On My Road to Rangoon

Dr Maung Maung Nyo

Preamble

I’ve heard of the poem entitled” On the Road to Mandalay” by the Nobel Prize winning poet Rudyard Kipling. It was composed to encourage and honour the British soldiers in their march to Mandalay to dethrone King Thibaw thus depicting the way from the British Burma in Moulmein and Rangoon to Mandalay along the Irrawaddy River.

(Nobel Prize Winner Poet Rudyard Kipling 1865-1936)

The first stanza clearly depicts this road:

(Moulmein Kyaikthalan Pagoda)

“By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' eastward to the sea,
There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks o' me;
For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say:
"Come you back, you British soldier; come you back to Mandalay!"

(This is exactly what she sees: "Lookin' eastward to the sea")

Come you back to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay:
Can't you 'ear their paddles chunkin' from Rangoon to Mandalay?

(Old Ships of the Irrawaddy Flottila Company in the Old Days)

On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin'-fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay! “

(Mandalay Hill, Fort and Moat)

There were some criticism as to the absence of any Moulmein pagoda on the road to Mandalay or in Mandalay. But the pagoda he mentions is in Moulmein and he had seen the pleasant pagoda there. It’s the Kyaikthalan Pagoda.

(Gilded Kyaikthalan "Old Moulmein Pagoda" of Kipling)

Similarly some critics said adversely that there is no flying fish in the Irrawaddy River or in the whole world, but it’s a poetic expression like the flying carpet, flying horse or even elephant. It denotes fish jumping on the water of the river. We see it every day in the Irrawaddy River and Chindwin River. The flying fish is a metaphor. itself, but Kipling had been to Molumein and Rangoon.

(Mandalay at Dusk Signalling the End of the Mandalay Era)

This poem has become so famous that the Allied soldiers also sang during the WW II to evict the Japanese soldiers in Mandalay and elsewhere in Burma. The famous singer Frank Sinatra sang it as a song and it became a hit. The name Mandalay becomes popular and there is now a Mandalay Bay entertainment enterprise in the Las Vegas in the USA.

(The Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas)

So also, I’m writing my memoirs in whatever way I remember and it’s not an official report or a precise diary. It’s just the things or events I remember in my head or heart and some sequences of events may not be chronological, they are just eventual but I try to keep them true without romanticizing them unduly. Enjoy.

Farewells in Lashio

I received my transfer order from Rangoon in the early week of March 1964 and I told all my friends that I was going to Rangoon to join the Medical College 2 in Mingaladon, Rangoon. They all were surprised that a military doctor had been selected to train for a civilian medical college and that that person would be sent abroad for a higher degree, not MRCP or FRCS.

(Dr Saw Aung Hla Win and Son Still Cherish the Degree)

Now it needs some clarification here as many medical doctors in Burma are confused with degrees, diplomas and fellowships. There are some doctors who have increased serotonin output if I say Ph.D. is a higher degree and MRCP and FRCS are diplomas. It’s nothing boasting and not meant to belittle the clinical fellowships and memberships. After all these fellowships and memberships serve their purpose, but they are not degrees granted by a university, but just diplomas granted by the respective Royal Colleges. So I was the first military medical person in Burma to be sent abroad for a higher degree (Ph.D.) in the UK.

(Pagoda at the Top of the Mandalay Hill)

I also told the Deputy Commander of the Eastern Command Colonl Aung Pe that I was going to Rangoon soon as my transfer order was already issued and I would not be joining any military operations while waiting for the replacing medical officer to arrive in Lashio. Colonel Aung Pe agreed to keep me in Lashio and asked the Commander of No.232 Medical Battalion in Meiktila to send a replacement as soon as possible. So, I was set for transfer to Rangoon and my friends in Lashio tried to get a date from me to enable them to give me a farewell dinner or a suitable meal.

(Lashio City, Northern Shan State)

Colonel Min Maung’s Farewell

Colonel Min Maung had become my personal friend and he regretted that I was transferred so soon from Lashio. ”Saya, your transfer order came so soon. This is a record in the Burma Army. We’ll give you a farewell lunch one day. I’ll arrange with the Adjutant,” he said. He invited me to have a lunch at 12.00 noon on one Saturday and all the army officers of the Lashio Station were invited. Lieutenant Shwe Man was on duty. He later was awarded a Thura Medal and became a general in the SPDC.

