Category: Burma

  • Tekkatho Moe War

    by Hla Min

    Updated : July 2025

    Interview with Tekkatho Moe War

    Memories

    Irrawaddy 1
    Irrawaddy 2

    Entertainer
    Saya
    Poet
    Grandpa
  • K — Burmese Music

    by Khin Zaw

    Updated : July 2025

    U Khin Zaw (“K”), Director, Burma Broadcasting Service

    U Khin Zaw

    Article written in 1958

    What is Burmese music like? To ears accustomed only to Western music, ours may at first be a little disconcerting. It may seem more like a medley of spontaneous, unrelated sounds than a careful composition. And its rhythmic patterns may be hard to follow at first hearing. But I think that if you will listen to some of it a few times—and the Burmese Folk and Traditional Music record in the Ethnic Folkways Library offers a good sampling—you will discover that ours is actually a fully developed musical art. Historically, the traditions of Burmese music go back at least fifteen hundred years. For we know from a fascinating description in a Chinese chronicle of the year 802 A.D. that our musical instruments, and compositions for them, were already highly perfected at that time.

    To begin with the fundamentals, let us first analyze our Burmese scale. It sounds as though it might have quarter tones and microtones, but actually it does not. It is the same as your European diatonic scale, but with this difference, that the fourth and seventh notes are both “neutral,” so that the succession of notes is different. The makers of our early instruments did not provide for the accidentals in an octave. Yet our music does modulate from the tonic to the dominant—say, from C major to G major—and frequently from the tonic to the subdominant — C major to F major, and back again. But we have no F sharp, or B flat. What we do is to put our F halfway between F natural and F sharp, and our B halfway between B flat and B natural.

    Since we do not have the chromatic scale, our music may sound a bit flat to Westerners. Another basic point of difference is its essentially two-dimensional nature. The development of harmony has given Western music enormous depth. Because our instruments were not suitable for harmony, our music has instead developed a complexity of pure melodic patterns. You derive your musical satisfaction from marching in depth with chords. We have to get ours by going in the single file of notes, twisting and turning in graceful patterns. Even our drums play tunes. Thus our putt waing, a circle of tuned drums, is not merely for percussion, but plays a melody itself.

    The rhythmic systems of Burmese music may have been determined by the nature of our language, which is not accentual but tonal. Rhythm in English depends largely on differences of emphasis on the syllables in the words and the words in the sentence. Burmese verse depends rather on the schematic arrangement of words with certain sounds recurring at fixed points. This means that timing and caesuras have great importance. In fact, in our singing the caesuras are even more important than the syllables or words in each measure. Often the singer keeps time with a pair of tiny bells and a small clapper in his hand.

    The most usual time in our music is a simple duple or a simple quadruple beat. In the duple, the bells and the clapper go alternately. In the quadruple there is a rest on one or the other of the middle beats. No great importance is attached to the variation. In one and the same piece the quadruple may sometimes change into the duple, or become faster or slower. But never must a musician get out of rhythmic time. So far as I am aware, compound time has never been used in our music.

    Turning to the instruments which are now most in use, we must give pride of place to the graceful, boat-shaped harp, the thirteen-stringed saung kauk (see Plate 23 in art section). The Burmese orchestra is called a saing. Its ensemble includes the picturesque putt waing, with the player seated in his circle of drums, a circle of gongs (the kyee waing), the big putt ma drum, cymbals, clappers, and wind instruments such as the hnè (like an oboe) and the palwé (a bamboo pipe). The saing accompanies our stage performances (zat pwès), our ritual dances (nat pwès), and others of the many festal occasions that enliven Burmese life.

    Even though Buddhist doctrine has sometimes frowned on music as appealing to the senses, we Burmese must be one of the most music-loving peoples in the world. Folk music is very much alive in our villages, where several interesting kinds of drums are especially popular.

    The bucolic dohpat (which can be heard on Side II, Band 4 of the Folkways record) presides over village roisterings and goes along with itinerant singers. The pot-shaped ozi, boon companion of the bamboo flute, may be trusted to go off on such a spree of tune and rapid rhythm as to make one’s limbs twitch to dance. The big bongyi (Side II, Band 3) is lord of the paddy fields, where its thundering rhythm eases the toil of those who are transplanting the rice. The byaw drum (Side I, Band 2) has its day in such home ceremonies as our almsgivings and shinpyu head-shavings.

    Our classical music is far more elaborate than the instinctive rural drumming and singing, and scholars usually divide it into six main categories, most of which are represented on the Folkways record. But I must not risk tiring you with too many strange names and will say only that these classical compositions are usually songs, ranging in theme and tone from simple lyrics to courtly measures eulogizing the king or the royal city and solemn chants composed in adoration of Lord Buddha.

    One of the most important events in the history of Burmese music—and all Burmese culture for that matter— was the second conquest of Siam by King Hsinbyushin in 1767. It is pleasant to think that although our wars with Siam were generally motivated by the Siamese king’s white elephants, we brought back something which was by no means a white elephant to us! Craftsmen, entertainers, musicians, dancers numbering many hundreds were imported from Siam to Burma, and they brought about a vast augmentation of our culture. New life and new forms were infused into our theater, our classical dance style is far closer to that of Siam than, say, to that of India, and a principal type of our classical song, the yodaya (Side I, Band 3 and Side II, Band 8), takes its name from Ayuthia, the old capital of Thailand.

    In the years following this Thai “invasion,” there lived a remarkable man named U Sa, a veritable Leonardo da Vinci, who was poet, musician, playwright, soldier, diplomat, and statesman all combined. In a long lifetime, he was constantly creating and adapting new literary, dramatic, and musical forms, and over two hundred of our finest songs are attributed to him. Another important school of classical music comes down to us from the Mons; their beautiful songs were long ago enshrined in a collection called the Mahagita.

    Finally, some of the purest and oldest forms of our traditional music are preserved in the propitiatory rituals of rural Nat worship. As Dr. Htin Aung explains in his essay, these spirits from the old animist cults have been welcomed into Buddhism, and the country folk still honor them with wayside shrines, or by hanging a coconut turbaned with a piece of red and white cloth from the king post of the house, to which offerings of fruit or cooked rice are made with music and dancing.

    Now what has been happening to Burmese music since the radio and the cinema have vastly magnified the influence of Western music upon us? For my purist taste, far too much! But, to speak for the other side — and I fear they are numerous — let me bring in the views of my much admired and musically learned friend Ko Thant of Mandalay.

    Ko Thant is scornful of our Burmese instruments because they lack the precision of the Western ones. But does he stop to consider that, in a sense, their very precision has made a slave of the instrumentalist? Our Burmese players attain extraordinary virtuosity with their crude instruments — making them the slaves — and achieve the most subtle shadings in moving from one note to the next. And because they do not read from a written score, but play entirely from memory, our musicians create the music anew at each playing, with full scope for the expression of personal art.

    Ko Thant likes the strict discipline of the Western orchestra and condemns the free-for-all of the Burmese saing. He rails at Sein Beda for tuning a recalcitrant drum in the middle of a concert. Ile does not realize that this really does not matter, that Western music is a compound, whose object is harmonious coalescence, whereas ours is a mixture, the pleasure lying in the artful mixing of sounds. A European listens for the total effect of all, a Burmese for the individual effect of each voice in the orchestra.

    In our music, accompaniment to singing does not mean a harmonic background to vocal melody, but a partnership in patterns. In and out of the framework of musical time and melodic direction provided by the instruments, the vocal part weaves another, related pattern and direction. So long as they keep to the framework, both singer and player may embellish and improvise. It is skill in weaving sounds, rather than voice production, which determines the quality of the singer.

    Ko Thant maintains that music is an “international language” and that we should allow Western instruments and melodies to overwhelm us so that our musicians may speak the same musical tongue as the rest of the world. But does not this idea stem from a basic misconception of the nature of art? Is not the individual voice the really important thing? And will not the community of world culture be far richer and more stimulating if each regional culture seeks to develop its own traditions?

