HlaMin

Author: Hla Min (Lifelong Learner)

  • Workers College

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    *** Workers’ College လုပ်သားများကောလိပ်

    ကျောင်းအုပ်ကြီး — ဦးကျော်

    ** ဆရာ ဆရာမတချို့

    * သင်္ချာ

    ဦးခင်ဇော် (ကြီး)

    * ဓာတုဗေဒ

    ဒေါ်ခင်အေး

    ဦးအောင်မြင့် (Dr.)

    ဦးတင်ဝင်း (Alan)

    ဦးခင်ဇော် (လေး)

    ဦးနွယ်အောင်

    ဦးကျော်ထွန်း — အချိန်ပိုင်း

    ဒေါ်ကြည်ကြည်တင်

    —-

    (ယခင်)

    Adult Education သက်ကြီးတက္ကသိုလ်

    အချိန်ပိုင်း ဆရာ ဆရာမတချို့

    ဦးမြစိန် — ပါဠိ

    —-

    ** ဆက်နွယ်

    ဦးတင်အေး ရဲ့ post များ

    ဦးခင်ဇော် (ဓာတု) ရဲ့ post များ

    U Kyaw

  • Nine

    By Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    Numeral

    • Hindu-Arabic numeral : 9
    • Roman numeral : IX

    Quality

    • Nine Qualities of the Buddha
    • Nine Qualities of the Sangha

    Month

    • September
      9th month of Gregorian Calendar
    • November
      9th month of the old Roman Calendar

    Computing

    • Casting out the Nines

    Posts

    • Computation
    • Numbers
    • Number Systems

  • Mandalay

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    Old Capital မြို့တော်ဟောင်း

    • Mandalay မန္တလေး is the old Capital of Burma. It was known as Yadanar Bon Nay Pyi Daw (ရတနာပုံ နေပြည်တော်).
    • Fifth Buddhist Council ပဥ္စမသံဂါယနာ was held in Mandalay.
    • U Khanti Kyauk Sar ဦးခန္တီ ကျောက်စာ was regarded as the World’s Largest Book in the Ripley’s “Believe It or Not”
    • Upper Burma မြန်မာပြည် အထက်ပိုင်း including Mandalay was annexed by the British in 1885.

    Schools ကျောင်းများ

    • St. Peter’s High School : In the Matriculation exam of 1956, Peterites scored First (ရဲမြင့်), Second (သောင်းတင်) and Joint Third (ခင်မောင်သန်း).
    • U Razak အာဇာနည် ဦးရာဇာတ် was Principal ကျောင်းအုပ် of National School အမျိုးသားကျောင်း in Mandalay.
    • Other notable schools include Father Lafone school and Kelly school (attended by Sayadaw U Silananda ဆရာတော်ဦးသီလာနန္ဒ)
    • Mandalay College ကောလိပ် was established under Rangoon University. It later became Mandalay University တက္ကသိုလ်

    Visits

    The first visit was see a friend who was teaching at the Agricultural Department in MASU before the department moved to Yezin.

    The second visit was to give a short course at the Geology Department at the request of Saya Dr. Maung Thein (ဒေါက်တာမောင်သိန်း) mentor of Ko Soe Myint စိုးမြင့် (UCC Systems) during the summer holidays. Some sayas were disturbed. We overheard, “Why is Sayagyi inviting the two UCC guys here?”

    During our UCC days, I accompanied Sayagyi Dr. Chit Swe ဒေါက်တာချစ်ဆွေ and Ko Myint Oo ကိုမြင့်ဦး (who later worked at Phaung Gyi) to Sagaing Hills စစ်ကိုင်းတောင်ရိုး to be temporary monks ရဟန်း for a week. After we de-robed, Ko Myint Oo and I went to Mandalay, where we met two friends of Ko Myint Oo. They had recently joined “Tourist Burma” and were assigned that day to guide a university student from US doing his project on some aspects of Burma. The student had prepared a list of items that he would like to see in Mandalay. I became an ad-hoc tourist guide for a day.

    In 2016, we stayed at a hotel in the area (which used to be Chan Mya Thazi airport ချမ်းမြသာစည်လေဆိပ်). Things have changed a lot.

