Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council of the Union of Myanmar Senior General Than Shwe received a Vietnamese goodwill delegation led by Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committes of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Minister of National Defence Sr. Lt.-Gen Pham Vam Tra at Zeyathiri Beikman in Yangon on 17 February.

Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council of the Union of Myanmar, has sent a message of sympathy and condolences to His Excellency Mr. Kim Dae Jung, President of the Republic of Korea great loss of lives caused by a fire in a subway in Taegu.

Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council General Khin Nyunt received former prime minister of Japan Mr. Tsumoto Hata and party at Zeya Thiri Beikman Hall in Yangon on 17 February.

A study group comprising Ambassadors of Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Russian Federation in Lao PDR, military attaches of the Philippines, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and India, diplomats of Cambodia, France, Poland and Belarus led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Somsavat Lengsavad of LaoPDR arrived in Tachilek, Shan State (East), Myanmar, through Maesai-Tachilek Friendship Bridge via Thailand on 13 February morning for excursion tour in Golden Triangle Region.

Joint Secretary of Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control explained the history of narcotic drugs in Myanmar, elimination of drug production, endeavours of narcotic drugs abuse and eradication, the 15-year narcotic drug elimination plan of Myanmar, New Destiny Project and international cooperation in drug elimination at Regina Hotel in Tachilek. The study group arrived at the poppy-substitute farm of Hong Pang Co. of Special Region-2 near Khokwa Village, Mongphone Village-tract, Tachilek Township. Farm in charge U Ar Lu and officials welcomed them and explained matters related to the farm to the group. The Mongphone Agricultural Farm has been established as 1,000 acres of poppy-substitute cultivation farm with capital of K 80 million since 1998. In the previous season, sales of grape, lychee, mango, coconut and plum fetch K 26 million.

In the evening, Chairman of CCDAC Minister for Home affairs hosted a dinner to the study group at Regina Hotel in Tachilek. On 14 February morning, the study group together with Minister for Foreign Affairs left Tachilek and arrived in Mongla. In Mongla, General Secretary U Min Ein of Special Region-4 explained elimination of narcotic drugs and development of Mongla. The study group arrived back in Kengtung in the evening. The Commander of Triangle Command hosted a dinner to the study group at Kengtung Hotel. On15 February, the study group visited Kengtung and Naungton Lake by car.

Later, the Laotian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and party proceeded from Kengtung for Tachilek by car. They then left Tachilek for Chaingrai, Thailand.

Chairman of Myanmar National Olympic Committee Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council of the Union of Myanmar General Khin Nyunt received Chinese goodwill delegation led by Vice-Chairman of State Sports General Bureau President of International Wushu Federation Mr. Li Zhijian of the People’s Republic of China currently in Yangon for promotion of friendship and cooperation on sports between the two countries at the hall of Zeyathiri Beikman in Yangon on 26 February.

Similarly, General Khin Nyunt also received Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, Director of Explanation Programme, Bronx Zoo Wild-Life Conservation Society (WCS) of the United States of America at the same venue on separate occasion on the same day.

At the invitation of Minister at the State Peace and Development Council Chairman’s Office Lt-Gen Min Thein, a 15-member delegation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam led by Minister of National Defence of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Sr. Lt-Gen Pham Vam Tra arrived Yangon by air to pay goodwill visit on 17 February.

A reception to mark the 55th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the Union of Myanmar and the Russian Federation was held at the Russian Federation Embassy on 18 February. Minister U Win Aung and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Mr. Igor S Ivanov sent messages on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between the Union of Myanmar and the Russian Federation.

News in Brief

A ceremony to donate five tubewells, water pumps and tanks was held at the Zalun Township Peace and Development Counmcil Office on 17 February morning. Wellwisher Mr Kobayashi of Eishin Association of Japan explained the donations of the tubewells in Zalun Townships, Ayayawady Division. The Eishin Association also donated exercise books, pencils and ballpens to four primary schools there. It also donated cash to Nyaungbinzay Primary School in Zalun.

The opening ceremony of the paddy husk-fired power plant of Hleseik Village General Enterprises Cooperative Society was held at the Basic Education High School in the village on 16 February.