    And since we already have improvisation in our music do we really need Western jazz and popular songs? But perhaps that question has already been answered: we have them. As long ago as 1940, Daw Than E wrote this little sketch on that subject:

    An old-fashioned Burmese gentleman was visited by a radio salesman. He settled down expectantly as the set was hooked up; perhaps he would hear the soothing strains of a song from the Mahagita. But what came out shocked him; he looked puzzled. “That’s Johnny, the Burmese yodeller,” explained the salesman, “the public adores Johnny; the new trend in Burmese music, you know. Oh, you’ll hear wonderful things with this set. To give you an idea, there’s Good Morning Tin Tin singing Thama-wa-yama to the tune of John Brown’s Body and Eingyipa to a rumba called Mañana mañana. They have Bei mir bist du schoen and Isle of Capri with Burmese words and even the old favorites like Good King Wenceslas —-that’s a duck of a tune —and Come to the Savior, make no delay . . .” At this point the old Burmese gentleman became unconscious.

    Yes, we have been flooded with Hawaiian guitars, hillbilly banjos, and Harlem saxophones. Where will it end? As director of broadcasting in Burma I am trying to fight the menace. There are good modern pieces in the Burmese vein still being produced, and a number of popular songs based on our own folk tunes have become hits. And to preserve our old music—since little of it has been written down—we have been making tapes of the best classical pieces and folk songs.

    For certainly our Burmese music is worth preserving, just as Gujarat painting, Khmer architecture, Chinese porcelain, and Mayan sculpture are worth preserving. The tragedy in those cases is that the art of the craftsmen has been lost. We cannot let that happen. We must not hope vainly for the evolution of a style that will be neither Burmese nor Western. Rather, we must go back to the purest traditions of our own music—relearn them, safeguard them, and present them to the world in a way the world can understand. For there is a strange beauty in the remote flowering of Burmese music

    Updates

    K & family members
  • Dark Moments in Burma

    Dark Moments in Burma

    by Hla Min

    Updated : July 2025

    July 19, 1947

    Arzanis
    • See Posts

    March 2, 1962

    • The Coup d’etat ended Parliamentary Democracy in the Union of Burma.
    • President Mahn Win Maung, Prime Minister U Nu & cabinet ministers, and Shan Sawbwas were detained.
    U Nu

    7th July 1962

    • It saw indiscriminate shooting at the student protesters.
    • The official death tally was 17.
    • Ko Aung Khin was hit by a stray bullet as he was returning from RUBC to his home in Windermere Road.

    8th July 1962

    • It saw the revered RU Student Union Building demolished.
    • The then No. (1) and No. (2) said that they did not give orders for the two sad events.
    • Some people reported hearing strange sounds and seeing strange images in or near the residence halls (e.g. Mandalay Hall). Some believe that there might be ghosts.

    1963

    • There were pamphlets and Sar Saungs commemorating the anniversary of 7th July.
    • The higher authorities gave ultimatum to the hostel students to leave.
    • All classes except those from the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Engineering were closed.
    • Final exams were held locally (e.g. at State High Schools).
    • The schools were reopened in November 1964 under a new Education System.

    1964

    • The use of Intelligence Level Aggregate (ILA) system and the 3 NRC rule created a Tier System among the Once Equal Disciplines.
    • A sayagyi told his students, “If all of you go to medical and engineering, there will not be talent left to cover other important fields.”
    • There were some exceptions. Dr. Min Oo (in 1963) and Dr. Zaw Win (a few years later) stood Second in the whole of Burma in Matric. They chose to study Maths and received their Doctorates from Germany. Dr. Min Oo retired from McMasters University in Canada. He earlier taught in Germany and in the US as a visiting professor. Dr. Zaw Win is GBNF.

    Mid-1960s

    • Nationalization of Schools took place on April 1, 1965.
    • “Burmese Way to Socialism (Despotism, Nepotism)” created 2nd and 3rd Class Citizens.
    • Shortage of rice (unheard of in the “Rice Bowl of Asia”) caused unease. The problem was redirected to create a riot known as “Tayoke Bama Ah Yay Ah Khinn” တရုပ်ဗမာ အရေးအခင်း

    1974

    U Thant Ah Yay Ah Khin
    • “U Thant Ah Yay Ah Khin” ဦးသန့်အရေးအခင်း can be read in a book with rare photos. Htein Win Sar Pay ထိန်ဝင်းစာပေ has published books about the two Ah Yay Ah Khinn in 1974 and 1988. Ko Khin Maung Zaw mailed me a copy of “U Thant Ah Yay Ah Khinn”. At the 5th ILF (Irrawaddy Literary Festival), Ko Htein Win gave me a copy of the 8-8-88 Ah Yay Ah Khinn.

    Late 1980s

    1988
    • There were several more closure of the schools.
    • Many students lost three precious years of their lives (1988, 1989 and 1990). There were no classes, exams and Convocation for the three years. The 1st BE Intake of 1983 graduated in 1992. Those who failed the 6th BE in 1987 had to repeat again in 1991.
    • Some, who witnessed the events in March and August of 1988, had a long wait before they could freely express their experiences.
    • In August 1988, Dr. Tin Aung (Physics) and U Tun Aung Chain (History) were in the US as members of the Burmese Education Delegation. Dr. Tin Aung was elected in abstentia as a Patron / Nayaka နာယက of the “Sayas and Sayamas from All Universities and Institutes” Ah Phwe အဖွဲ့ supporting the 8-8-88 movement. Upon his return to Burma, Dr. Tin Aung was forced to resign.
      When Dr. Tin Aung’s pacemaker needed replacement, his former students from Myanmar and Overseas donated for his health expenses.
    Dr. Tin Aung
  • Burmese Nursery Songs

    Burmese Nursery Songs

    by Hla Min

    Updated : July 2025

    Minthuwun

    Minthuwun
    Nursery Songs
    • Minthuwun (U Wun) is a Laureate Poet.
    • He published a book titled “Maung Khway Boh မောင်ခွေးဘို့ (For Maung Khway)”.

    U Khin Zaw

    U Khin Zaw (“K”)
    • He is Founder / Director of Burma Broadcasting Service.
    • Pen name : “K”
    • He wrote the Preface.
    • He provided music for the poems (kabyars).
    • He also translated the poems (with Professor G H Luce) into English.

    U Ba Nyan

    Book 1
    • Distinguished artist
    • He drew the illustrations.

    Content

    Preface

    Book 2
    Book 3

    Burmese Poem & English Translation

    Book 4

    Nursery Songs

    Book 5
    Book 6
    Book 7
    Book 8
    Book 9
    Book 10
    Book 11
  • Myanmar Names

    Myanmar Names

    by Hla Min

    Update : July 2025

    Length of name

    • One word : e.g Nu နု၊ Thant သန့်
    U Thant
    • Two words : e.g Khin Khin ခင်ခင်၊ Thein Han သိန်းဟန်
    • Three words : e.g Aung Gyi Shwe အောင်ကြီးရွှေ၊ Kyi Kyi Htay ကြည်ကြည်ဌေး Tun Aung Gyaw ထွန်းအောင်ကျော်
    Aung Gyi Shwe
    • Four words : e.g Khin Maung Maung Than ခင်မောင်မောင်သန်း၊ Tin Maung Maung Than တင်မောင်မောင်
    • Five or more : e.g Khin Maung Thet Cho Oo ခင်မောင်သက်ချိုဦး

    Mixed Names

    J A Maung Gyi
    • J A Maung Gyi (Joseph Augustus, Governor) J A မောင်ကြီး
    • M A Maung Gyi (Master of Arts; Diplomat) M A မောင်ကြီး
    • April
      April Chit Khin (Vocalist) April ချစ်ခင်
      April Khine (Lecturer) April ခိုင်
    • May
      May Saw Lwin (Professor) မေစောလွင်
      May Win Maung (Actor) မေဝင်းမောင်
      Maymyo မေမြို့ (Named after Colonel James May) : Pyin Oo Lwin ပြင်ဦးလွင်
    • June
      June Khine (Two Doctors) June ခိုင်