    In November 2019, I was invited to be a Panelist at the 5th Irrawaddy Literary Festival ဧရာဝတီ စာပေ ပွဲတော် held in Mandalay.

    In January 2020, I was invited to join the 2020 PSA Tour (of six cities in Upper Burma).

    Book စာအုပ်

    Ludu Daw Ah Mar
    • Saya U Tin Maung Nyunt ဆရာဦးတက်မေုင်ညွန့် (M60) gave me a book by Ludu Daw Ah Mar (လူထုဒေါ်အမာ). She wrote about Mandalay Thu and Mandalay Thar Myar (မန္တလေးသူ နဲ့ မန္တလေးသား များ). She wrote about notable residents of Mandalay.
    • Kyar Ba Nyein (ကျားဘငြိမ်း where Kyar not only means “tiger” but also “checkers”) was National Boxing Champion and competed in the Olympics. He trained boxers. He also promoted Myanmar Let Hwei (မြန်မာ လက်ဝှေ့).
    • Naga Daw Oo နဂါးဒေါ်ဦး is the elder sister of Ludu Daw Ah amar
    • There were philanthropists (e.g Daw Oo Zunဒေါ်ဦးဇဇွန်း) from Mandalay.
    • Myanmar Pithuka Saya Saing မြန်မာ ပိသုကာ ဆရာဆိုင် is the father of Sayadaw U Silananda (GBNF) and grandfather of architects U Than Tun (GBNF) & U San Maung.
    Mandalay-page-001
    Book by Ludu Daw Ah Mar

    Mandalay Hall မန္တလေးဆောင်

    • During the early days of UCC (ကွန်ပျူတာဌာန), we were housed on the Third Floor of Mandalay Hall in RASU.
    • Some (from outside Rangoon) spent nights at the Mandalay Hall.
    • A few supposedly heard “footsteps of the dead”.

    Mandalay Gazette မန္တလေးဂေဇက်

    • Myanmar publication in Southern California, USA
    • U Maung Maung Kyi ဦးမောင်မောင်ကြည် has three passions
      Swimming
      Medicine
      Journalism
    • I was interviewed by Myanmar Gazette.
    Mandalay Gazette

    Mandalay (known by outsiders)

    • “On the road to Mandalay” by Rudyard Kipling
    • Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

  • Some Historical Events

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    RU Centennial

    • Pre-Celebrations kicked off on December 1, 2019. The celebrations continued to the end of 2020.
    • Former Executive Committee members of the 1958 – 1962 Tekkatho Kalaung Ah Thinn published
      (a) Collection of Kabyars mainly from the old University magazines
      (b) Magazine with hitherto unpublished articles, essays, short stories, kabyars, etc.
    • Several books have been published to commemorate the RU Centennial.
    • A book and magazine by Tekkatho Kalaung Ah Thinn
    • SMART Sarpay reprinted the book by Maung Aung Mon (Win Aung).
    • Sayagyi U Pe Maung Tin was the first native Principal of Rangoon College and the founder of the Burmese Department. Sayagyi will be honored by the Myanmar Sar Mi Thar Su in December 2109 with a bust.
    • The bust of Sayagyi U Pe Maung Tin was unveiled. Daw Tin Tin Myaing (Brenda, daughter of Sayagyi) attended the ceremony.
    • Sayagyi U Ba Toke (GBNF) who is a Phwa Bet Taw of the University of Rangoon was interviewed by a TV program. Sayagyi passed away on December 2, 2020 (the day after RU Centennial). It was several days short of Sayagyi’s centennial birthday on December 26.
    • Kyemon published an article about the Land marks of the University of Rangoon.
    • Myanmar Ah Lin published a series of articles for RU Centennial.
    • The RU Golden Jubilee in 1970 and the RU Diamond Jubilee in 1995 were celebrated for 2 – 3 weeks.