A team of orthopaedic and facial surgeons led by Commandant Lt-Col Tun Tun of the Defence Services Orthopaedic Hospital and adviser Prof U Thet Hta Wai, and a four-member team comprising doctors from France, Belgium and Italy have jointly performed surgery at the hospital starting from 3 February. They have performed facial and oral surgery, orthopaedic surgery, and others. The operations have proved successful, and situation of the patients have improved.

Commerce Minister Welcomes Malaysian Minister

The Malaysian delegation led by Minister of Primary Industries of Malaysia Honourable Dato Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik arrived Yangon by air on 23 February. Minister for Commerce together with Malaysian Ambassador Mr. Dato Cheah Sam-Kips and officials welcomed the guests at Yangon International Airport.

Foreign Affairs Minister Arrives Back from Malaysia

Myanmar delegation led by Minister for Foreign Affairs arrived back Yangon on 26 February by air after attending the 13th Non-Aligned Movement Summit held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 22 to 25 February 2003. The minister participated in the General Debate of the Summit on 24 February, 2003.

General News

The foreign diplomats and their families in Yangon led by the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Myanmar left Yangon for Rakhine State on 14 February.

Deputy Minister and members visited at LawkaNanda Pagoda in Sittway and also visited Rakhine State Cultural Museum. The study group then went to Mrauk-U by Malikha craft in the afternoon and visited Mrauk-U Cultural Museum. Chairman of Rakhine State Peace and Development Council and wife hosted a dinner in honor of the study group at Mrauk-U Hotel on that evening. The study group arrived at Thandwe Airport in the afternoon and took a rest at the Ngapali Beach and left Thandwe Airport by special aircraft and arrived back on 15 February.

The Tatmadaw, Myanmar Police Force (MPF) and the Customs Department exposed 2899 drug related cases in 2002. Action was taken against 4,291 culprits including 3,488 men and 803 women in 2,899 drug related cases in 2002.

Tatmadaw battalions and units, and members of MPF exposed and destroyed 9 opium refineries in Shan State (North) in 2002. Narcotic drugs, liquid chemicals and paraphenalias in the refineries were confiscated. Altogether 997.49 acres 403.679 hectare of poppy plantations grown in 2002/2003 cultivation season in Shan State (North), Shan State (South), Shan State (East). Kachin State, Chin State and Kayah State were destroyed up to 31 January 2003.

Compared with the seizures of narcotic drugs in 2001, 234.2062 kilos more opium and 237.1453 kilos more heroin were seized in 2002. Amount of seizure less than 2001 were 2.3984 kilos of marijuana, 421.185 litres of Phensedyl, 23,039,187 stimulant tablets, 2,198.6318 kilos of Ephedrine, 9,365.1436 litres of Acetic Anhydride and 147,750.26 litres of liquid chemicals. Cases exposed in 2002 was 34 cases less than that of 2001 and 35 more culprits were arrested in 2002.

The age-wise poster competitions divided into five categories were held in Myanmar for the International Poster Competition to mark World population Day 2002 organized by the UNFPA. Each first prize-winning work was sent to the UNFPA (New York). A total of 315 participants from 73 nations took part in the competitions. Among them, U Ye Aung Myat(Myanmar) won the first prize in the open division (aged 19 and above). The UNFPA (New York) will present a certificate of honour and a memento to him. He will also receive a gift at the ceremony to mark World Population Day on 11 July, 2003.

A combined team, acting on information, searched the house of Shout Lint(a) Lint Yee Lo of Monekoe Township and seized Shout Lint and Khon Shout Shot together with 350 grams of heroin. According to further investigation, the combined team searched the house of Khon Shout Shot in Monekoe Township and seized 45 packages of heroin each containing 350 grams totaling weight 15.75 kilos, 3000 stimulant tablets, 45 gallons of ether liquid and 5 gallons of chloroform.

In connection with the case, acting is being taken against them under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law by Monekoe Ploice Station.

Myanmar Medical Association (Women’s Chapter) led by Leading Patron of MMA (Women’s Chapter) and Chair-person), MMA (Central) Vice-Chairman and executives of MMA women chapter arrived at Gyobingauk in Bago Division (West) on 23 February to give medical treatment and to give educative talks on medical knowledge. MMA Women Chapter gave educative talks on health at the meeting hall of township Peace and Development Council.