    Based on Saying

    • ကြံတိုင်းအောင်
    • ဆောင်တိုင်းမြောက်
    • လိုတိုင်းရ
    • တတိုင်းမွှေး
    • ထင်တိုင်းပေါက်

    Based on Astrology ဗေဒင်

    Especially Monk Names

    • Sunday born တနင်္ဂနွေ သား — အ
    • Monday born တနင်္လာ သား — က၊ ခ၊ ဂ၊ ဃ၊ င
    • Tuesday born အင်္ဂါ သား — စ၊ ဆ၊ ဇ၊ စျ၊ ည
    • Wednesday born ဗုဒ္ဓဟူး သား — လ၊ ဝ၊ ယ၊ ရ
    • Thursday born ကြာသာပတေး သား — ပ၊ ဖ၊ ဗ၊ ဘ၊ မ
    • Friday born သောကြာ သား — သ၊ ဟ
    • Saturday born စနေ သား — တ၊ ထ၊ ဒ၊ ဓ၊ န

    Father’s Name ဖခင်ရဲ့အမည်

    at the back နောက်မှာ

    • မျိုးပိုင်၊ စိုးပိုင်၊ ဝင်းပိုင်၊ ကျော်ပိုင် — ဦးပိုင် ရဲ့ သားများ

    at the front

    • မောင်မောင်ကြည်၊ မောင်မောင်ခန့်၊ မောင်မောင်သန့်၊ မောင်မောင်မြင့်၊ မောင်မောင်စန်း — ဦးမောင်မောင် ရဲ့ သားများ

    does not appear

    • in most Burmese names — မ ပါ

    Posts

    • Meaning of names နာမည် ရဲ့ အဓိပ္ပါယ်
    • Naming Conventions နာမည် မှဲ့ ပုံ မှဲ့ နည်း
  • Events in the 60s

    Events in the 60s

    by Hla Min

    Updated : July 2025

    1960

    Education

    • Last 7th Std Government exam : We took it in March

    Elections

    • Caretaker Government finally held Elections.
    • Pyidaung Su Party (former “Clean AFPFL“) led by U Nu won by a land slide. The victory would be short lived.
    U Nu

    1961

    Education

    • Last HSF & Matric (Combined) exam
    • First batch of Female Engg Graduates : Tin Tin Ohn (Amy), Julie Han, Yin Yin Kyi, Mi Mi Lay (all Textile) & Pauline Reynolds (ChE)
    • Faculty of Engineering moved to Gyogone Campus. Also called Burma Institute of Technology (BIT)

    SEAP Games

    • Burma hosted the Second SEAP (South East Asia Peninsular) Games in December.
    • Burma dominated most events and placed first.
    • About 20 RU students represented Burma.
    2nd SEAP Games

    1962

    Education

    • First “Matric Only” exam
    • First “HSF Only” exam : We (from Rangoon Division) had to take the exam in March & again in August

    Coup d’etat

    • On March 2, a 17-member Revolutionary Council staged a Coup d’etat. President Mahn Win Maung, Prime Minister U Nu & Cabinet Ministers, Sao Shwe Thaik & Sawbwas, and several high-level Government employees were detained.
    • Sama Duwa Sinwa Naung (President-elect) did not become President.
    Sama Duwa
    • Per Kyemon U Thaung, seven Revolutionary Council members were not aware of the major decisions.
    • Brigadier General T. Clift (Air Force) resigned. He was succeeded by Col Thaung Dan (who became Brigadier General). Several senior Air Force personnel were appointed Ambassadors or Military Attache to pave way for younger officers.
    • Commodore Than Pe (Navy) passed away. He was Minister for Health & Education.
      Commander Thaung Tin (who became Commodore) succeeded CTP as Chief of Navy. Col Hla Han became Minister for Health &Education.
    • Col Chit Myaing was the last original Revolutionary Council member to pass away. He served as Ambassador to Yugoslavia and UK before moving to USA.
    • Tin Maung Thant (son of U Thant) passed away during his visit to Burma. The funeral cortège was larger that of Commodore Than Pe.
    • The usage of “Tar Wun Khan” was later changed back to “Minister”.

    Dark Days in July

    • 7th July : 17 official victims
    • 8th July : Demolition of RUSU Building

    1963

    Education

    • Matric exam : We took it in May
    • SPHS has five students in Top Five, seven in Top Ten, and ten in Top Twenty
    SPHS63
    • Last batch for General Honors program

    1964

    Education

    • New Education System
    • Most Faculties became autonomous Institutes with Rectors.
    • RASU & MASU offered Major

    Admission to RIT

    • In Nov 1964, three batches of students were admitted to RIT
    • Matriculated were admitted to 1st BE based on Intelligence Level Aggregate (ILA)
    • Those who passed I.Sc(A) were admitted 2nd BE based on marks.
    • Those who passed I.Sc(B) were admitted to 3rd BE based on marks.

    Luyechun

    • Shwe Wa Gyaing Camp in Ngapali
    • Students from 7th to 10th Std were selected as Luyechun

    1965

    Education

    • On April 1, private schools were nationalized.
    • SPHS became No. 6 Botathaung State High School. Non-native De La Salle brothers left Burma. e.g Bro Austin to Malaysia, Bro Felix to Germany, Bro Charles to UK

    Luyechun

    • Khaung Daing Camp in Inlay
    • Program extended to Universities & Institutes
    • RIT : Sein Shwe, Hla Min, Zaw Min, Khin Than Myint Tin
    • IM(1) : Kyaw Sein Koe, Anita Aye Pe, Khin Maung U, Cherry Hlaing

    Decline of Economy

    • After detaining prominent members of Pyidaung Su (formerly Clean AFPFL) and new AFPFL (formerly Stable AFPFL), the Revolutionary Council & government sought help from left-wing Gurus (e.g. U Chit Hlaing who threw in Buddhist terms into “Burmese Way to Socialism” & U Ba Nyein who proposed indiscriminate Nationalization.
    • Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP) was formed with core cadres. It later opened up membership for Ah Yan Party Win (Associate member). Party membership became a requirement for important positions.
    • Free Economy was replaced by rations (e.g. half a can of Condensed Milk per family) using the “Si Sar Oke”. It created a Black Market and the rising cost of living.
    • The Demonetization crippled the Industry and even had ripple effect on University students. Hostel students, whose money had been demonetized, had to be given free rides to return home.
    • Per Dr. Nyan Taw (SPHS63) :
      Both my father U Hla Taw (retired Chief of UMP/ DIG) and my mother Daw Marie Hla Taw together with Col Chit Yaing, Chief Justice U Myint Thein, DIG U Tin Maung Maung and DIG U Khin Maung Maung were taken away by MI (Military Intelligence) in 1964. My parents were released in 1967.

    Changes in Education

    Bachelor Degrees

    • Education
    • Law

    NRC rule

    • Enforced for Professional Courses
    • Bernard Khaw (First in Burma in the Matric of 1965) had to study Chemistry. He moved to USA and studied Chemical Engineering.
    • Chu Pu Thein (who scored highest marks in Physics in the first ever HSF Only exam in 1962) moved to Italy
    • Many had to study in RASU. Chemistry students had very high marks and/or ILA.
    • A medical student was expelled after he was “found out to be not 3 NRC.”
    • A few students who had been admitted to RASU because of 3 NRC were allowed to study medicine. They lost a year, but not their dreams.

    Names

    • There was discrimination against students having foreign names.
    • Two families. They were cousins. Those who retained non-Burmese names were admitted to RASU. Those with Burmese names were allowed to study professional degrees.