(Namkham River)

There was no ceremony, just stating that the 109 Light Infantry Battalion bid “Farewell” to me and they all wished me success and happiness in the future and they ate lunch for me. It was Htattaya (Parata) and chicken curry with vegetable salads and refreshments (light drinks). The whole battalion that was stationed in Lashio enjoyed it. I also did.

Captain Yin Nyunt’s Farewell

Captain Yin Nyunt and his wife were my good friends and they used to invite me to their home quite often. I think they were then just married over two or three years and they did not have a child yet. “Saya, please give us one evening to give you a farewell dinner. Khin is a very good cook. She wishes to say farewell to you personally,” Captain Yin Nyunt said to me. So, I had to give them a date just two or three days before my departure.

(The Namtu Mine Spiral Where Captain Yin Nyunt Fights Bravely)

They fed me coconut rice, oily chicken curry (Kyet Thar Sipyan), fried Balachong (Fish paste and chili), cucumber salad and pea soup. It was very delicious and I thanked them for their generosity. Daw Khin Hla Myint was very happy that I enjoyed her cooking. Captain Yin Nyunt resigned or retired from the army and settled down in Mandalay while I was in London. We never met again although we were informed of each other’s progress. Captain Yin Nyunt opened a broker house in Mandalay transmitting Shan and Burmese goods from Mandalay to Lashio and Taunggyi in the Shan State or vice versa. I heard he had a good business and he was becoming rich with money and children.

(Misty Lashio Scene)

Major Hla’s Farewell

Major Hla’s home had been my “Sar Ein Thauk Ein” (Free Eating and Drinking Haven), but they gave me a farewell dinner. They asked me to bring along Dr Ivan Win Pe too as we used to be inseparable before I left. Ivan was keen to join the Burma Army like me, but his mother who lived with him to look after his house as he was single at the time did not agree.

(Lashio Motel)

However, Ivan used to take me to his home almost every day and he asked me to eat his portion of Chapati (Indian flat bread) and vegetable dishes made for him. He instead ate what was cooked for me. His mother told me, “Maung Nyo, your friend is hard headed. He is acting strange as he likes to join the army like you. But he can’t as he is a Hindu.” However, Ivan’s elder brother Kenneth Varma (K. Ba Thoung) was already in the Burma Army. He was a major then. He was more popular when General Ne Win married Yadana Natme (June Rose Bellamy) as they were classmates in Maymyo. Ivan later succeeded in joining the Burma Army.

(Welcome to Lashio)

Daw Aye Ngwe cooked a typical Burmese meal for us. It included specially cooked rice, oily cooked pork, roasted chicken, fried pea, assorted vegetables sour soup, fried fish paste, fresh vegetables salads, fried fish and roasted soy flakes (Pebokekin). We drank some beer as Major Hla urged us for a happy farewell. Bohmu Hl and Daw Aye Ngwe had been good to me in all ways. They hosted my friends Colonel Tun Hla Pru and Captain Khin Maung Lin in their home while I was away at somewhere. They told them I was very busy and had many social activities. Yes, I was.

Ma Ohn May and Ma Kyin Mu’s Farewell

Ma Ohn May and Ma Kyin Mu gave me a farewell dinner at a Chinese Restaurant in Lashiolay (Small Lashio). (There are two Lashios, Lashiogyi and Lashiolay; Lashiolay is the town where government offices, market and Lashio Civil Hospital are situated while Lashiogyi (Big Lashio) is about 3 or 4 miles away where Shan and other races live like a big village. The Army Hospital is situated between the two nearer to Lashiogyi.)

(Manzu Pagoda in Lashio)

They both said I was transferred so soon and they would miss me very much as we three had become good friends. We had good company and now I would be leaving them two alone. They were so sad. I told them it was the Director’s doing and I was keen to go abroad. I would meet them when I came back from the UK. They gave me souvenir gifts that I kept for a long time.

