Dr. U Ohn Pe (the elder brother) studied Medicine in India.Medical College was not opened yet in Myanmar in those days. Retired as Director of Malaria, Ministry of Health. Awarded “Wunna Kyaw Htin”
U Khin Maung Gyi (the younger brother) was 3 or 4 years old. He received BA in 1930. He became BCS (Sr. Branch) in 1950. He received BL in 1953.
He had three daughters. The youngest is Daw Mae Khin Nyunt (Rosie Gyi, ChE71). She posted additional photos in the RU Centennial Facebook pages.
The Burmese Alphabet has 33 Eik Khaya (letter or character).
There are several groups (Wagga) of five letters. The first group (known as “Ka” wag [or wagga]) consists of က Ka / Ka gyi, ခ Kha / Kha Gway, ဂ Ga / Ga Nge, ဃ Ga / Ga Gyi and င Nga. Linguists and phonologists have explained how and why they are grouped.
The 3rd and 4th members of a group have the same sound.
There are some basic rules for “Pa Sint“ ပတ်ဆင့် where one letter is placed on top of the other). A rule says “Eik Khaya Tu, Wag Tu Sint”. It means the two letters forming a “Pa Sint” must be the same (အက္ခရာတူ) or from the same group (ဝဂ်တူ). So, it is a “No No” to have a က Ka on top of စ Sa. Another rule says, “Even for letters within a group, the ordering must be preserved”. So, က Ka can be put on top of ခ Kha, but not the other way. Also, ဂ Ga Nge can be put on top of ဃ Ga Gyi, but not the other way.
A language has two forms : Oral form (e.g. Myanmar Saga) and Written form (e.g. Myanmar Sar).
အ is used as a ဗျည်း Byee (Consonant) and sometimes as a သရ Thara (Vowel).
A Burmese word can be formed with a Byee and one or more Thara.
When the Burmese Keyboard was implemented for a typewriter (e.g. Olympia), the keys are labeled Red (keys that prevent the shifting of the carriage to type Thara) and Black (keys that signal the completion of the word and allows the carriage to advance).
The early Burmese word processing systems use (a) transliteration (e.g. on Mac) (b) Thara before Byee (as in the typewriter) (c) Byee followed by Thara (which requires processing to delimit the words and to have a canonical ordering for representation).
The rush to implement Burmese type faces and type fonts without consensus led to the incompatibility issues in the current computer systems, smart phones and devices.
Sayagyi U Pe Maung Tin was Professor of Pali and Burmese. He proposed to have Burmese as a separate department. His students include
ICS U Sein Tin (Theikpan Maung Wa)
U Thein Han (Zawgyi)
UWun (Minthuwun)
Myanmar Sar Mi Thar Su had unveiled Sayagyi’s bust in the RU Main Campus.
He also served Principal of Rangoon College.
Two Sermons
U Tha Win requested Sayagyi to translate into English the two sermons that Buddha gave to his five disciples at the Deer Sanctuary.
Dhammacakkapavattna Sutta is the first sermon delivered to the five disciples.
Anatta Lekhanna Sutta is the follow up sermon given to the five disciples.
Note : Hemanwunta Sutta given to a celestial is considered as Buddha’s second sermon.
Saya U Aung Zaw (UCC) sent me an early version of the book. It has three columns :
Pali
Burmese
English (translated by Sayagyi).
Dr. Kyaw Tint (Science Scholar for Physics) has an old worn-out copy of the book. He had typed a few verses and posted on his time line. Hope some reader has a good copy that is easy to scan.
During a period, students at the University of Rangoon [and Mandalay] attended Intermediate (A) classes for a year, but they did not have to take the examination.
They then attended Intermediate (B) classes for a year. They then take the examination for both courses.
Compart System
There used to be two examinations for a class. The students have two chances to pass.
The first examination was usually held in March. Those who pass all subjects are eligible to apply for stipends and grants.
Those who pass at least three subjects have to take the remaining subjects in the second examination, which was usually held in June.
Saya U Ba Toke
Saya was born in December, 1920.
He attended Mandalay University.
