camp in the summer of 1965.

    Her grandfather (U Hoke Sein), her father (U Saw Hlaing), her son and daughter also stood first in Burma. This is a record that is hard to be broken : four generations and five firsts.

    Dr. Lyn Aung Thet (MEHS64)

    He had four distinctions, but his score for Burmese was not sufficient to get a perfect ILA score. He was an all-round athlete and led the IM(1) team in swimming and water polo. He is a good tennis and chess player. He was selected Lu Ye Chun in a subsequent year.

    Dr. Cho Cho Tin

    She is the other Matriculate in 1964 with four distinctions. She moved to the UK.