U Aung Hla’s Farewell

U Aung Hla was a close friend of Major Hla. His wife and Daw Aye Ngwe were fast friends. They shared some common interests and Bohmu Hla used to take me to their house and shop in Lashiolay. They sold all kinds of Shan goods especially Shan dried tea leaves. I used to buy one or two visses of dried tea leaves whenever I went down to Mandalay, Monywa and Meiktila to give to friends as presents. (1 Viss of weight equal 3.6 Pounds.)

(Lashio Market)

My friends liked those pure unadulterated tea leaves. So when I bought 4 Visses of tea leaves they asked me why I was buying so many. I told them I was transferred from Lashio and I was going to Rangoon and these tea leaves would be good gifts to my Burmese friends in Rangoon and elsewhere in Burma proper. They then invited me to their home for a farewell lunch.

It was a typical Shan meal consisting of cooked Shan rice that was sticky, pickled Monhnin (Mustard), Soon-Tan soup, fried soy flakes and chili, chicken and gourd soup, cooked 3-layered pork and cucumber salad. It was a specially cooked delicious meal and we three ate ravenously including Major Hla.

BMH, Maymyo

I remember I was driving the ambulance jeep from Lashio to Meiktila and driver Hla Min was accompanying me. I would leave the ambulance in Meihtila Medical Battalion 232 when I arrived in Meiktila. Then, I would take the train from Thazi to Rangoon. So, I had a whole car and supporting staff with me from Lashio to Meiktila and I had the opportunity to visit BMH, Maymyo, Monywa and Mandalay before I reached Meiktila. The BMH, Maymyo was my first stop. I drove direct to the CO’s Office. The sentries at the gate looked at me surprised and let me go when they recognized me. Soldiers from BMH, Maymyo were fond of me as I used to befriend them while I was posted there.

(Maymyo or Pyin Oo Lwin City Centre)

Colonel Balakrisna was happy to see me.” So, you are on the way to Rangoon, right, Maung Nyo?” he asked me. ”Yes, Colonel, I just come in to greet you and say Hello,” I replied. He shook my hand and said, ”Good. Do continue your hard work. You will be successful.” He then let me go and see other officers and staff. I saw Dr Tin Aung Swe as a civilian consultant in medicine and Dr U Thein Nyunt as the civilian consultant surgeon for the army. They greeted me cordially. “Congratulations, Ko Nyo. So you are going abroad for further study,” Dr Thein Nyunt asked me.” Yes, but after some training at MC 2,” I answered. I later met them n Rangoon; Dr Tin Aung Swe as rector of Institute of Medicine 2 and Dr Thein Nyunt as Professor of surgery.

(Rangoon Medical College, Lanmadaw, Yangon)

I went to my old medical wad and Major Aiyyappan greeted me warmly. He was glad that I had been chosen for further study in the UK. My news spread like wild fire in the BMH and medical corps. I was surprised and glad. I met Captain Htun Hlaing in the medical ward and he was very glad with my news. He introduced me to any doctor I met at BMH that day. He was a Panthay and served in the army up to the colonel rank. He retired a few years after my retirement as professor in 1998.

(Maymyo Horse Cart, Yahtalone)

I said,” Hello” to Ko Aung Thein, elder brother of Dr S. Hla Mong. He was surprised and glad that I was being transferred from Lashio to Rangoon. “Take away some cakes from my shop,” he offered. I said,” Thank you Ko Aung Thein. But, no, I won’t take any. Give my regards to your mother and wife.” “I have two wives now,” he said laughing. He was a Muslim. I remember he requested to supply me with contraceptive pills every month while I was in Maymyo. He gave them to his girl friend every month. But after a few months the girl told him she was pregnant and asked him to marry her. He told his mother and she was married according to the Islamic Laws and he took her to his mother’s house where the first wife and children were living. There was no problem and he returned all the contraceptive pills to me after his second wife have returned them back. Both of them died in a car accident near the entrance from Mandalay a few years ago. His shop was the Diamond Confectionery on Mandalay Lashio Road in Maymyo. I miss him.