    Security Concerns

    • Shortage of rice (never heard before in the “Rice Bowl of Asia”) was transformed into “Tayoke Bamar Ah Yay Ah Khin”. Grapevine says that a lorry strategically placed “Beggars” around Rangoon.

    1969

    Men on the Moon

    Poem
    • Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 20, 1969.
    • My poem “Men on the Moon” was forwarded by Mr. Hall (USIS) to NASA.
    • The poem was also published in the Guardian daily newspaper.

    69ers

    • Most of us graduated with BE. A few with BArch.
    EE69ers

    SEAP Games

    • Burma hosted the Fifth SEAP Games in December 1969. There were riots in the Thamaing College Campus which held some events (e.g. Boxing).
    Placard bearers for 5th SEAP Games

    News & Censorship

    • Nation newspaper was the first to be closed (by orders of the higher authorities). U Law Yone was detained. He later moved to Thailand and published the “Nation”. He eventually moved to the USA.
    • Finally, there were only four Burmese and two English newspapers. They published the news vetted and/or translated by News Agency Burma.
    • The two new newspapers were Loketha Pyithu Nay Zin and Working Peoples’ Daily (WPD).
    • The then Number One chose Shwe Oo Daung and U Khin Maung Latt as Chief Editors of “Loketha Pyithu Nay Zin” and Working People’s Daily (WPD) and promised them full authority. Some time later, U Khin Maung Latt was asked, “Do you want to be an Ambassador?” Daw Khin Myo Chit stepped in and said, “Ko Latt will go back teaching at his school”.

    Selection of Sayas and State Scholars

    • In the days of our teachers, the Dean & Professors had the say to select and appoint assistant lecturers, and to select bright students to apply for State Scholarship to study at the prestigious universities in the USA and UK.
    • Later, the Public Service Commission (PSC) was established to vet candidates for most positions.
    • Some engineers and architects had to join government departments as “Work Charge” while waiting to get permanent positions approved by PSC.
  • Veda

    Veda

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2025

    BARB

    • Burma Astro Research Bureau was formed around 1980s.
    • Experts on Veda & allied subjects (e.g. Astronomy, Palmistry, Numerology) served as Researchers, Advisors & Teachers
    • Courses : Basic & Higher Level
    • Subjects : ဂဏိတ၊ ဖလိတ၊ သံဟိတ၊
    • BARB published the “Jotisha Veda” Magazine. I wrote articles with my name and two pen names.
    • BARB published Veda Calendar.
    • Ad-hoc sessions at selected houses for Discussion & Live training sessions by Veda sayas — U Myint Sein, U Khin Aung Bo, U Than Htay, U Myint Lwin & Bogyi Kyaw Zan Hla.
    With Veda Sayas

    Executive Committee

    • U Myaing (President)
      Published Jotisha Veda Magazine
    • Dr. Chit Swe (Vice President)
      Pioneer of Computer Systems & Applications in Burma;
      Founder & Director, UCC;
      Rector, RASU; Taught at RU, Thailand & Australia
    Dr. Chit Swe
    • U Min Wun (Vice President)
      Member, Pyeikkadein Ah Kyan Pay Ah Phwe (ပြက္ခဒိန်အကြံပေးအဖွဲ့ ); Professor, Civil Engineering, RIT; Advisor, Regional College Project; Advisor, Bagan Restoration Project; Consultant, CalTrans
    U Min Wun
    • U Kyaw Min
      Studied Architecture at MIT;
      Part-time Head of Architecture Department, RIT; Pen name : Pithuka Kyaw Min
    • U Aye Win Kyaw
      Lecturer, Civil Engineering, RIT; Taught Astronomy at BARB & MARB; Family suffered Double Tragedy at Pyin Oo Lwin Clinic
    U Aye Win Kyaw (Center)
    • U Myint Sein
      SPHS64; B.Com (IT) in 1968;
      Ran family business; Principal, BARB : Requested me to provide programs for Vedic Calculations; Founder, IDEA Astrology; Visiting Professor, Taing Yin Say (တိုင်းရင်းဆေး ပညာ School of Indigenous Medicine); Expertise : Medical Astrology
    U Myint Sein 1
    U Myint Sein 2
    • U Nyan Win (Secretary)
    • U Tin Aung (Joint Secretary)
      Expertise : Phalita
    • U Mya Sein (Treasurer) Engineer
    • U Win Pe (Joint Treasurer)
      His ancestors published Myanmar Ephemeris

    MARB

    • After the demise of key EC members, BARB was reorganized.
    • It evolved into Myanmar Astro Research Bureau with U Khin Aung Bo as President.
    • MARB lost Saya U Myint Lwin early.
    • After U Khin Aung Bo’s demise, U Kyaw Myint became President.
    • Dr. Kan Nyunt (Bagyi Kan) is the oldest (but still very active) among the sayas and sayamas.
    Dr. Kan Nyunt (Seated Right)

    U Myint Sein

    • Principal of BARB
    • Friend from Primary School
    • Requested me to develop programs for Veda calculations and predictions. I supervised two UCC students. Ko Win Latt (UCC) developed Win Horo. Ko Zaw Tun (UCC) developed a Prolog program for prediction.
    Ko Win Latt
    Ko Zaw Tun (Last Row)
    • Visiting Professor at the School of Indigenous Medicine
    • Founder, IDEA Astrology
    • Passed away peacefully while watching TV at home
    • It was good news & bad news for his son, who was back in Yangon to take examination for Master Mariner. He lost his father, but was present at his father’s last journey.

    U Aye Win Kyaw

    • Saya, Civil Engineering Department, RIT.
    • Taught Astronomy at BARB & MARB
    • Passed away at a hospital in Pyin Oo Lwin
    • His son, who visited Saya, passed away earlier while taking a shower at the hospital.
    • Double tragedy for the family.

    U Khin Aung Bo

    • President of MARB
    • B. Ed
    • Taught at GTI, BARB & MARB
    • Expertise include Thanhita
    • Fell backwards while reciting Pathan
    • Hospitalized
    • Passed away on May 13, 2020 at the age of 80.
    U Khin Aung Bo 1
    U Khin Aung Bo 2

    U Myint Lwin

    • Vice President, MARB
    • Taught at BARB & MARB
    • Expertise include Phalita
    • Helped with the early Veda Calendar
    • Passed away earliest among three sayas (in the photo)
    U Than Htay, U Khin Aung Bo, U Myint Lwin

    U Than Htay

    • Vice President, MARB
    • Taught at BARB & MARB; Published books & notes on တြိစက္ကဇာတာ and ဒသာ
    • Expertise include Ganita
    • Medical Technologist
    U Than Htay 1
    U Than Htay 2

    U Hla Win

    • Vice President, MARB
    • Member of “Myanmar Pyeikkdadein Ah Kyan Pay Ah Phwe.”
    • Mechanical Engineer & Entrepreneur
    • Busy not only with his work, but also with SPZP & HMEE
    • Taught Veda courses (e.g. Research)

    U Kyaw Myint

    • Succeeded U Khin Aung Bo as President, MARB
    • Textile Engineer
    • Expert on Traditional Medicine
    • Associate member, “Myanmar Pyeikkdadein Ah Kyan Pay Ah Phwe.”
    U Kyaw Myint (Standing Right)

    Dr. Kan Nyunt

    • Patron, MARB
    • Elder brother of U Kyaw Myint
    • Wrote / Translated many articles

    Other Sayas

    • Dr. Aung Myin Bo
    • U Soe Thein
    • U Thein Aung
    • Daw Mya Mya Aye
    • Daw Moe Moe (Venus)

    Lunch Gathering

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is veda.jpg
    U Soe Thein, U Kyaw Myint, U Hla Min, Dr. Aung Myin Bo
    • During my trips to Yangon, MARB Sayas would pick me up. U Hla Win would sometimes pick me up; otherwise, he would send his assistant or another saya.
    • I would give a guest lecture.
    Guest Lecture
    • U Than Htay & U Hla Win were not present at the lunch gathering (shown in the photo) near the old MARB Office.
    • Dr. Aung Myin Bo & his spouse picked us up (along with Saya Thae) to the new MARB Office.
    • Tarot saya from Thailand (friend of Prophet Myat San) donated air conditioners for use at MARB Office / Training School.