The talks on facts about violence against women and about malaria have been given. The team viewed giving of medical treatment by special medical team at township People’s Hospital and Maternal and Child Welfare Association office. The special medical team comprising specialists, cardiologists, paediatrician, surgeons, obstetric and gynecologists, orthopedic surgeons, eye specialists, practitioners, dentists, anaesthetist and doctors and gave treatment to over 3,000 patients.

The fifth cash donation for supply of pure drinking water in rural areas was held at the the Union National Races Village in Yangon on 25 February attended by Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council General Khin Nyunt. Minister for Progress of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs reported on measures undertaken for supply of pure drinking water in rural areas. He said the five rural development tasks are being implemented 285 Township Development Affairs Committees and 42 development committees are carrying out urban and rural tasks under the control of Development Affairs Department of the Ministry of Progress of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs. According to the survey conducted by development affairs committees, there are 15,813 villages that do not get sufficient drinking water in the country including those in Sagaing, Magway and Mandalay Divisions. Out of the 8.042 villages in three divisions, 4,100 villages now get pure drinking water. The development affairs committees spent K. 321.61 million on rural water supply in 2001-2002 financial year and K. 537.47 million in 2002-2003 financial year. Wellwishers and international organizations donated cash for rural water supply project. Altogether 250 tube-wells will be sunk in five years in cooperation with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and 50 have been sunk so far. The master plan for drinking water supply project in arid zone was drawn up and 22 tube-wells were sunk in 10 townships. Forty four tube-wells were sunk in Bagan-NyaungU and Kyaukpadaung Townships under the arrangements of Bridge Asia Japan (BAJ). A total of 248 water supply projects were undertaken in three divisions in arid zone under the arrangements of UNICEF. Altogether 472 wellwishers presented K 408.7708 million and US $ 8,254. At the fifth cash donation 179 wellwishers donated K 104.7554 million. The amount of money can be calculated but their goodwill cannot be measured in figure. All the villages in Myittha and Kyaukse Townships in Mandalay Division, ChaungU and Myinmu Townships in Sagaing Division and Taungdwingyi and Minbu Townships in Magway Division will get pure drinking water soon. Then the fifth cash donation ceremony for safe drinking water supply in rural areas followed. A total of over K 104.7 million donated by 179 wellwishers were received. Next, Secretary-1 General Khin Nyunt spoke words of thanks.

The Tatmadaw (Defence Services), Myanmar Police Force and the Customs Department exposed 196 drug-related cases in January 2003. Seizures made by them were 43.9636 kilos of opium in 13 cases, 65.1708 kilos of heroin in 62 cases, 73.95 kilos of morphine in one case, .3185 kilos of opium oil in 3 cases, 2.7044 kilos of low grade opium in 29 cases, 13.4382 kilos of marijuana in 15 cases, 15.25 litres of Phensedyl in 4 cases, 134595 stimulant tablets in 44 cases, 20.3 kilos of Ephe-drine, 10 diazepam tablets, 9604.556 litres of liquid chemicals in 5 cases, 12.7316 kilos of chemical powder, 13 cased for failure to register, and 7 other cases.Action was taken against 267 culprits including 222 men and 45 women in 196 drug related cases in January this year.

"The Initiative for ASEAN Integration: How Can Myanmar Maximise the Benefits from It"seminar was held at MICT Park in Yangon on 27 February.

The seminar was attended by the chairmen and members of the ASEAN COCI Sub-committee on Information and Work committees, representatives from ministeries, the Attorney-General Office, the Chief Justice Office, the Auditor-General Office and the Office of Civil Service Selection and Training Board, members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association, Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association, Myanmar Women Entrepreneurs Association, the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association and Myanmar Music Association, and representatives of periodical enterprises. At the seminar, the papers have been presented by the respective resource persons.

The first round of Myanmar Open 2003 golf tournament, sponsored by the Myanmar Professional Golfers Association and Asian Professional Golfers Association (Asian PGA) and Rothmans of Pall Mall Myanmar Pte Ltd, started at Yangon Golf Club in Danyingon in Yangon on 27 February, attended by MGF President and executives, Managing Director Mr. Arend Ng and officials of Rothmans of Pall Mall Myanmar Pte Ltd, distinguished guests and golf enthusiasts.