(Maymyo Waterfall)

I ate lunch with my driver and soldiers at the Lashio Restaurant on the Mandalay Lashio Road in Maymyo at about 11.30 AM. “Can we drive from Mandalay to Monywa today?” I asked Hla Min. “It will take one and half hours from here to Mandalay. So we’ll get in Mandalay at about 2 .00PM. Then we drive to Monywa. How fare is Monywa from Mandalay?” he asked me. “About 136 Kilometers or 86 miles,” I replied.” Then we’ll arrive in Monywa by 5.00 PM latest,” Hla Min said. “OK, enjoy your lunch, Let us drive from here to Monywa direct,” I told them. I paid the cost of lunch for all from my own pocket. This had been my habit or practice since I became their officer commanding. They appreciated it very much as soldiers could not afford good food.

Monywa

My parents were gad and surprised to see me in army uniform driving an ambulance jeep. I greeted them,” I come here to say Hello and to pay respects to you. I’m being transferred from Lashio to Rangoon,” I told them.

(Mohnyin Thanbuddhay Cedi, Monywa)

“Good. How many days will you stay in Monywa?” my father asked. “Say today and tomorrow. Then I’ll leave day after tomorrow to Meiktila,” I replied. “Today after resting for a few hours we’ll go to Sudaungpye and Shwezigon Pagodas. I’ll pay homage to them and showed my three companions. Then, I’ll greet old friends,” I continued. “Don’t eat at outside shops. I’ll cook dinner for you. Beef, bitter gourd, gram pea soup and mango pickle you like,” my mother told me.” We rested for some time, took shower and changed clothes. Then we drove to the Pagodas.

(Bodi Tahtaung, 1000 Buddhas and Banyan Trees, Monywa)

I stopped in front of Khin Khin Latt’s house at Kyaukka Street. I met her sitting on a bench. ”Hello, Maung Nyo, when did you arrive?” she asked me. “Just now .I came to say Hello to you. How are you?” I replied. “I’m very glad. Sit here,” she pointed a place beside her. ”Ma Ma, sit there,” I asked my elder sister to sit there. We exchanged pleasantries and past student life. We have been very friendly since 7^th standard. “I’m going to Kyaukka tomorrow. Would you come along if you are free? Ma Ma is coming along,” I invited her. “Yes, I’m free. Tomorrow is Saturday and come and fetch me here. I’ll be ready by 7.00 AM,” she agreed. “I’ll come here by that time,” I promised.

(Handicrafts of Kyaukka, Monywa)

We had a good picnic on that Saturday in Kyaukka. It’s is only 12 miles (20 kilmeters) from Monywa and it’s a big village with about 2000 households. It made Burmese lacquer wares sold at the many pagoda festivals in Upper Burma. It has also a famous pagoda called the Shweguni Pagoda gilded with solid gold in the upper half and gilded Buddha image inside. There is a waterfall and cold stream called the “Htan Ta Loke Chaung” that comes from an underground spring.

(Htan Ta Loke Chaung, Kyawkka, Monywa)

It’s surrounded by big boulders and shady trees. The place is good for picnic and trekking walk. We enjoyed our picnic on the boulders under the big shady trees. We bathed in the cold stream. Ma Ma, prepared a good lunch of bread and sardine with coffee. We ate well and talked well.

(Lacquerware Making in Kyaukka, Monywa)

Kyaukka celebrates the Shweguni Pagoda Festival in May (5^th to 8^th waning day of the Burmese Month Kason) each year when the whole village was crowded. I visited the festival twice in my high school days. We came back from Kyaukka at about 2.00 PM. Khin Khin Latt was a Senior Assistant teacher. My parents were happy to hear that I had been selected for state scholarship by the army to go to England after a few years’ training in Rangoon.

(90 Meters-Long Reclining Buddha, Monywa)

Meiktila

I put up at the Officers Mess at No. 232 Medical Battalion. There were four beds in two rooms and only one bed was occupied. “Who is sleeping here?” I asked the Mess sergeant. “Bogyi Win Pe,” was the answer. “Is he from Lashio?” I askd. ”Yes. Bogyi,” the Mess Sergeant replied. At long last my friend Dr Ivan Win Pe had succeeded joining the army. That’s why I lost touch with him in my last few days in Lashio.