He joined the Students’ Strike Camp, and missed the first examination held in March.
The strike ended, and Saya took all the subjects in the second examination and passed.
He wanted to attend the Faculty of Engineering in Rangoon, but he needed a stipend. He could not get the stipend because he did not take the first examination.
Saya’s teachers persuaded him to take Mathematics Honors in Mandalay.
Dr. Tint Lwin
He took the Pure Science option for I.Sc.
He attended engineering classes for a while, but he changed his mind to study Medicine.
He took the classes needed to study medicine (e.g. Biology) and the supplementary exams.
Finally, he was admitted to the MBBS classes.
During his university days, he was a University Goalkeeper. He played with Collegian Nay Win, Tun Kyi and Kenneth Shein.
A US professor was startled when a Burmese student proudly claimed that he had all-round Ds (for distinctions) back in Burma. In USA schools, “D” means grade 1 (lowest), and “A” means grade 4 (highest).
In the initial stages of the new education system, a student must have at least 75% attendance; otherwise one cannot take the examinations.
Getting a grade 1 in any subject means failing the whole examination.
To pass the examination, each paper must have at least a grade 2, and the average grade must be at least 2.5.
Some professors are not keen on making too many moderation. Some students got penalized for “not taking minor subjects seriously”.
In ’64, there were three intakes.
About 500 students were admitted to the first ever 1st B.E. Also, their admission was based not on total marks, but on the controversial ILA (Intelligence Level Aggregate), using the “distribution curve” for each subject.
About 320 students were admitted to the first ever 2nd B.E.
About 200 students were admitted to the first ever 3rd. B.E. Saya U Myo Myint Sein (A) would say that Saya Sai Yee Laik (A 68) stood “first and last in his class”.
In the “newer” education system, a student needs 5 years to get a B.E. One gets an AGTI after the first two years, and a B.Tech after another two years.
The terms “old” and “new” are relative.
We took the last ever 7th std Government exam in 1960.
The “new” system had 8th std Government exam.
We took the first ever High School Final /HSF only (9th std Government exam) in March ’62 with the security forces patrolling the city. The exam results were annulled, and we were asked to take another exam a few months later.
In the “old” system, the students take the HSF & Matriculation combined exam.
We took the first ever Matriculation only (10th std Government exam) in May ’63.
Consequently, those who were one year senior to us in High School graduated two (or even 2.5) years ahead of us.
In an “old, old” system [following second world war], anyone who is confident can [take “jump promotions’ and] take the HSF & Matriculation exam.
When Rangoon University reopened in 1946, three siblings Dr. Pe Nyun, Dr. Pe Thein and their sister — joined entered the University together.
The “old” Rangoon University allowed “compartmental” system. One needs to re-sit only the subjects that one failed (in the first exam – usually in March) in the “supplementary” exam – usually in June. Note however that those who apply for scholarships/stipends must pass all subjects in the first exam.
Sayagyi U Ba Toke did not take the first exam because he was in a college strike camp. He was the sole student to take and pass all subjects in the supplementary exam, but without access to scholarship/stipend and with persuasion from the Mathematics teachers, he struck off the choice of becoming an engineer. For details, read the book by Saya Dr. Khin Maung Swe (“Maung Thinchar”, GBNF).
Based in part on the compilation of Sayagyi Minthuwun (Eminent Scholar & Laureate Poet)
မြန်မာ့ ပထမဆုံး စံပြ ပုဂ္ဂိုလ်ကျော်များ•
Outstanding Burmese noted for being First in their field
၁။ ပထမဆုံးသမ္မတ=စဝ်ရွှေသိုက် ။
Sao Shwe Thaik served as the first President of the Union of Burma. He was succeeded by Dr. Ba U and Mahn Win Maung. Coup D’etat took place in March 1962 before Sama Duwa Sinwa Naung could take office.
၂။ ပထမဆုံး၀န်ကြီးချုပ်=ဦးနု ။
U Nu served as the first Prime Minister of the Union of Burma. He was also the last Prime Minister before the fateful Coup D’etat on March 2, 1962.