    Albums

    The following is a sampling:

    • Botany
      Dr. Daw Yi Yi (Mother of Okka)
    • Burmese (Myanmar Sar)
      “Khit San Kabyar”
      Saya U Wun (Minthuwun)
      See Aung Pyie (Farewell to Mya Thilar)
    • Chemistry
      Saya U Aung Khin
      Dr Soe Win & Daw May Saw Lwin
      U Nyunt Win
      Dr. Aung Myint
      Dr. Tin Win (Alan)
      Dr. Myint Tun (Henry Cho Tun)
      U Kyaw Tun
      U Maung Maung Gyi
      U Nwe Aung
    • Ma Chit Swe’s Autograph
      Mom of Hazel Kyaw Zaw (Kyi Kyi May)
      Friends of Ma Chit Swe
    • Graduation
      Photo taken at Bayin Ma Studio
      Photos taken inside Convocation Hall
      Photos taken outside Convocation Hall
    • Law
      U May Aung
      Sir Arthur Eggar (RUBC founder)
      Dr. Ba Han
      U Kyaw Myint
      Sayas and sayamas
      LLB first batch
    • Mathematics
      Sayagyi U Ba Toke
      Dr. Chit Swe
      Dr. Khin Maung Swe (Tekkatho Maung Thin Char)
    • Physics
      Sayagyi Dr Maung Maung Kha
      Dr. Tin Aung
      Dr. Soe Myint Win
      Dr. Aye Thein Kyaw
      Daw May Su
      Dr. Zin Aung
      Dr. Saw Wai Hla
      Dr. Win Naing
      Dr. Myo Thaik
    • Rectors and Registrars
      Dr. Htin Aung
      U Thet Lwin
    • UCC Alumni
      UCC Gathering

    Some History

    Second World War

    • The Second World War started in 1939 in Europe and spread to Asia.
    • The University of Rangoon suspended classes for three years : 1943 – 1945.
    • Per Sayagyi U Ba Toke :
      There were some make-shift classes at the ad-hoc University in Mogul (Shwe Bon Tha) Street. Sayagyi taught Mathematics there.

    1946

    • Rangoon University was reopened in 1946.
    • Saya U Tin U (C), Saya U Sein Hlaing (Professor, EE), Dr. Pe Nyun (Pediatric Surgeon) and Dr. Pe Thein (Professor, Minister) attended Rangoon University in 1946.

    1947

    • Pinlon Sar Choke (Panglon Agreement) was signed on February 12, 1947. Some ethnic races did not attend the Pinlon Conference.
    • Nine Arzanis — Bogyoke Aung San, Thakin Mya, Deedok U Ba Cho, Mahn Ba Khaing, Sao San Htun (Mong Pawn Sawbwa), U Ba Win, U Razak, ICS U Ohn Maung and Yebaw Ko Htwe — were mercilessly gunned down at the Secretariat on July 19, 1947. All except Sao San Htun (who was hospitalized with fatal wounds and died on July 20, 1947) perished that day.
      Three ministers including Bagan U Ba Gyan escaped.

    1948 and 1949

    • Burma gain Independence on January 4, 1948 at 4:20 AM.
      Sao Shwe Thike / Thaik became the first President of the Union of Burma. U Nu became the first Prime Minister.
    • Two factions — White Flag led by Thakin Than Tun and Red Flag led by Thakin Soe — of the Burma Communist Party (BCP) went underground. There was several groups in the armed rebellion.
    • For a short period of time, the Burmese government was called “Yangon Ah So Ya“.
    • Thanks in part to the arms sent by neighboring India, and the volunteer RU students, the planned conquest of Rangoon was derailed. The tide was turned, and Burma was back on the road to normalcy,
    • The Union of Burma had a bi-caramel parliament.

    1950s

    • Dr. Ba U served as the second President. In his book “My Burma”, he considers himself as the first President elected in accordance with the Constitution of the Union of Burma. The general public considers him as the Second President (who succeeded Sao Swe Thike).
    • Many States Scholars were sent to the prestigious universities in the USA and UK to pursue undergraduate and graduate studies. In 1954, there were 400 Burmese State Scholars (many from the “Twinning Program” proposed by Sayagyi U Ba Hli). Dr. Aung Gyi, U Min Wun and U Maung Maung Than were the early recipients of the “Twinning Program” to pursue undergraduate and graduate studies at prestigious universities (e.g. MIT, Cornell). Upon their return, they supplemented and later replaced the foreign sayas. Some worked for government departments and the Industry.
    • The split in the AFPFL (Anti-Facist People’s Freedom League) party into Clean AFPFL [Thant Shin] and Stable AFPFL [Ti Mye] caused the handover to the Caretaker Government in the late 50s.
      Some consider the event as the first Coup d’etat.

