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IX.
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2024-10-29 19:42:561941, The Last Supper at Myogale or Katha before Leaving for India
Cecil also remembered Civil Station, the dak bungalow in Myogale. In it, the Deputy Commissioner’s house lied at the curving road past the railway station. Cecil lived there for five years. Actually, he had first come here fifteen years before.
From the upstairs verandah of the house, the courthouse buildings could be seen red roofs, red-brown roads, and dusty roadside trees, flamboyant scarlet Marion. The wife of the District and Session Judge was Marion Simpson, who was thought to be the queen of Myogale Civil Station. There were also two dozen houses of European colony.
On that March evening, the magenta of a bush of bougainvillea was seen in the corner of the tennis courts. Sheila Summers, wife of one of Deputy Conservators of Forests, and Henry Simpson, District and Session Judge were among the people at that evening.
The club butler was Moses. E
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An English Writer X.
1942, February, or MarchSometime in February or March 1942, Cecil was summoned to the Headquarters of the Government of Burma in Rangoon and told that he must immediately go down to the battle-front which was then about 60-70 miles south-west of Rangoon.Cecil needed to deliver a message to the General in Command that the withdrawal must cease, if not, the whole campaign would be jeopardized because the Japs were hammering at the gates of Rangoon.Cecil thought that the implication of the order seemed unusual, and he should have been in uniform. But, he knew that an order is an order which he needed to follow. He talked with his Kachin boy who declined to accompany him to the battle-front because the boy was not allowed to take his bicycle with him.Cecil went off alone, taking a supply train to the battle area which was on the far side of the Sittang River over which the long steel bridge was still intact. He jumped a supply tr
An English Writer XI.
1947, C.J.R in Swarraton, UKSwarraton in Hampshire is a small village in which people can live peacefully, and quietly. Cecil chose this place to live in after his retirement from the Indian Civil Service in 1947 when he went home by flight.Today he woke up early and he was staring out of the window from his bedroom in the morning of November. He saw snow coming down and they were resting on treetops, and house roofs.Cecil, reflecting on his life in Burma where all the sunshine shone fully, felt nostalgic for the country, and its people, especially his friends in Burma. In his mind, before his retirement to Swarraton, in England, he decided that he would compose a poetry book on Burma and its people.Today, at 10 am, he would meet the publisher in London. The publisher’s name was Herbert Curnow who already agreed with him to publish the poetry book. The publisher really liked the title of the book “Rainbow Land and
An English Writer XII.
XII. 1960, as a volunteer teacherAfter coming back from his trip, he felt more refresh and vitality got back into his life. So, he tried to give a talk about it in Village Hall and Britain-Burma Society to which Cecil regularly attended the annual meeting of the society at which he could meet his old colleagues.Especially, during his trip, he met his old, intimate friends in Burma and they could recount their good old days. And he also enjoyed visiting new places and meeting new people, too. It enhanced his love for traveling and if he had another chance he determined that he would take a trip again.&nbs
An English Writer XIII.
XIII. Cecil’s visit to Gallipoli in 1970Cecil visited Gallipoli in April 1970 with his friend who used to serve in Burma as the Veterinary, who even took part in Salonika Campaign on the Asiatic shore with 28th Division for Veterinary Officer.They left Victoria by boat train on April 16th. At first, they had a calm Channel crossing and a very rocky night on the train across Belgium, and woke up about Ulm, and reached Munich at 9 a.m.At Munich, Cecil was looking for the office of Europa bus with which they would travel to Istanbul. They saw Rathaus tower and had lunch at the Hofbrauhas where Hitler made his putsch in 1923. They drank excellent beer out of big blue-grey mugs.In the afternoon, they went for a coach driver to visit the Nymphenburg Castle, which is the Residence of the Kings of Bavaria until 1918. They learned that Munchen was told the 3rd largest city in Germany, and it had
An English Writer XIV
XIV. To Gallipoli (Part-2)At Hill 10, outside the beautifully tended cemetery, Cecil found the gravestones of 4 men of his own battalion. After that, something came into his head and Cecil made his way over rock and scrub to Kiretch Tepe Sirt and Karakol Dagh, at their highest point 600 or 700 feet above sea level, reflecting the event which was left of their Battalion holding the extreme left flank of the British Front Line.On the northern side, the cliffs slope steeply down to the blue waters of the Aegean, with bays of white sand. Cecil found a 1915 Pratt’s 2-gallon petrol tin in which their very tangy water used to be man-handled up to the Front Line, broken pieces of earthenware rum jars on which the letters SRD were still intact. He saw them on his way down.“Ingliz” barbed wire still in use, miraculously not yet rusted, they saw that on their way back to Anafarta. They stopped for tea at a village teashop. The
An English Writer XV.