    Updates

    GBNF

    • Several Veda Sayas from BARB and MARB are now GBNF.
    • Dr. Chit Swe passed away in Sydney, Australia
    • U Min Wun passed away in California, USA

    Status

    • Win Latt is in Bangkok, Thailand
    • Zaw Tun is in Singapore
  • TOKM — Posts

    TOKM — Posts

    by Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint

    Updated : June 2025

    My Father (U Kyaw Myint)

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is u-kyaw-myint-1-3.jpg
    U Kyaw Myint’s Brief Biography
    U Kyaw Myint
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is u-kyaw-myint-3-1.jpg
    Mesopotamia (Action during WWI)

    My father had a very chequered life.

    Short stay at Rangoon College

    He stood first in the Matriculation examination at the age of sixteen. He had distinction in all subjects including shorthand and typing. He got scholarship when he entered Rangoon College in June 1914 but was expelled from the College in July 1914.

    There was going to be a scholarship exam to enter Calcutta University. The Principal of Rangoon College, Mr. Mathew Hunter had chosen two bright young men to take the exams to enter medical college in Calcutta. The two students for this exam were my father and Sayagyi U Ba Than. They were very close friends.

    Just before the exams, my grandmother passed away in upper Burma where my grandfather was working. Father went to the Principal to give him leave to attend his mother’s funeral. But the dates would clash with the exams and Mr Hunter refused his permission. Father was told that if he went without the Principal’s agreement, he would be expelled on return.

    My father went in time for the funeral but on return, as told to him earlier he was expelled from the College.

    Self Support

    My grandfather was very angry with my father being expelled. Father was told not to come back to the family.

    Father supported himself by doing a unique job. He traveled from Pegu passing through small towns and villages. At that time, there were many Burmese women who had children by Englishmen, and were common law wives. The Englishmen had left Burma, but they did not money regularly.

    On behalf of the women, father wrote letters in English to the men in England. He was offered food, small amounts of money, and a place to stay.

    He continued doing this, going up the country till he reached Myitkyina some months later.

    Bombay Burma Company

    Due to father’s expertise in short hand and typing, a young English man from Bombay Burma Company gave father a job as a clerk and secretary. Father told me about the kindness of the English couple who let him stay with them.

    Apart from Secretary work, he had to go with workers to the teak trees that had been cut down and later sent them down the Irrawaddy to Rangoon. Father had to supervise that the Bombay Burma Company seal was hammered deep at the end of the logs. The logs were floated down the Irrawaddy river. Logs with the seal were collected and exported to England.

    Illness

    A year later father had cerebral malaria and it was the young couple who looked after him during the illness.

    Enlistment and Assignments

    Father stayed on with the English couple till the end of 1916. By that time the war that was said to last only one year had to gone into its third year with no resolution. There were many casualties and new fronts for the conflict. The English government intensified their recruiting efforts.

    The young Englishman and his wife returned to England. The husband joined the army.

    Father did not want to continue working in Myitkyina. He also thought of enlisting for the war.

    He first went to Pegu to reconcile with his father. Grand father was doing a job what would be equivalent to a District Commissioner (DC) but being Burmese was given the post as Extra Assistant Commissioner (EAC) but doing the same job.

    Burmese doctors were appointed as Sub Assistant Surgeon (SAS). They had to work like surgeons and civil surgeons.

    NB: the status of Burmese doctors before Independence can be read in the books by Dr. U Myint Swe.

    In spite of my grandfather telling him not to enlist, father went ahead for enlistment.

    The place for enlistment was the at the Cantonment (which Burmanized as “Kan Daw Min” Park). It is the place with a small lake near the Shwe Dagon Pagoda.

    At that time, no Burmese would be accepted. One must either be an Anglo-Burman or and Anglo-Indian.

    When asked, father gave his name as “John Henry Wilson”. He could be taken for an Anglo because he was very fair with sharp facial features.

    Next he was asked to go against the wall to measure his height. Father was only five foot two inches. When the sergeant cane to measure him, he stood up on his toes so that it would be five foot four (the required height for a soldier.

    The sergeant asked him whether he really wanted to serve, and getting an affirmative, the sergeant write down on his enlistment as “John Henry Wilson, Anglo-Burman, five foot six”. Father became a soldier.

    NOTE:

    Since, the English keeps excellent records, there must be enlistment records for the regiment that above item written down above, would still be there in their archives.

    I visited the Middle Temple Inn in London, from where my father was called to the Bar. I wanted know about my father, the Librarian asked me for date of being called, went in, back in about 15 mins and gave me a copy of information of my father as recorded in their archives.: Will write more about this in a later post “My father: the Barrister”

    I tried to remember but still could not get the place in India where he was sent. I only remembered that it was in a cantonment not far from Dehli.

    Father was sent to where the Gloucester Regiment, the 12th Battalion was billeted. He got his training, stayed there for some time rising to the rank of corporal.

    Mesopotamia Campaign and “the war to end all wars”

    At the start of the war, the British army and its allies thought that it would be a short war lasting for a year or so. But it didn’t as the allies were fighting on different fronts. When the Turkish Ottoman army joined the war, that opened a new front of the war: the “Mesopotamia Front / Campaign”. Father’s regiment was sent to that front.

    Germany had sent a fleet of submarines to attack British ships carrying either troops or cargo.

    Although not entirely, the British army and navy were depending on oil from Burma Oil Company in Yenangyaung. But when their ships sailing from Burma were being sunk, they looked for an alternative.

    Apart from Burma, the oil fields from Mesopotamia were near to England and likely to have less loss during transport.

    Just like Burma Oil Company (BOC), there was another company that could offer the required crude oil. Like BOC, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (AOC) was owned by an Englishman. Both BOC and AOC were taken over by the British government for the war efforts.

    The Mesopotamia Campaign happened mainly to save and have access to AOC refineries.

    For some years now, whenever I heard about Iraq, Iran, Syria, two words often appeared: Basra and Mosul.

    Mesopotamia was the area between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. It covered what would later become most of Iraq, parts of Northern Arabia, Eastern part of Syria and South East Turkey.

    The oil rigs were in Basra and Mosul within Mesopotamia.

    And that was where my father’s regiment was sent: to guard the oil fields from the Germans.

    As the German army was engaged in other fronts, it was the Turkish (Ottaman) soldiers and Nomadic Arabs attacking these two areas.

    It was mainly skirmishes and attacks mainly by the nomadic Arabs who were given arms by the Germans. The disciplined regiment could repel the poorly planned attacks and thus England still had access to the oil.

    Armistice: 11-11-11 11AM

    Father and did comrades stayed on in that area till Armistice, the end of the war at: “the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th. month of the year”.

    President Woodrow Wilson in his speech said, “the war to end all wars” had ended, using H.G . Wells’ words from the book “The War of the Worlds”. How ironic it was as only three decades later the Second World War happened.

    Return Home

    Not too long after that soldiers including my father were demobilized and could return to their home countries.

    Father returned home to be with his family.

    Study at Cambridge University

    Since he was expelled from the College, he had never given up his hope to gain a good education. The demob and savings from his salary and other benefits on leaving the army, he now had enough money to go to England to get what he had wanted to do since 1914.

    He applied to be admitted to Queens’ College Cambridge, where his elder brother had attended gaining MA, LLB.

    Father landed on the shores of England in the spring of 1919. He was twenty one years old.