    1960s

    • Mahn Win Maung, the third President, was detained on March 2, 1962 when a 17-member Revolutionary Council staged a Coup d’etat.
    • Sama Duwa Sinwa Naung (President-elect) did not become President.
    • Per Kyemon U Thaung, seven Council members were not aware of the major decisions.
    • Brigadier General T. Clift (Air Force) resigned. He was succeeded by Brigadier General Thaung Dan. Several senior officers were sent as Military Attaches.
    • Commodore Than Pe (Navy) passed away. He was Ta Wun Gan (Minister) for Health and Education. He is Past Captain and President of RUBC. RUBC has bronze statues of Sir Arthur Eggar (Founder, Life President) and Commodore Than Pe on the promontory. Commodore Thaung Tin (who had jump promotions) succeeded him as Chief of Navy. Colonel Hla Han succeeded him as Minister for Health and Education.
    • Colonel Chit Myaing was the last of the original Revolutionary Council members to pass away. He served as Ambassador to Yugoslavia and UK before moving to USA. He was a supporter of U Kelasa (one of the two sayadaws left behind by Mahasi Sayadaw during his visit to US in 1979).
    • Ko Tin Maung Thant (son of UNSG U Thant) passed away unexpectedly during his visit to Burma. The motorcade at his last journey was longer than that of Commodore Than Pe.

    Khit San Kabyar

    The first volume has poems by U E Maung (later Burmese Professor) and Daw Khin Saw Mu (mother of Daw Khin Saw Tint and U Nay Oke Tint).

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is khitsan-kabya-1.jpg
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is khitsan-kabya-2.jpg
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is khitsan-kabya-3.jpg
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is khitsan-kabya-4.jpg
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is khitsan-kabya-5.jpg

  • Calendars

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    • Academic calendar: It may span two years. For example, the Class of 1958 has to attend classes in 1957 and 1958.
    • Civil calendar : It is used for Civil or Administrative purposes. It is also used for general purpose by people and organizations
    • Early Roman calendar : It covered only 10 months.
      September, October, November and December were 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th months.
      Note that “Sept” stands for 7, “Oct” for 8, “Nov” for 9, and “Dec” for 10.
    • Fiscal calendar : Usually has four Quarters: Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4
    • Gregorian calendar : Named after Pope Gregory. It has “leap year” correction for century years. A century year is considered a leap year if it is divisible by 400. e.g. 1900 is not a leap year, but 2000 is a leap year
    • Julian calendar : Named after Julius Caesar. It is a revised Roman calendar with 12 months. December is the 12th month.
    • Lunar calendar : It is based on the monthly cycles of the moon. A lunar year usually has 355 days. Some lunar calendars are “pure” (e.g. Islamic calendar). Some lunar calendars are luni-solar calendars.
    • Luni-solar calendar : It syncs up with the solar calendar by adding a month every three years.
    • Mayan calendar : It is a “long count” calendar used by the Mayan civilization. It is made up of 260 days (13 x 20 day group). nThe great cycle used by the calendar ended in December 2012 causing doomsday proponents to raise alarm about the “end of the world”.
    • Myanmar calendar : It is a luni-solar, socio-religious calendar. Many festivals are celebrated on the Full Moon day of selected months (e.g. Kason)The extra month used for synchronization is called “Second Waso”.
    • Religious calendar : It is used to celebrate religious events.
      The Islamic calendar is a purely lunar calendar. Hence, the holy month of Ramadan falls in different months of the Gregorian calendar.
    • Solar calendar : A solar year usually has 365 days. It takes about 365.2422 days for the earth to orbit the sun. The difference is adjusted by adding a day to February in a leap year.