After the first round, James Kingston (South Africa), ex-champion of the event in 2000, and Lin Keng-Chi (Chinese Taipei) scored 67 strokes each (five under par) to share the first place.

"I won here two years ago and it is a good chance for me this year. It is not easy to say ‘winning’ at this moment as there are three rounds to go, ’’ said Kingston, 37.

"I am feeling pretty relaxed here, playing with old friends from the Asian PGA Tour" said Lin. Myanmar’s Aung Win and India’s Mukesh Kumar tied at the second place with 68 each (four under par). The tournament, organized by Han Event Management and Octagon, continues tomorrow at the same venue.

Special Feature

The Government of Myanmar noted with disappointment the remarks last week by Lorne Craner, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights, Democracy and Labor, in which Mr. Craner expressed skepticism over the pace of political transition in Myanmar. He also showed concern about humanitarian issues such as health and education, and suggested that the U.S. Government was considering "all options" to address these issues, including further sanctions.

The Government of Myanmar is working toward a smooth, stable transition to democracy, and welcomes constructive dialogue on the political and humanitarian issues facing our country. For this reason, it has welcomed visits by Amnesty International, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Labour Organization, and many other groups in recent months. In cooperation with Australia, we are running human rights training seminars, And political figures in Myanmar, including Aung San Suu Kyi, allowed to travel freely and meet with whomever they wish.

All of these actions result from the Government’s firm belief that knowledge, rather than rhetoric, is the foundation for genuine change. We believe in the power of ideas, and the open exchange of views. And we believe that cooperation, rather than confrontation, is the path to progress.

Mr. Craner’s remarks, unfortunately, reflect the opposite approach. Sanctions, by definition, shut down interaction and stop the flow of ideas. Sanctions, by definition, impede economic growth, and deprive the Myanmar people of job opportunities. Sanctions, especially against a developing country, directly hurt health care and education. Sanctions, in short, do not solve problems; they only make them worse.

The Government therefore invites the United States to join us in open, constructive dialogue toward humanitarian, economic and political development in Myanmar. We welcome American cooperation in education, health care, human rights, and fighting narcotics. And we would welcome pragmatic, useful advice on making the transition to a stable democracy.

These are complex issues, which will take much time, effort and patience to resolve, But standing on the sidelines accomplishes nothing. We urge the United States to roll up its sleeves, open its heart, and join with us to bring a better life to the people of Myanmar.

Culture

          People who call "Shwebo" their ancestral home or can trace their roots back to the District of Shwebo are typical "Bama" who are very proud of their heritage. They refer to themselves as "Shwebo Thu" and "Shwebo Thar", that is "sons and daughters of Shwebo" with the distinctive character traits of being courageous, tough and resilient. For are we not descended from U Aung Zeya, famous son of Shwebo and founder of the last Konbaung Dynasty of the Myanmar monarchy? U Aung Zeya was not of royal blood but a commoner and merely the village Headman of what was then known as "Moke-hsoe-bo. From his village stockade of palm logs he and his small group of followers struck back and overcame the hordes that had sacked the royal kingdom of Inwa. He then managed to unify the country to establish the Third Myanmar Empire. He built a new city on the site of his village, in 1753, which he named "Ratana Singha" or "Treasure Trove of Gems". The royal city was also known as "Konbaung", "Yangyi Aung" and Shwebo, but the last name, given during the reign of King Thayawaddy has been in use till today. The town is thus known as "Shwebo of the five names". Shwebo is a town of great historical significance and the natives have never forgotten it or let others forget it. A native of Shwebo may wander far and wide and settle in other places like Mandalay and Yangon or even in foreign lands, but they remain natives of Shwebo at heart.

                     My father was just such a person and although he had been educated from young at St’ Paul’s Boys’ High School, a Catholic missionary boarding school, and had been in government service after graduating from the then University of Rangoon, he decided to return to the home of his ancestors after leaving service and earning a law degree. I was already about seven years old when the whole family moved to Shwebo for my father to set up his law practice and to do his bit in the fight for independence, for that was his intention all along. My sisters and I were then packed off to St’ Michael’s Girl’s High School in Maymyo, that is Pyin-Oo-Lwin today. This was about two years before World War II broke out and it was the first time I set foot on Shwebo. In my entire life I don’t think I’ve spent more than three or four years in Shwebo and I haven’t been back more than twice, once for quite a long stay after the War and later when I lived in Mandalay, but it has constantly been in my thoughts and in my dreams. My mother was a Yangon girl through and through and I don’t think she cared for Shwebo much and always wanted my sisters and me to be like her, pure natives of Yangon. However, much to her disappointment I have always claimed Shwebo descent, like my father. I still have close ties to my Shwebo relatives.