    After spending time in London for a week or so he got to Cambridge to seek admission. Father told me that it was a vibrant time to be as there were so many young men like him, veterans of the war, some who had left their studies and had left to fight the war as well as those like him who had come to be admitted for the first time. He wanted to study at Cambridge as this was where his elder brother studied for his BA (later MA) and LLB.

    Both Oxford and Cambridge gave dispensation for veterans, so that they did not have to undergo a strict entrance exam but only had to take what was known as “the little go”.

    Father went to the College with all that he had was his matriculation certificate from Burma. He had to go through an interview first to see whether he should be admitted. Father impressed the examiners that he was admitted without the need to take entrance exams.

    Finally he thought he was going to get the education he had missed before. He had enough money to sustain him for the four years at the university.

    During the two years he was in Cambridge, he actively participated in debates conducted by the Cambridge Union, where he sharpened not only his oratory but also would help him at the courts when he became a practising barrister in Burma. It also helped when he became a well known politician in Burma.

    Two things happened that would affect his ambition to be a college graduate.

    First when he was in the second year, U Tin Tut arrived. He was sent to Oxford to do his training for the Indian Civil Service (ICS). He was to be the very first Burmese to be admitted to the Service. And unlike the others who later joined, he was the only Burmese to be admitted by nomination and not by selection examinations.

    In December 29th 1920, there was a nation wide students strike against the British government. Schools and the Rangoon University was closed down.

    U Myint Thein was then studying in the junior BA class at the University. Not knowing when the university would be reopened, even without telling my father he traveled by ship to England. This he did without any funds for tuition fees. He arrived and requested my father to pay for his tuition and upkeep in Cambridge.

    U Tin Tut gambled a lot on the races and he also was asking father to help pay some of his gambling debts.

    Father decided to leave Cambridge so that he could support his younger brother. He searched for a job to sustain the three of them.

    For the second time in his life, his education had to be postponed.

    At that time, there was Burma Club. Many years later — at the time when Saya U Maung Nyo was studying in London — there would be the Britain Burma Club. And Prof. Woodruff, who was a visiting professor of tropical medicine in Rangoon, was a Patron.

    The Burma Club was for the people who have served in Burma both before and during the war. Father got a job as the secretary of the Club. It enabled him to sustain the needs of his two brothers and allowed him to prepare for the barrister examinations.

    I have titled this part of my post as “Cambridge — here I come”, but for father in 1920 was “Cambridge — here I leave”.

    Yet again he was thwarted from gaining a university degree.

    P.S. In spite of all the obstacles, in 1948, on gaining independence, my father, the college dropout, was appointed as one of the first three Supreme Court Justices of our country. And also later became the very first Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Rangoon University.

    Four brothers and Inns of Court

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is inns-2-1.jpg
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is inns-of-the-court-1.jpg

    The complete series of articles have been posted in Facebook and archived in hlamin.com

    Magnum Opus

    • Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint e-mailed me a soft copy of “Who’s Who in Heath and Medicine (in Burma/Myanmar)” (Second edition).
    • It is the Magnum Opus of Professor Mya Tu and his wife Daw Khin Thet Hta.
    • There was an attempt to update it, but did not happen.

    Dr. Tin U

    Saya U Tin U was the pioneer of child health and paediatrics in Burma. He was the first Burmese doctor to pass the MRCP (Paediatrics), the first professor of Child Health, the first medical superintendent of the Rangoon Children’s Hospital, the first Principal of the postgraduate school of child health. He was the only Burmese Paediatrician to serve as WHO Professor of Paediatrics in India (Calicut) and Bangladesh (Dhaka).

    Saya called our medical disciple as “child health” rather than Paediatrics as he would like to focus on keeping children healthy rather than looking after them when their are unwell. Saya pioneered the use of Oral Rehydration Solution for diarrhoea in children, setting up center for childhood malnutrition; standardization of treatment of Dengue Haemorhagic Fever. He authored seven books on child health, all of which went into multiple reprints and Saya was awarded the National Literary Prize (Ahmyo Thar Sapay Su). Saya also served as the Member of the parliament for Dagon Township for one term. Saya was the elder brother of Saya U Sein Win (RIT EE).

    Before You Judge People (2015)

    Dr. Su Mon, daughter of Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint, used her strong mental prowess to overcome adversity.

    She posted on Facebook in 2015:

    Dear world, I just want you to know that I am more than the sum of my diseases and limitations, I am more than my usually failing body, I am more than my brains and IQ, I am more than just a person with disability. I am more than my limp and my strange gait (yes it would be good if you stop staring at me when you see me) and I am more than my many scars. And I am definitely stronger (mentally) than you can possibly imagine. Please don’t think my life is easy, that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, that all that I have achieved so far came to me easily. I worked damn hard for every little thing, every step forward is hard fought with all that I have in me. I may not meet your definition of success or beauty, or intelligence but I am ok with that. I love who I am, many flaws and all. All I ask before you judge me or dismiss me is that you spend an hour in my shoes. I will do the same for you.

    Dr. Myo Khin (C70) wrote :

    Heartfelt appreciations to your strong spirit and will, all the best. May lord Buddha bless and keep you. Your god uncle, MK.

    Cecilia James wrote :

    A fighter against all adversaries and a risk-taker is to be admired. The world makes way for a person who knows where she / he is going. May God bless you and may you be successful in all your endeavors !

    Historic photo of Burmese Doctors

    Saya Ko Gyi, Ophthalmologist and Medical Superintendent of EENT Hospital, is the father of Dr. Thein Wai (SPHS63, Fifth in Burma) and U Aung Khin (SPHS63, DSA, GBNF).

    Sayagyi Col. Min Sein is the father of Dr. Thein Htut (RUBC Gold).

    Sayagyi U Maung Gale was Dean of the Rangoon Medical College from1959 to 1962. Per Saya Dr. Maung Nyo, “He was our dean, very quiet and peaceful. He translated Grey’s Anatomy to Burmese and he handed over the manuscripts to Dr Norma Saw.”

    Prof. U Khin Maung Win was Pathologist and DG ME. At one time, he headed the Medical Board to examine the people chosen for States Scholar.

    Garawa

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 1166.jpg

    Garawa means paying respect (especially to elders and mentors).

    U Myint Thein (“MMT”, former Chief Justice of the Union of Burma, former Ambassador to China, and author) paid respect to his elder brother U Kyaw Myint (Barrister, Head of the Tribunal which tried Galon U Saw, and former Dean of the Faculty of Law).

    Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint wrote :

    It was on the occasion of the 80th birthday celebration of [my Ba Dwe] U Myint Thein at the residence of the British Ambassador Mr. Charles Booth.

    Father [U Kyaw Myint] was the Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Rangoon. He took classes in constitutional law as he explained why it was important to have a comprehensive constitutional law. He also lectured on criminal law.

    One anecdote about father: I was very curious when father marked the answer books of BL students. I once saw father giving pass to a student who answered only one question. Father showed me the book which the single answer almost fill. Father told me that although it was only one answer, he wrote as though it was a real lawyer’s brief while others “regurgitate” what they had learned from lectures and books. Father followed the career of his student. As father predicted he became one of the best lawyers in Burma (sorry, have forgotten the name)

    The Prime Minister was the Chancellor of the Rangoon University. U Nu followed by U Ba Swe were Chancellors. [Ba Dwe] Dr. Htin Aung was Vice Chancellor. It was during U Ba Swe’s time that father was conferred LLD (in honoris causa), together with Emperor Haile Salasi of Ethiopia.

    Among his students was Guardian U Sein Win and Sao Hso Holm.

    Father defended U Sein Win when he was arrested and charged for writing articles about the then government. The trial went on till the last day of summation by both sides. Uncle Sein Win told me about what father did. In that day, father stood up and announced that U Sein Win himself would present the summation. U Sein Win was aghast as he had not been told if this. He turned to my father who said “You can do it. If not you are not my student of law”. U Sein Win gave a very impressive summation of the case which was reported full in both national and international papers. And he was acquitted.