၃။ ပထမဆုံး အနောက်တိုင်း ဆေးဒေါက်တာ=ရှောလူး ။
Dr. Shaw Loo was the first doctor to study medicine in the West.
Saygyi U Razak (Arzani) was one of the first to graduate from Ah Myo Tha College (National College). He served as Principal of the National School in Mandalay. He was Minister of Education in Bogyoke Aung San’s Cabinet.
၇။ ပထမဆုံးအင်ဂျင်နီယာ=ဖန်ချက်၀န် ဦးရွှေအိုး ။
Phan Chet Wun U Shwe Oh was the first Burmese engineer.
Phwa Oo Zun (Mandalay native) was the first Burmese female to provide Social Service for the public. She established the Home for the Aged. Details can be found in Ludu Daw Ah Mar’s book “Mandalay Thar & Mandalay Thu”.
၁၀။ ပထမဆုံး ရုပ်ရှင်သရုပ်ဆောင်=ဦးညီပု ။
U Nyi Pu (brother of A1 U Tin Nwe, U Maung Maung Soe / U Tin Pe & A1 U Tin Maung) was the first leading male actor in a Burmese movie. He founded Maha Weikzahto Film. The four brothers and their extended families founded several film companies.
Professor U Pe Maung Tin was the first Principal of the University of Rangoon.
Note: He was Professor of Oriental Studies (including Pali). He proposed to have a separate Department for Burmese. The early graduates ICS U Sein Tin (Theikpan Maung Wa), U Thein Han (Zawgyi) and U Wun (Minthuwun) founded the “Khit San Sar Pay” movement.
Dr. Tin Maung served as the first Rector of ICST (Institute of Computer Science and Technology).
Note: Dr Chit Swe founded UCC (Universities’ Computer Center) with the help of Saya U Soe Paing, Saya U Myo Min and Saya U Ko Ko Lay (GBNF) and served as the Founding Director of UCC. Dr. Chit Swe, who retired as Rector of Rangoon Arts and Science University, was succeeded by Dr. Tin Maung. During Dr. Tin Maung’s tenure, DCS (Department of Computer Science) and IST were established.
Hajeema Pyinmana Daw Pu was the first female to win Lu Hmu Htoo Chun Su Pathama Sint (First Class for Distinguished Social Service).
Note: She donated for the founding of some hospitals. She is the mother-in-law of Saya U Ba Than Haq (Retired Professor of Geology & Pro-Rector of RASU)
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was the first Burmese to receive the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.
ဆရာ မင်းသု၀ဏ်စီစဉ်သည်
Compiled by Saya Minthuwun (U Wun, Retired Professor of Burmese; Head of the Translation Department; Compiler of the Myanmar Abhidan; Co-compiler of the Japanese-Burmese Dictionary; Visiting Professor of Burma at Osaka University at the invitation of Professor Harada (“Chit Mann Nwe”); Laureate Poet …). Saya is the father of U Htin Kyaw (former President of Myanmar).
ဗဟုသုတ မှတ်စု
————————————————
*** Some more interesting facts about the pioneers and/or record holders:
Sayagyi Dr. Chit Swe founded UCC (Universities’ Computer Center) with the help of Saya U Soe Paing, Saya U Myo Min, and Saya U Ko Ko Lay (GBNF). They also led TOSS (Team Of System Specialists), which helped with the computerization of various government departments and organizations,
Sayagyi was succeeded by Saya Dr. Tin Maung (GBNF) as Director of UCC. During Saya Dr. Tin Maung’s tenure, DCS (Department of Computer Science) and ICST (Institute of Computer Science and Technology) were opened. Saya served as the Rector of ICST.
*** Some more interesting facts about the pioneers and/or record holders:
Sayagyi Dr. Chit Swe founded UCC (Universities’ Computer Center) with the help of Saya U Soe Paing, Saya U Myo Min, and Saya U Ko Ko Lay (GBNF). They also led TOSS (Team Of System Specialists), which helped with the computerization of various government departments and organizations,
Sayagyi was succeeded by Saya Dr. Tin Maung (GBNF) as Director of UCC. During Saya Dr. Tin Maung’s tenure, DCS (Department of Computer Science) and ICST (Institute of Computer Science and Technology) were opened. Saya served as the Rector of ICST.