                     Shwebo is a town 65 miles north of Mandalay and can be reached by both rail and motor road. Travel by motor-road involves crossing the Inwa Bridge after passing Amarapura, a town noted for its silks, and from the bridge the view of the Sagaing hills dotted with pagodas and the broad Ayeyarwaddy River winding languidly under the bridge is splendid. At the other end of the bridge is Sagaing, another ancient seat of Myanmar kings, then one soon reaches Ywahtaung, a small village of hereditary silversmiths and go past the huge yet gracefull dome of the Kaunghmudaw Pagoda. From Sagaingand the view of the Sagaing hills dotted with pagodas and the broad Ayeyarwaddy River winding languidly under the bridge is splendid. Farther up the road from Sagaing is a place called Ohndaw right on the fork of two roads. The right fork will take you to Monywa and the left, to Shwebo. The main railroad to Myitkyina passes Shwebo.

                     The Shwebo that I knew was not very impressive, just a hot and dusty town full of paddy carts and rice mills. Except for the main road that ran through the town, the rest were wide tracks ridged deep by ox- carts full of paddy for milling. My father had a host of cousins, aunts, uncles and two sisters married to wealthy rice mill owners who practically owned the town. My father’s parents were dead, but his relatives welcomed him with open arms because people with a modern education were few in Shwebo except for some civil servants and the surgeon. There was thus a big clan then in Shwebo. My mother used to say, my father was welcomed because they would now have a lawyer free of charge, and that’s what they did get.

                     Our house in Shwebo, provided by his brother-in-law the owner of vast paddy lands and rice and edible oil mills, stood in a large dusty compound with two rice mills. During school vacations I remember, waking everyday in the dawn to the creaking axles of a seemingly endless line of carts piled high with paddy for the mills. There were large barns called "Sapar Kyee" where paddy would be stored before milling and the carts with whole families on them would unhitch their oxen and camp near these barns. Soon there would be a fire going for brewing tea and cooking the day’s meal. Our house was under large shady tamarind trees farther away from the mills and barns. But I would stroll over to watch the families eat and talk to them. Their meals consisted of rice, beans roasted and boiled known as "Pei-yepwa" and the ubiquitous roast chili accompanied sometimes with strips of fried dried meat, probably rabbit or small lizards known as "padat" or goat, but certainly not beef. Most rice farmers will not eat beef if their lives depended on it, for they regard the cow as their benefactor who labours together with them in mud in the hot sun or pouring rain to cultivate life-giving rice. Sometimes, I would play with their kids, much to my mother’s displeasure because, being a city girl, she was afraid I would come home infested with lice or fleas. I had to convince her that the peasant’s family was not dirty, just dark from the sun. They certainly cared for personal cleanliness for they would take baths at the huge well back of the rice mills.

                     I also remember the arbor of fragrant flowers just below our bedroom window that would bloom in December, and whose vines and leaves made a fine canopy, providing shade throughout the year. The ground under the canopy would be spread with fine white river sand and watered every morning and evening by Tin Maung the youth who worked as gopher for my father. The climate of Shwebo is truly extreme, dry and hot in summer, with no proper rainy season as in Yangon and bone chilling cold in the winter. So this cool spot was most welcome and the family would gather in the late evenings with us sprawling on the large "kutpyit", a wooden raised platform with reed mats on it. Sometimes we had our evening meal outdoors at a round table placed on this platform cum bed under the light of a storm king lamp hung some distance away. The lamp would be taken away as soon as dinner was over because of its heat. This was in the summer. Then we would be home on Christmas vacation and I remember crouching around an earthen charcoal burner as the night air became colder. My father or my uncle would tell us hair-raising ghost stories, where ghouls would gobble disobedient children alive. I can still smell the wonderful aroma Toddy palm roots as we roasted them over the fire and tried to peel the skin while hot. Then we would drift off to sleep till mother woke us to get to bed.

