Ode to the Inya...
Dr Maung Maung Nyo
My heart leaps up when I heard the word Inya
It’s the name of the lake so near to our alma mata
It’ll always evoke memories of love, laughter and adventure.
(The Inya Lake)
My university built a hall for the ladies
It’s meant to be the hostel for our beauties
It’s named the Inya Hall simply
It played its part well for the university.
There was no
There were two or three streams actually
Rangoon Mayor built a dyke to save all water
Thus came into being the beautiful
It was first named
It was connected to
(Convocation Hall of the Rangoon University)
When the University was to be established
They looked for a place that would benefit
University students that would read, play and live
They are future servants of the Empire that’s British!
They found the Mayan Orchard near
As fulfilling the needs of the university grade
It was spacious, serene, scenic and full of shade
Convocation Hall, Inya Hall and others were made.
(Inya Hall)
Inya Hall admitted ladies students from the first
They were quiet, kindly, competitive and courteous
They studied their lessons well and took part
In the struggle for university and national causes just
Like the 1936 and 1938 university students’ strikes
Ludu Daw Ahmar, Khin Myo Chit, Dr K. Mya Yee etc were right.
(Rangoon University Boat Club, RUBC)
Inya Hall had produced many talents
Writers, artists, poets and correspondents
Inya Ga Chingyar or Ma Ma Gyi responded
To queries and charges aimed at her students
They were funny, factual and full of torments
Critics paid credits to her for wise comments.
(Past Captain of RUBC Chan Cheng Hock and Saya Nyein, Sport Officer
of the Postwar Rangoon University and Warden of Mandalay Hall)
Inya Hall had produced lady lawyers and scientists
I remember my teachers and friends living in it
Lawyer Myint Myint Khin, Dr Khin Mya Thwin
Professor Kyi Kyi, Writer Moe Moe (Inya), Kyi Aye fit in
Many future lady doctors came out of it every morning
We watched with glee from the Biology Block building.
(Yachting on Inya Lake)
Many love stories were unfolded at Inya Hall
I remember Poet Khin Lay Maung among all
He visited the hall to see his lover every day
He took his pen name from hers Khin Khin Lay
They were married after graduation in
But she died of typhoid fever and he was not allayed.
(Inya Lake Hotel)
I remember another tragic story of the Inya
Poet Maung Lun Kyin had a girl friend there
He visited her with every day and flattered
She took advantage of that and rest assured
For his devotion to make friends with others
Ultimately she married another man for her future.
I also know another poet who loved a girl at Inya
They both attended the biology classes together
Eventually they qualified for the medical college
But she chose to study for biology degree to graduate
He left the medical course half way to join her there
He found her with another man and lost his career.
A friend of mine retreated from the medical college
She came back to Inya Hall for biology and graduated
She devoted her time to teaching and research in botany
She made a grade in it and came back from
She was well known for discovery of YiYigenin in the country
Inya was a hall of fame for such lady scientists luminaries.
(Inya Lake Parks)
Lin Yone Ni had written about Inya Hall
Its reputation, liabilities, intricacies and all
His novel was very descriptive and droll
Other writers followed his steps to fall.
British had started Rangoon University Boat Club
“Row till your are dead” was their motto fast
RUBC led all water events like rowing sailing much
It stood first in many competitions in its class
Many sailors, swimmers and navy owed their debt as such.
(The Inya Lake View of the Inya Lake Hotel, So Cool)
Many students and public freely do
I once enjoyed swimming there one or two
But it’s dangerous with weeds that accrued
Some drowned in shallow water that pulled
Sometimes octopus was blamed out of blue
I remember Than Swe drowned while swimming
He was a famous Writer of the Shumawa Magazine.
It’s so serene, scenic and beautiful
We used to walk by its bank for air
It was so refreshing, relaxing and fair.
Inya Embankment has some stories to tell
Many students demonstrating in 1988 fell
They were dragged and bludgeoned to death
(Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at Home Situated on the South Side of Inya Lake
on University Avenue)
Many renowned people lived around
Former premier U Saw was one of the great
He made a mistake by assassinating Aung San
He made his name and fame plundered
Same with U Ne Win who prospered for years
Ultimately he died ignominiously after many errors.
(Hero and Assassin Together: General Aung San at Centre of Front Row,
U Saw On Left Side of Aung San with Dark Glasses Without Hat;
Between Aung San and U Tin Tut, 2nd Man from Right)
There is another great building with the name Inya
It’s the Inya Lake Hotel presented by Soviet Russia
Many events took place in addition to visits for its cafeteria
One notorious event was that of U Ne Win in one December
He punctured drums of music bands playing for Christmas and New Year
He did it because he could not sleep and it involved his dear daughters.
(General Ne Win, Dictator and Destroyer of Burma, Punctured
the Music Drums At Inya Lake Hotel)
U Ne Win was a remarkable man
He was fond of dancing often
He met Kitty Ba Than at a dance party
She was vivacious and a beauty
He’s head over heels in love with her
He married her despite her valid marriage ever.
He was also fond of gambling and racing
Yet he forbade all betting and wagering
Kyaikkasan Race Grounds bore to his forbidding
They lay waste without tangible use for the nation
Yet, he attended the Ascot and horse racing in
People were amazed by his double standard and play.
(Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Speaks On Her Fence While Under Detention)
I have been to the Hotel often
Either to see the foreign friends
Or attend the wedding ceremonies
It’s huge and hideous in activities
Cost of food and lodging was also high
No wonder many guests shied.
Now, a new famed person is living near
She is our leader and Nobel Prize winner
She was interned at home for her truth finders
There was no crime committed by her
People of
A day of reckoning will come to her tormentors.
The name “Inya” is associated with many events
The first came to me is the hall of residents
With their beauty, love stories and correspondence
No doubt it had lodged a lot of lady talents
From lawyers, judges through scientist to doctors and writers
They formed the basis of Burmese homes and intelligentsia.
The second reminder is that of the
It provided a suitable body of water to make
Sailing, swimming, walking and viewing great;
We cannot relegate it to a second place
It’s too great to be erased from our heritage.
Dr Maung Maung Nyo
24.01.2009 (original)
2 comments:
Famous writter Than Swe was drowned in Inya.
Dear Kyaw,
Thank you very much for your comment. I also remember it, but I did not compose it at first as it seemed personal.However I have already included it in the poem due to your prompting. in fact I also remember the son of a close friend of mine drowned in the lake while swimming after his matriculation examination.I was so sad.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Maung Maung Nyo
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