Saya U Soe Paing wrote “Computer Ah Sa UCC Ga” in a computer magazine in Myanmar. It was re-posed in “Mandalay Gazette”, a publication based in Los Angeles.
m Mee Bone Byan U Kyaw Yin is the father of “Ka Sa” (Cartoonist U Kyaw San). We learned about U Kyaw Yin in a middle school text book.
U Nyi Pu founded his own film company called “Weikkzado Films”. His elder brother U Tin Nwe and his youngest brother U Tin Maung founded “A1 Film”. His younger brother U Maung Maung Soe founded “Maung Maung Soe Film”.
British Burma U Nay Win and U Kyaw Zaw were some of the scholars who studied cinematography in US.
Dr. Tun Naung (DDS, Luyechun) often played the mandolin placed on his back. Other Stereo musicians included Accordion Ohn Kyaw, Min Min Latt, and former BBS “Local Talent” stars.
Sayagyi U Pe Maung Tin served as the first Principal of Rangoon University. Sayagyi earlier proposed the founding of “Burmese Department” at Rangoon University. He served as the first Professor. Three of his students : Sayagyi U Thein Han (“Zawgyi”), Sayagyi U Wun (“Minthuwun”), and ICS U Sein Tin (“Theikpan Maung Wa”) founded the “Khit San Sar Pay” movement.
Sayadaw U Vicittacara is the first Burmese to appear in the “Guiness Book of World Records” for his phenomenal memory. Sayadaw recited 8000+ pages of Tipitaka : Vinaya (Monastic rules of conduct), Sutta (Discourses), and Abhidhamma (Ultimate Reality) atthe Sixth Buddhist Council held at KabaAye in the 50’s.
Lexicographers include (1) Judson and his team (2) U Tun Nyein (3) Dr. Ba Han (4) U Hoke Sein (Pali, English, Burmese).
Sao Shwe Thaik (Yawnshwe Saophalong/Sawbwa) is the first President of the “Union of Burma”. He was succeeded by Dr. Ba U and Mahn Win Maung. Sama Duwa Sinawa Naung was to be the 4th President, but a 17-man Revolutionary Council staged a coup d’etat on March 2, 1962. Sao Shwe Thaik lost his son in the [supposedly] bloodless coup.
BMRI (Burma Medical Research Institute) was founded by Dr. Mya Tu. His successors include Dr. Aung Than Ba Tu, Dr. Khin Maung Tin, Dr. Daw May May Yi, Dr. Myint Lwin …
Details of the early and/or prominent doctors/educators can be added by Saya Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint.
Dr. Freddie Ba Hli (Sc.D) was the first Director General of UBARI (Union of Burma Applied Research Institute). Saya also taught part-time at the Electrical Engineering Department. Saya later served as a Board Member for UCC.
Sayagyi U Ba Hli was the first native Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Rangoon University. He also taught Civil Engineering courses. Sayagyi proposed the “Twinning Program” with prestigious universities in US and UK.
Before becoming the 3rd Secretary General of United Nations, U Thant was the Permanent Representative of the Burmese Mission to the UN. He was preceded and succeeded by Mr. James Barrington.
U Thant was the unanimous choice following the Soviet Union’s veto of Dr. Ralph Bunche (prominent Black diplomat) and the USA’s veto of the “Trioka” proposed by USSR.
U Nu was the first, third and last Prime Minister of the “Union of Burma”. Dawei U Ba Swe was Prime Minister for some time after U Nu’s first term. There was also a soft Coup in 1958.
Saya Dr. Maung Maung Kha (Physics), Saya Dr. Hla Myint (Economics), Saya Dr. Tha Hla (Geology), … replaced the non-Burmese [mostly British and some Indian] professors from Rangoon University.
Prominent cartoonists include U Ba Gyan, U Heng Soon, U Pe Thein, U Aung Shein, U Kyaw San, U Sein, U Ba Htwe, …
Cartoons are displayed along U Ba Gyan Street during the Tazaungdaing Festival.