                     I would be up first thing in the morning to wander around the rice mill compound or else sneak into the mill itself to watch the giant machinery gulp down paddy at one end with wheels churning, large sieve-like pans jolting and huge canvass belts whirring with sound and fury to spew out white polished rice at the other end into jute bags. I would hold my hand under the falling rice and chew it raw although it did not taste very good. Or I would ask my father permission to ride my bicycle to explore the huge compound. It could be an adventure, for sometimes we would come across small dusty tortoises, blinking monitor lizards or cobras under the barns, usually harmless and asleep. In the evening my sisters and I and cousins who happened to be visiting would walk over to the large pond at the southernmost end of the compound. This was a pond full of lotus pads and red lotus blooms, the "Padomer Kyar"with dragonflies hovering over them. We would paddle out to the middle of the pond (though it was off-limits) in a dilapidated boat to gather the lotus fruit the green "kyar khwet" shaped like a cup with seeds embedded in them.

                     With my father away at office, we would accompany our mother who used to spend the day at my aunt’s place in town quite frequently. My aunt was rich and their house was a rather gloomy brick double story house with many nooks and crannies perfect for playing hide-and-seek. The entrance to the house gave onto the main thoroughfare, which was bustling with horse drawn carriages known as gharries, smaller pony carts and trishaw-cabs and many vendors of food and snacks. there were very few cars then. My mother and a few ladies would while away the time playing cards and exchanging gossip and we children, my sisters and I and a whole tribe of cousins, would be forgotten altogether. This was our chance to catch a ride on the back of a gharry, (which was again strictly forbidden), clinging to a small platform-like step for hauling up baggage to the cart’s roof, right up to the main Shwebo Bazaar and after gorging ourselves on shaven ice lollipops catch another ride home. Another exciting time for the children was when the gharry with large cinema posters on its sides would come to distribute leaflets advertising the next movie to be shown at the single cinema hall in Shwebo. There would also be a Myanmar orchestra in the pony cart playing loud and rousing music and each one of us would chase after it on the dusty road to get the largest number of leaflets handed out. Most of the movies were about daredevil exploits of heroes, with actors who did the stunts themselves or about the origin or history of famous ‘nats’ or spirits. These were the most popular movies for Shwebo people, who are believed to be gutsy daredevils themselves. The movies were mostly silent but, there would be a live orchestra that provided a spirited dialogue and music to accompany the film. There were talented ventriloquists who would take both male and female roles modulating their voices as required, and they would be so good and time it so perfectly, that you would think the characters on the screen were actually speaking the lines. At other times an adult would take us to see the Alaungphaya Pyatthat or Memorial, or to the "Shwe-Chettho" pagoda built by U Aung Zeya, later King Alaungphaya, to mark the spot where he was born. The famous Myanmar poet and minister of King Hsinbyushin’s time Letwaithondra extolled the golden splendours of this pagoda in expressing his yearning for home in the long poem "Meza Taungchay" (at the foot of Meza Hill) written while in exile. We would also go farther on to the outskirts of town to tread "Aung Mye" (soil of victory). This is a special place where there is soil on which U Aung Zeya is said to have proclaimed victory. It was the succeeding kings of the Konbaung Dynasty who initiated this rite to ensure victory and success. Some Myanmar people with similar beliefs today take away and keep a sample of this soil.

                     There was another building next door to my aunt’s house, which was of great interest to us. It was home to some Chettiyars (mostly though to be Indian moneylenders) whose foreheads were striped with chalk and they owned two deer as pets. These Shwebo townhouses had large open paved courtyards in the back and each house was partitioned off from the next with a fairly high wall. We would move a stool or wooden ladder against the wall and take a look in turns at the animals chewing cud. The Chettiyars were quite amiable and would sometimes invite the children over to let us take a closer look at the animals and give us huge coloured boiled sweets. We would put the sweets at the side of our mouths, our cheeks would bulge and this was a cause of much mirth. We could also buy paper balls from the betel-shop near the house, which had to be blown up first. When full of air we would pat them high with the hands and the one who let it fall was out. They were quite durable and would last the day. When we were in the mood we would also hold impromptu concerts upstairs and the boys would play the drums and cymbals and the girls wrapping round cotton blankets trailing behind like a real dancer’s long skirt, perform a variety of dances. Another large blanket would be hung on a rope stretched and tied across the room for a stage curtain. I also remember taking part in wrestling matches outside the house to the din of drums and cymbals, much to my mother’s disgust because, wrestling was considered unladylike. However, these were some of our simple pleasures.