  • Ledi Dhamma Lineage

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    • Ledi Sayadaw
    • Saya Thet
    • U Ba Khin
    • S N Goenka

    Ledi Sayadaw

    Ledi Sayadaw

    U Ba Khin

    • First native Auditor General
    • Vipassana Teacher
    • Founder : IMC
    U Ba Khin 1
    U Ba Khin 2
    U Ba Khin 3
    U Ba Khin 4
    U Ba Khin 5
    U Ba Khin 6
    U Ba Khin 7
    U Ba Khin 8

    Ledi Sayadaw

    • Dhamma Scholar
    • Author
    • Vipassana Teacher
    Ledi Sayadaw

    S N Goenka

    • Founder : VRI
    • Mentor : U Ba Khin
    S N Goenka

  • Old but Gold Photos

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    Sayadaws

    Sunlun Sayadaw U Kavi

    U Kavi

    Dhamma Duta

    Mahasi Sayadaw & U Silananda

    Webu Sayadaw

    Webu Sayadaw

    Mingun Tipitaka Sayadaw

    Mingun

    U Thitthila

    U Thitthila

    RU Athletes at 2nd SEAP

    2nd SEAP Games in 1961

    RU Soccer

    RU Soccer

    1971 RIT Mech Engg

    M71

    1969 RIT Civil Engg

    C69

    RIT Ah Nu Pyinnya Shin

    Ah Nu Pyinnya Shin

    MRA Brothers

    • Tun Mra : Gold Medal for 4 x 100m relay at 1961 SEAP Games
    • Kyaw Mra : Hurdler; National Coach
    • Soe Mra : Gold Medalist for Pole Vault at multiple SEAP Games
    • Win Mra : Pole Vault; Early retirement at doctor’s advice
    • Maung Maung Mra : Pole Vault
    • Aung Mra : Pole Vault
    Mra Brothers

    Htee Yein ထီးယိမ်း

    • 1970 Rangoon University Golden Jubilee
    • Performers from Rangoon Institute of Technology
    • With colorful umbrellas
    Htee 1
    Htee 2
    Htee 3

    Award in memory of U Ba Toke

    • Saya U Ba Toke was Professor of Mathematics at RASU and RIT
    • He was Associate Dean at Assumption University in Bangkok
    Daughters of Saya U Ba Toke; Sayama Daw Myint Myint Khone

    Dr. Myo Tint’s Family

    Dr. Myo Tint’s Family
    Khine Tun Lin & Pyone

    Singapore

    U Ngwe Soe & Daw Nu Nu Yee
    Relatives 1
    Relatives 2
    Relatives 3
    Chan Myay 1
    Chan Myay 2

    Eddie Shein’s Daughter

    Eddie Shein’s Daughter
    Attendees 1
    Attendees 2

    Ah Hlu in UK

    Win Mar & Family

    Ah Hlu in Yangon

    Ah Hlu 1
    Ah Hlu 2
    Ah Hlu 3
    Ah Hlu 4
    Ah Hlu 5
    Ah Hlu 6

    SF Bay Area Retirees

    • Saya U San Tun / Sain Fone Wong (M59)
    • Saya U Maung Maung / George Chan (ChE66
    SF 1
    SF 2

    New Jersey

    NJ

    Lyn Swe Aye

    Hosted by Lyn

    Win Latt

    Win Latt 1
    Win Latt 2

    RIT

    With U & Mrs. Sein Myint
    Meeting 1
    Meeting 2
    SPZP
    69er
    Intake of 1966
    Intake of 64 and 65

    Dhammananda Vihara, Half Moon Bay

    With Sayadaw U Osadha & Dr. Lyn Swe Aye
    With Uzin Chan Min & Dr. Lyn Swe Aye

    RIT Elec Engg

    EC / EP 68

    Singapore

    Reception for Andrew Khoo

    Reading, UK

    Win Mar’s Birthday

    SPHS63

    Kyaw Win’s Birthday
    Victor Nyunt Wai

    Paulian Mountaineers

    Sydney Kyant & Aung Thwin are GBNF

    Old Paulians’ Association

    OPA

    RIT69ers

    69er A
    69er B

  • Group Photos

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    Garawa by 69ers

    U Tun Shwe
    U Win
    U Kyi
    U Lay Aung
    U Lin

    Htee Yein ထီးယိမ်း

    • 1970 Rangoon University Golden Jubilee
    • Performers from Rangoon Institute of Technology
    • With colorful umbrellas
    Htee 1
    Htee 2
    Htee 3