There have been adaptations as well as “direct translation” of works from English to Burmese.
Saya Shwe Oo Daung’s U San Shar & U Thein Maung are the [Burmanized] counterparts of Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson.
U Zaw Weik was the first Burmese to compete in Olympics. He was a member of the British India team.
U Aung Gyi (flyweight) was the first Burmese weight lifter to set/break an Olympic record.
Ko Tun Mra won 100 meters relay Gold); Ko Kyaw Mra won 110 meter hurdles Silver and Ko Soe Mra won Pole vault Gold) at the 2nd SEAP Games held in Rangoon, Burma. Their younger brothers Ko Win Mra, Ko Maung Maung Mra and Ko Aung Mra also won medals for Pole Vault.
Ko Kyaw Mra became National Coach for Track & Field.
Young alumni (including U Wynn Htain Oo (M72) and U Tin Latt (M85) founded RIT-YIT-YTU Alumni Association (also known as RITAA). Since there was a length limitation for naming, BIT (which was technically a renaming of the “Faculty of Engineering” of the University of Rangoon) was left out of the name. Under the then New Education System, RIT became an autonomous Institute in 1964.
I attended PPBRS (Private Primary Boundary Road School) located at 109 Boundary Road (now known as Dhamma Zedi), Rangoon. After passing Third Standard, I moved to Sr. Paul’s High School.
PPBRS was founded by Daw Tin Tin Aye, elder sister of Daw Yi and Daw Khin Khin Aye.
Daw Khin Khin Aye (Teacher Ah Mar) succeeded Daw Tin Tin Aye as Principal. She later added classes for Middle School and High School and renamed the school as PBRS (Private Boundary Road School).
PPBRS has a Boy Scouts Troupe with Ko Bo Ni (Min Kyaw Min) as the Scout Master.
I did not like to attend classes.
Teacher Ku Paw (who was my class teacher in Infant (C) / Lower KG) was nice, but she decided to join her spouse in their armed struggle.
My mother credited “Teacher Kywe” (who was my class teacher in Infant (B) / Middle KG) for transforming me into a Life Long Learner. My mother asked me to pay respect to Teacher Kywe every year. Teacher Kywe would proudly introduce me to her students.
Sad to note that most of my teachers have passed away.
There is P.B.R.S. Group in Facebook. It is a private group with Aye Maung Thann as Admin.
Myint Sein (Bobby)
Myint Sein
Ko Myint Sein (Bobby) made his name as Principal of BARB (Burma Astro Research Bureau) and later as Founder of Idea Astrology.
He attended PPBRS. He matriculated from SPHS (St. Paul’s High School). He studied B.Com at IE (Institute of Economics).
He had some business, but his passion was to study and teach Medical Astrology. Several medical doctors studied astrology with his guidance. Some asked for his second opinion about serious medical cases.
Many years ago, Myint Sein asked if I could help do Veda computations on calculators and computers. And also teach his assistants and senior students at BARB. Under my supervision, Win Latt wrote Win Horo to prepare Zartar (Natal Horoscope). Zaw Tun wrote a program to perform basic analysis of the Zartar.
A few years back, I visited Myint Sein at his house. He was consulting close friends at home. He had prepared a book on Medical Astrology and taught at the School of Indigenous Medicine as a Visiting Professor.
Sadly, he passed away.
His elder brother U Myint Kyi and his younger sister had passed away earlier.
According to Myint Sein’s son, who was back in Yangon to prepare and take his examination for Master Mariner, Myint Sein seemed to have no serious medical problems. He passed out after watching TV.
Ko Myint Swe (Monty) added that Myint Sein had brunch at Okkalapa before he headed home.
PPBRS Concert
I was dressed up as a sailor.
We sang, “When I was a sailor …”.
I do not remember what others wore or sang.
Aye Aye Myint wrote :
When I was a sailor boy …when I was a sailor boy …..when I was a sailor boy…..sailing on the sea ..
Khin Maung Oo wrote :
I remember Tin Maung Thant (son of UNSG U Thant) as husband of Winnie Cho (daughter of Teacher Cho) in one concert.
HlaMin 