                     On Sundays, our family would visit the "Mawdaw Myinthar" Cedi, or Myodaunt Zedi as it is usually called, in the cool of the evening. This pagoda was built after U Aung Zeya returned from Dagon (Yangon) and Bago in Lower Myanmar after his victorious campaign. He had paid homage at the great Shwe Mawdaw Pagoda at Bago and was so awed at its magnificence and holy ambience that he had a replica built on a high rise in Shwebo for folks who could not visit Bago. The name "Mawdaw Myinthar" itself means the "the Mawdaw that can be effortlessly seen". When the pagoda fell to ruins due to the ravages of time and weather, my great grandparents donated a large sum of money for almost complete renovation, so it is a family shrine. The eldest of my father’s cousins and doyen of the Shwebo branch of relatives took over the title of "Hpayadagar", that is "Donor of the Pagoda". His name was U Arnt so he was usually known as Hpayardagar U Arnt. From the pagoda platform one can see the Maha Nandar Kan or Lake. The Maha Nanda Lake is one of the seven significant building projects ordered by U Aung Zeya soon after his ascension to the Myanmar throne. The five others are, the Shwe Chettho Pagoda, the palace walls, the palace, the moat round it, the shrine for deities, and the central time drum tower. Most of them are gone, but a replica of the palace has been rebuilt.

                     The highlight of our days was to accompany our parents to the Shwebo Club on the banks of the old moat. My father would play tennis, drink beer and we would wander around the gardens or go out to the moat where we would watch fish swimming around lazily with kingfishers perched on bushes waiting for a chance to catch them.

                     Shwebo also produces the most succulent vegetables I’ve ever seen in my life. The eggplants are either huge bulbs or spheres as large as an infant’s head and are shiny purple or jade green, which my mother used to stuff with onions and dried prawns for curry. Then there were the enormous and luscious red tomatoes, which stuffed with minced meat and grilled into cutlets and topped bread crumbs provided a dish out of this world. The lettuce, cabbage and cauliflowers are also fresh and delicious. For such a dry, hot and dusty town such magnificent vegetables would be the last things you would expect. But Shwebo farmers cultivate them on the rich alluvial sandbanks that emerge in the Ayeyawaddy River once the monsoon rains are gone. Then there are mouth watering snacks that I can still taste, such as the "Shwebo-Mont-Ti", which is macaroni-like rice noodles mixed into a "Letthoke", (a mixed-by-hand salad) with strips of slightly curried juicy chicken, raw onions, pounded dried chili deep fried in oil, dried roast peanut powder, fish sauce and lime with a sprinkling of cut coriander stalks and leaves if desired. Then there is the "Mont-Pya-thelet", which is a round rice pancake dotted with boiled beans and diced coriander or ‘nan-nan-bin’ as we call it.

                     A typical Shwebo meal also is like no other. On a day spent with relatives, the horde of children would be given their evening meal outdoors on the wooden platform at a large round table at about 5 o’ clock. It consisted of the best rice in Myanmar, (Shwebo being a rice milling town and most of my uncles, rice mill owners) a curry of pork meat balls, not too spicy or hot, a sour soup of tender tamarind leaves, "pei-ye-pwa", of red beans, a dish that involves roasting the beans, soaking them in water for a time, after which they are added to onions fried crisp, and the whole lot fried again lightly. I still can’t get this dish right. And the last, which is still my favourite, is pounded garlic with raw and fried chili, salted and sprinkled with sesame oil.

                     Maybe distance and age have added to my nostalgia. But when I ask people from Shwebo about the town, they tell me that it is a still a booming business town, and that though it was burned to the ground about 1950, it has risen like a phoenix from the ashes and that there are now new paved roads and a university for people in the region. I have resolved to visit it once again, wander around my old haunts and think happy thoughts of my beloved father and my childhood friend and favourite cousin "Kyi Kyi" who was part of all our childhood escapades but grew to be a sedate and strict Headmistress of a school but who both, sadly, are now with us no more.

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