    “Sawbwalay” Sao Hso Holm (Son of Arzanee Sao San Htun) together with [my Ba Dwe] U Myint Thein, was the first to be arrested and last to be released from custody. [He was the Legal Advisor to the Sawbwas.] He visited my father in his office. Father told his former student that he could join their chambers if he was looking for a job. But he was offered a job by UN ending his career as Assistant Resident Representative in Fiji covering the Pacific islands. I recently bought “Burma, My Mother” by Saw Kaemawadde (Ma Ma Biddy, Sawbwalay’s spouse) her autobiography. Very touching narration of her life. You can get a soft copy from Amazon.

    At present is U Mya Thein, senior adviser on the constitution to the present government. He is the son of a brilliant lawyer U Kyin Htone, and also my father’s student. [He is a younger brother of advocate U Tun Tin.]

    Dr. Hla Yee Yee wrote :

    “ Uncle Monty” to everybody

    Dr. Myat Soe wrote :

    I know well about your uncle U Myint Thein Saya [TOKM].

    He was former Myanmar Ambassador to China, and he was a good friend of (Late) Chinese P.M Mr. Chou-Eng-Lai.

    The Student who taught me

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is tokm-1-1.jpg

    In the book of tribute to me, that Prof. Aye Maung Han, Prof. Nyunt Thein, Prof. Ye Myint Kyaw published for my seventieth birthday, many of my former students wrote about what they learned from me when I was teaching and working with them over two decades as a teacher in our medical college.

    I would like to share with whoever gets to read this, learning is not one way but two ways: while the students are learning from the teacher, the teacher himself learn from his students Some of the lessons that I learn from them are work related but many more lessons are about being a good person, being dutiful, respect for people, compassion, humbleness, gratitude, integrity and religiosity. For a significant number of them, being either a medical student, a house surgeon and later as a qualified doctor or specialist, life was never a bed of roses.They juggled to fulfill their professional role as well as the role as the bread earner for either their young families or in support of elderly parents.

    The student who taught me has written and published significant number of books ranging from fiction (based on his life experiences) to belle letters and articles mainly of which are not only sharing knowledge but also inspirational.

    The last time I went back home, he kindly gave me a book of his.

    I have read his book more than once. I go back to each chapter of his book repeatedly , especially when I come across an incident or experience, which relates very much to a relevant chapter of his book.

    And through this book, my student teaches me.

    I had a strong affinity with my colleagues and students and previously when my memory was better than now, I could remember most of whom I taught by their names and the year they graduated. The author, although I knew him well, was not close to me as student, intern and in service,as unfortunately he was either in units other than where I was in or he did postgraduate studies only I had left the country.

    Some years back, at the request of Prof. U Aye Maung Han, I gave a talk about my experiences of working in UNICEF, which were so different from my life as a paediatrician. I had titled the talk as “Shades of Mediocrity” as I felt that what I would talk about might seem both to the audience as well as to myself as my having gone through a state of mediocrity, as someone who moved from being a clinician to being an UNICEF staff responsible for public health, nutrition, water and sanitation, emergencies and the broader aspects of interventions to ensure that the the rights of children would be fulfilled. I did genuinely wonderd many times, whether I had contributed significantly beyond mediocrity, to areas of work which I had never worked in.

    I had used the title from Simon and Garfunkel’s Homeward Bound lyrics:

    “All my words came back to me
    In shades of mediocrity”.

    And I also quoted the vow in Burmese that appears on the front page of every book written by the well known author Tetkatho Phone Naing. The following is my own translation, more correctly my “transliteration” as I will never be able to give a precise translation of of Saya Phone Naing’s poem:

    THE VOW

    If you should not gain, by reading what I have written,|
    You cannot lose, if it helps to overcome ennui
    If at least a word or a para will make you thoughtful
    If you should find such in my writings, I the slave of writing
    Will feel that my duty is done.

    I will never claim that my writings are to be cherished by the reader,
    Nor through my writing I will claim as being more learned than the readerI will not go over your head, nor claim to enlighten you

    I make this my vow.

    Tetkatho Phone Naing

    (The original “vow” by the author, I have added as a photo as I do not know how to write in Burmese on Facebook)

    After I had just recited the first few lines, someone from the audience stood up and finished the poem for me, the whole passages and vow that had been made by the author..

    On top of that he said the “mediocrity or mediocre” need not be seen as permanent nor to be disparaged, as he himself was once a mediocre student during his college life.

    The person who said that he was “mediocre” was far from being mediocre, he was already a writer of renown and at the time my talk, he had not only acquired more accolades both as doctor and a writer than most of us but also held a senior teaching position at the medical college.

    I must come back to the book he gave me. I want to tell how my ” mediocre” student, whom I know that is never so, with his writings taught me to be a better person.

    The book is “Mingalar shi thaw aung myin gyin” or “Auspicious acts conducive to success”

    I have looked at how the word “mingalar” could has been translated. In the version of Paritta Protective Verses in Pali, Burmese and English, Sayadaw Silannadabhivamsa translated “mingalar” as “highest blessing”. But, I would like to use “auspicious acts” because according to the Oxford English Dictionary, auspicious means “conducive to success” , and thirty eight auspicious acts in the Mingalar Sutta lead towards the highest blessings. Maybe those who are more conversant with Pali may question my translation. But it would be appropriate for the book, to be translated as “auspicious acts that lead to success”

    The author himself has translated “mingalar” as “rules for good and auspicious conduct”

    The writer has written a chapter for each of the Mingalar (act or conduct) with erudite explanation on each of the mingalar, quoting each in Pali and Burmese. He has based these not only by rote or learning but from lessons given by eminent sayadaws of Burma. References are made to books on dhamma and sermons by Ledi Sayadaw, Dr. Pyinneikthara, Sayadaw Seikienda, Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw and many more. He shows not just learning and knowing but how much he has internalized and practiced each of the auspicious act, by referring to his life lessons.

    The fourteenth stanza of the Mingala sutta describes the first three auspicious acts:

    “Asevana ca balanam,
    Panditanan ca sevana,
    Puja ca pujaneyanam”

    “Not to associate with fools,
    to associate with the wise
    And to honor those who are worthy of honor.”

    From: translation by Ashin Silanandabhivamsa

    As I read, I learn and am so impressed not just by the narratives of his life experiences but also by seeing the depth of understanding of Mingalar Sutta. While starting life as a simple young student, he gets to where he is now by following the various tenets of Buddhism. I use the word “erudite” for him as again Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning of “erudite” as “having or showing great knowledge or learning” as those who have read the book would agree with me that he has not only understands and learns but also practices what he has learned.

    His third chapter is on the third auspicious conduct “pujaca pujaneyyanam” : he wrote about me, as one of the persons whom he considered as his “guru”‘ among those he honors as being worthy of honor. I was very touched on reading this chapter as well as it makes me feel humble to be among those he honored the most as I may not deserve such honor, as I did not have as much contact with him during both his student years nor later as a paediatrician.

    Each chapter of this book carries with it the precise meaning of each mingalar and how he has conducted himself according to his deep understanding of each.

    After the third reading of the book, I feel as though he are saying the words to me and guiding me towards not only just understanding but also ensure that my conduct are within the tenets of each of the mingalar.

    Ko Ye Myint Kyaw, with your book, you have taught me and I would like to thank you for this.

    I have only one wish to ask of you: the wish is to ask you to write a similar book on “Metta Sutta” my favorite sutta in the paritta, as I know the extent of metta (compassion) that you have for the patients, their families and your students.

    May all the highest blessings be upon you.

    With metta,
    Thane Oke Kyaw-Myint
    20 June 2015.

    Sad Loss of Manuscripts

    Daw Khin Mya Mu’s work

    Before U E Maung died, he asked me to bring out exercise books with writings by [my 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.

    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.

    Dr. Htin Aung’s works

    The sad thing was when [my Ba Dwe] Dr. Htin Aung left Burma, he had also left not only his books but drafts of books he wanted to finish and publish, mainly in history.