    Award in memory of U Ba Toke

    • Saya U Ba Toke was Professor of Mathematics at RASU and RIT
    • He was Associate Dean at Assumption University in Bangkok
    Daughters of Saya U Ba Toke; Sayama Daw Myint Myint Khone

    SF Bay Area Retirees

    • Saya U San Tun / Sain Fone Wong (M59)
    • Saya U Maung Maung / George Chan (ChE66
    SF 1
    SF 2

    New Jersey

    NJ

    Lyn Swe Aye

    Hosted by Lyn

    Win Latt

    Win Latt 1
    Win Latt 2

    RIT

    With U & Mrs. Sein Myint
    Meeting 1
    Meeting 2
    SPZP
    69er
    Intake of 1966
    Intake of 64 and 65

    Dhammananda Vihara, Half Moon Bay

    With Sayadaw U Osadha & Dr. Lyn Swe Aye
    With Uzin Chan Min & Dr. Lyn Swe Aye

    RIT Elec Engg

    EC / EP 68

    Singapore

    Reception for Andrew Khoo

    Reading, UK

    Win Mar’s Birthday

    SPHS63

    Kyaw Win’s Birthday
    Victor Nyunt Wai

    Paulian Mountaineers

    Sydney Kyant & Aung Thwin are GBNF

    Old Paulians’ Association

    OPA

    RIT69ers

    69er A
    69er B

  • Thiha Latt

    by U Hla Min

    Updated : Apr 2026

    • Textile Engineer
    • RIT Faculty Member
    • Author
    • Editor
    • Coordinator for Publications
    • Cartoonist — Last maintainer of RIT Cartoon Box
    TL 1
    TL 2

    HMEE-2012 Project

    TL 3

    Swel Daw Yeik Magazine Editors

    TL 4
    TL 5

    Cartoonists

    TL 6
    TL 7

  • Metallurgy Department

    by Saya U Thit

    Updated : Apr 2026

    The Metallurgy Department was established in 1954 with the assistance of contract staff from India. Mr. H.S. Shastri was the first head of department and Mr. A.C. Agrawal was an assistant lecturer.

    I was awarded a government scholarship to study Metallurgy at Lehigh University in 1954, when I was a second year student of Civil Engineering in Rangoon. (Incidentally, it was at Lehigh that I first met Sayas U Aung Khin and U Pu.) I returned home in 1957 after completing my bachelor’s degree and joined the department as assistant lecturer. Saya U Saw Pru joined the department as an assistant lecturer in 1958.

    I was awarded a Colombo Plan Fellowship in 1959 for further studies at the University or Queensland, Australia, and came back in 1961 after finishing my master’s degree. I was promoted to lectureship in 1962.

    Saya U Than Tin joined the department in 1960 and left for U.S. after a few years. There were visiting lecturers from U.S.S.R., namely, Mr. Charlichev from 1961 to 1963 and Mr. Chalpanov from 1963 to 1965.

    Sayas U Aung Hla Tun, U Pe Win and Dr. Khin Maung Win joined the department in 1965, 1966 and 1967 respectively. There were also part-time teaching staff from time to time from UBARI, such as U Khin Maung and U Nyunt.

    I left the department in 1968 to go to Australia.

    The continuing history of the Metallurgy Department after 1968 can best be written by Saya U Aung Hla Tun.

    Editor’s Notes

    • Saya U Thit taught Materials and Processes in our 2nd BE class in 1964.
    • He was Head of the Metallurgy Department
    • He wrote memories of Saya Allen Htay in “RIT Alumni International Newsletter”
    • He passed away in Melbourne, Australia
    • In response to my request, several sayas (Dr. Aung Gyi, U Min Wun, U Aung Khin, U Thit and U Myo Myint Sein) wrote about the history of their departments. The articles appear in the CD supplement of the HMEE-2012 book
    HMEE Book
    HMEE CD