(The Meiktila Lake, Pagoda and People)

“Hey, Maung Nyo, Congratulations,” Dr Win Pe shouted at me in the after noon. “Let’s go to town for a drink. I will drive your car,” he said. Thus we happened to enjoy our army life together in Meiktiila driving around the Meikytila Lake, drinking and eating in the restaurants and cold drinks shops near the Meiktila bazaar. “Let’s make an army uniform each for us. I have a present from my brother, it can make two uniforms,” Dr Win Pe said one day and he took me to a tailor in Meiktila.

The cloth or fabric was synthetic, smooth and soft. It was dark green in colour, the same cloth that high ranking Thai and KMT army officers as well as Shan SSA officers were wearing. “Thank you, Ivan. Can I stitch it in Rangoon, because I made all my uniforms in Mohamad Hussein Shop on 37^th Street,” I told him. ”No, Maung Nyo, this tailor is good. Let us make together here. I’ll order extra quick. It will be ready by tomorrow so that you can wear it on the train to Rangoon,” he told me. Ivan had the knack of persuasion others to follow his plan.

(The Clock Tower, Meiktila)

True, my new uniform was ready one morning before I boarded the train at Thazi. I wore it and Dr Win Pe, now Lieutenant Win Pe sent me there. He was also wearing the same uniform. “I’m very glad to be in the army. I’m free. No stress like in the civil practicing for money,” he enthused. He saluted me smartly like in the British Army as I was senior to him now. I was a full fledged captain. I returned his salute and bid Good Bye to him. He was later posted to Mongton where I had been and he married a beautiful Shan girl, Nang Hla Yin, there. They had two cute sons who were now in the UK. Ivan and his wife are deceased now.

Mingaladon

I remember I arrived in the Central Railway Station, Rangoon, on the morning of March 28, 1964. Major Ko Ko Gyi (Later Colonel), Dean of Medical College 2, had kindly sent a Toyota Pickup car and a Jamadar to fetch me at the station. I saluted him as soon as I arrived at his office.

(The Central Railway Station, Kwan Chan, Yangon, Burma)

” Good, Maung Maung Nyo, Welcome. Have you got a place to live?” he asked. “No, Bohmu. Can I live in the Officers Mess?” I requested. “I’ll enquire now,’ he said and dialed a number. He said, ’Yes, you stay with us. We have me, Tin Ohn and Tun Hla Pru in single rooms on the first story, Maung Maung on the ground floor. You have another room on the ground floor. We eat in another Mess paying our rations and needed cash separately. It’s good food.” “Thank you. Bohmu. I’m single with three trunks. I’ll study hard to go and get Ph.D. from UK,” I promised him. It’s my road to Rangoon, the return trip since my transfer from the DSGH in 1961.

(The Interior of the New International Airport, Mingaladon, Yangon)

Dr Maung Maung Nyo

28.02.2009

To parody Rudyard Kipling’s On the Road to Mandalay here is my poem:

( Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling)

On My Road to Rangoon

On my road to Rangoon

I was like a babbling baboon

Pacing from place to place

I reached my destination in haste.

I drove the ambulance fast

Without thinking about accidents much

Lucky that I did not meet any trouble as such

I had pains and aches all over as aftermath.

But, I met my teachers on the way

Colonels Bala and Aiyyappan to say

“Hello” for their parts they played in my life

It’s their kindness and guidance that right.

I met my friends before I left too

Min Maung, Yin Nyunt, Ma Kyin Mu

Ohn May kept my life occupied and cool

Major Hla couple also helped in making it too.

Ivan was a great friend

He was reliable godsend

He appeared at unexpected moments

He lent you his hand to relieve torments.

My parents encouraged me whatever I do

So long as my dreams would come true

They did not want me to become a politician

They said I would excel as an academician.

Dean Ko Ko Gyi had been good to me

He promoted me without necessity

He wanted me to excel in the academy

I tried and accomplished that by study.

I saw many men maneuvering to manage

To control others and to be top in the lineage

Scrambling upon one another like maggots in the roughage

I did not find such human animals in my crusade, so fortunate.

(Kipling's House in Mumbai, India Where He was Born)

Dr Maung Maung Nyo

28.02.2009