    Two Fallen Comrades

    Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint shared his memories about two fallen comrades. The first one was about Dr. Myo Myint. The second one was about Dr. Mya Thein (nicknamed “Win Oo” for his mustache and for appearing beside Win Oo in singing “Mee Pone Pwe”).

    Dr. Mya Thein was barely fourteen when he passed the Matriculation examination in 1957. His parents pleaded with Saya Dr. Htin Aung (Rector, Ba Dwe of Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint). Sayagyi had returned the favor he received from the Principal of Rangoon College to let him (then underage) attend college.

    Plan A failed when Dr. Mya Thein missed the cut to study Medicine by a couple of marks. Plan B succeeded when he passed the Bachelors examination with high marks overall (and especially 60+ marks in Biology) to be attend 2nd MBBS.

    For details, read Dr. TOKM’s blog.

    Books

    Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint wrote :

    I am so fortunate that books written by my former students are either given to me by the authors or bought for me by my niece Hnin Wit Yee or Min Thet Aung.

    I got a signed copy of “The Female Voice of Myanmar” by Nilanjana Sengupta, translated into Burmese, by Myae Hmone Lwin. It was given to me by Ma Thida.

    The book consist of articles about and by four eminent lady Burmese writers and activists: Ludu Daw Ah Mar, Daw Khin Myo Chit, Daw Aung San Su Kyi and my “daughter writer” Ma Thida (San Gyaung).

    Please do not say that I am biased towards my daughter but I read the articles on Daw Ah Mar, Daw Khin Myo Chit and Daw Sung Dan Su Kyi once only but read and reread the articles by and on Ma Thida about three times or more.

    Coming from a family whose members were at different times and at different lengths of incarceration by the military government, each article about Ma Thida in prison brought back sad memories of my own family. I had to pause even in the middle of each article as such memories flooded my mind.

    From a very young age Ma Thida stand out among her contemporaries . A multifaceted person with deep attitudes and understanding of right and wrong, justice and injustice, tears welled up in my eyes reading what she went through in prison, and had to stop reading after going through some incidents described by her in the book.

    I am happy and very proud that she can be what she is now, an activist, feminist, author and running PEN Myanmar and many more.

    This book must be read in Burmese as in any other language, much would be lost in translation.

    P.S. Although she left the book for me in May, due to circumstances, I happily received the book only last month.

    Posts

    • Alumni from Myanmar Institutes of Medicine
    • Early Doctors
    • Medical Research
    • SPHS60
    • The Empty Tomb
  • Aung San

    Aung San

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2025

    Brief Bio

    • Born on February 13, 1915.
    • Zartar name was Htain Lin.
    • Chose his name to be Aung San to rhyme with that of his elder brother Aung Than.
    Aung San
    • Non-de-plume during the “Thirty Comrades” days was Bo Teza.
    • Editor of Oway Magazine published by RUSU
    Aung San 2
    • Translated “Invictus”.
    Translation
    • Was assassinated on July 19, 1947
    • Spouse : Daw Khin Kyi
    • Children : Aung San Oo, Aung San Lin (GBNF), Aung San Suu Kyi

    Centennial in 2015

    I wrote the following in 2015 for the Centennial Celebration ရာပြည့် of his birthday.

    AUNG SAN
    (Feb 12, 1915 – July 19, 1947)

    AUNG

    A — Architect of Burma’s Independence;
    Signed the Aung San – Atlee Agreement.
    It led to the Nu — Atlee Agreement that gave Independence.

    U — University Student Leader;
    Served as Chief Editor of the Oway Magazine.
    Refused to name the author of “Hell Hound Turned Loose”.
    Was expelled, resulting in the 1938 Universities Student Strike.
    Translated “Invictus”.

    N — National Unity & Solidarity Proponent;
    Organized the Panlong Agreement / Pinlon Sar Choke
    Agreement was signed on February 12, 1947.
    February 12 is celebrated as Pyi Daung Su Nay / Union Day

    G —  Gone but not forgotten;
    General, who promised to step down after Independence.
    Gunned down at the tender age of 32.

    SAN

    S — Showed leadership & personal sacrifice;
    Wore torn uniforms.
    Ate Pebyoke ပဲပြုတ် and Nanbya နံပြား

    A — Anti Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL); ဖဆပလ
    Co-founder

    N — National Planning Advocate;
    Displayed Nationalism and Patriotism by deeds and not words.

    Memories

    Arzani

    Arzani Nay

    Delegation to UK

    UK

    Posts

    • Arzani Nay (Martyrs’ Day)
    • Centennial
    • Khalay
    • Pioneers
    • Rangoon University
  • Memorable Events

    Memorable Events

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2025

    RU Students’ Strike

    • 1920 — First Strike
    • 1936 — Second Strike
    • 1938 — Third Strike
    1936 Strike

    8888

    • Mass demonstrations began on 8th August, 1988
    • Coup d’etat on 18th September 1988 dashed hopes of revival of Democracy in Burma
    BE 8888
    8888 Kabyar by Maung Swan Yi

    Hokkaido Gathering

    • Several “Welcome to the SF Bay Area” gatherings were held at the Seafood restaurant
    Hokkaido Gathering

    BOC College

    • BOC funded the College of Engineering & Mining
    • Earlier : Only three disciplines — Civil, Mechanical & Electrical
    • Later : Added five disciplines — Mining, Architecture, Chemical, Textile & Metallurgy
    BOC College

    Independence Day 1948 Regatta

    • RUBC Fours : Pe Nyun, Khin Maung Wint, Pe Thein, Tin U
    1948

    June 23rd, 1973

    • My Wedding Reception
    • My parents and my mother-in-law are now GBNF
    • My father-in-law passed away in 1965
    June 73

    SPZP-2000

    • First RIT Alumni and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe was held in SF Bay Area in October 2000
    • Organizer of SPZP
    • Content Provider & Editor, ex-RIT website
    • Founder & Chief Editor of RIT Alumni Newsletter
    • Received Alumni Appreciation Award along with KMZ (webmaster)
    SPZP-2000 Organizers
    Newsletter

    August 20, 2015

    • Maurice Chee (M75) organized a Birthday Soon Kyway for me at Dhammananda Vihara, Half Moon Bay
    • Received Alumni Appreciation Award for the second time
    Aug 2015
    HMB Soon Kyway 1
    Award

    RIT Golden Jubilee

    • RIT was opened as an autonomous Institute in November 1964
    • RIT Golden Jubilee was celebrated in 2014
    RIT GJ Magazine

    69ers in 2014

    • 69ers were admitted to 2nd BE in November 1964
    • Celebrated Pseudo-GJ (GJ of Admission to RIT) in 2014
    GJ a
    GJ b
    GJ c
    GJ d
    69ers
    Logo

    iNapa Winery Gathering in 2015

    • Guest of Honor : Dr. Aung Gyi
    • Guests from Myanmar : U Win Kyaw (Met71), U Nyunt Htay (Met73)
    • Lunch, Dinner & Live Music
    iNapa 1
    iNapa 2
    iNapa 3
    iNapa 4

    Steeve Kay’s Gathering

    • 40th Anniversary of Steeve’s arrival in the USA
    Steeve 1
    Steeve 2

    Nehru’s Visit

    • Nehru, Nasser & Nu were leaders of the Non-aligned Movement

    With U Nu

    N 1

    With Indira

    Nehru and Indira

    G-Hall Thu Gathering

    • Organizers : Nan Khin Nwe & team
    • Compiled Kabyars & Articles
    G-Hall 1
    G-Hall 2

    March 2nd, 1962

    • Coup d’etat by 17-man Revolutionary Council
    • Detained U Nu & Cabinet
    • Casualty — Son of Sao Shwe Thaik

    Posts

    • Alumni
    • Dark Days
    • Elections
    • Gatherings
    • News & Newspapers