At the end of his lengthy recount on the forgotten writer, C.J Richards’ life, U Aung Aye Myint exhaled smoothly in the living room where Lin and Oo were sitting in their seats. It was so true that both of them were lost in the narrative of U Aung Aye Myint who earnestly talked about the less-known British author who ever lived in Burma.In fact, U Aung Aye Myint told them a lot about the author’s life. So, Lin was thankful to U Aung Aye Myint. He understood that if he did not meet U Aung Aye Myint, he could not know about this author.Lin looked at the face of Oo who looked him back. And, Oo asked Lin, “Lin, do you have any questions to ask to U Aung Aye Myint? I think we should give a break to Uncle who talked continuously for nearly a day.”Lin nodded. But, U Aung Aye Myint said after taking some sips of water from a glass of water in front of him, “It’s alright. Don’t worry about me. I am really happy to talk to you
An English Writer PART 3: Revival
Chapter-12018, March, Yangon University, YangonLin thought that he should visit Yangon University after meeting a librarian who told him that he could find old Guardian Magazines at Yangon University library which was one of the best resources for book lovers and researchers.He knew that it was not easy to find those old periodicals in other places these days. If he found them luckily, he would have to pay a high price for them because they became rare. When he left his house, at first, he thought that he took a cab to go there, but he changed his mind because he needed to be thrifty in spending.So, on that day, he took a bus to Hle Dan which was the busiest part of the city. One would find many youths in this area. When he reached the bus stop, he got off the bus and crossed the road to walk towards the main entry gate of the university.Yangon University was very prominent a long time ago. He called
An English Writer Chapter-2
2018, March, at U Chit Tea Shop, Yangon University Campus When Lin went out of the building and took steps down, at the entrance of the compound he saw Oo and a girl who wore a pink blouse and a pink sarong with floral patterns. They were standing beside a Kankaw (ironwood) tree.The girl had a bun and she seemed a bit pretty in a Myanmar girl’s fashion. She stood very close to Oo. At first, Lin did not realize who the girl was. When he approached them, he saw that it was Pan Che who carelessly lost his poetry book. A faith grimace flickered across Lin’s face.Oo saw the sudden change in Lin’s facial expression, and so, he stepped in and embraced Lin’s shoulder.“Come on, Lin. Don’t stand there like a statue. You know Pan Che, right? She lived near here. I just bumped her at the bus stop when I descended from the bus and I told her that I came down to meet you at the library. She told
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An English Writer Chapter-6
2019, March, Yangon With panting and perspiring, Lin woke up suddenly after having dreamt a bad dream. The room was dark and so, he was trying to fumble a jar of water and a cup beside his bed to cool him down. He found the jar and poured water into the cup and drank it after turning on the light bulb. Soon, he felt at ease. When he watched the clock, it said half-past one.He was fully awake and he knew that sleep would not come easily to him in this situation. He did not also want to lie down on the bed again. He stood up from the bed and walked outside. He tiptoed out of his room because he did not want to disturb his uncle’s sleep. When he was out of the house, Lin inhaled fresh air fully.He walked to and fro in front of the house for a while before he sat down on a charpoy under a mango tree. He was looking up at the night sky and found a crescent moon and several stars. Apparently, they were looking down at him. The who
An English Writer Chapter-5
2019, March, a literary event at Pansodan Scene, Yangon On Saturday, a week away from Valentines’ Day, Eli called Lin to come down to Pansodan Scene for a literary event and she thought that it would interest Lin. Lin reached Pansodan Scene at around 11 to attend the literary event.At first, he did not know what the event was. Later, when he entered the room, he saw “James Joyce’s event” organized by an Irish poet who lived in Yangon. When Eli saw Lin, she called him to sit beside her on a bench.Lin readily joined Eli who introduced him to the Irish poet who was also M.C of the event and the organizer of the event. The Irish poet extended his hand to Lin who shook his hands with him.Soon, the event opened and Lin saw some writers including Myanmar writers and foreign writers who would read some extracts from James Joyce’s works. For Lin, James Joyce's Dubliners always inspired Him. He really envied his li
An English Writer Chapter-4
2019, February, a literary walk, downtown YangonLin thought that on Sunday, he should take a literary walk in downtown Yangon. It was a part of his future plan because he would begin a literary walk around downtown. He needed to know some spots that were related to literary history and themes He discussed his plan with his uncle who told him that it was a good idea and encouraged him to do it pronto.. . .On Sunday, Lin left his house for downtown. While he was walking in the downtown streets, he asked this question, as for a Yangonite, what would be the best thing he or she could expect in a city like Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon, apart from its burgeoning gorgeous restaurants, and splendid bars.Apparently, Yangon was never devoid of the fun and excitement any city dweller was looking for. In the downtown area, there were several colonial buildings that still maintained their grandeur and significance to visitors and vie
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2019, February, Valentines’ Day, YangonLin would meet Eli on Valentines’ Day and Eli was quite happy about it. So, she exclaimed, “Valentine’s Day!” What thrilling word for me. Eli thought. She knew that this year Valentine’s Day would be really special for her because Lin and she became a couple, a month ago.It was such a happiness she felt when they found out they loved each other, especially reading his poem. She thought that one of the most blessed moments of their life was loving and understanding each other.She knew that Lin would love her sincerely because he must have spent much time to write a poem to court her. Every time, they met, he showed much care about her. Not a single time, he missed that task of taking care of her.Eli noticed that Lin all the time glanced at her whenever they met but he never came too close, and he kept his own distance. At first, he seemed a little bit far from h
An English Writer Chapter-2
2019, January, A Talk on Foreign Writers, Freelance Writer’s Club, YangonIt had been two days since Lin arrived back in Yangon from Mandalay's trip. When he went to the journal office, Editor John told him that there would be a literary talk organized by Freelance Writer’s Club.Editor John asked Lin whether Lin wanted to take part in it or not. If he was willing to participate, John could arrange for that. It would start on coming Saturday. Lin thought for a while and he agreed to take part in it. He told John that he would talk about foreign writers who ever visited Yangon (then known as Rangoon).John agreed that and he asked Lin to prepare a PowerPoint presentation. Lin counted the days and learned that it was five days away. When he left the office, he called Eli to come down to FWC on coming Saturday at about 10 am and he invited Oo and Pan Che to attend.. . .When Lin got back home, he took out some books
An English Writer Part 5: On the Path to Establisment
2019, January, A Trip to MandalayIn the first week of January, Lin’s uncle U Thein Lwin told Lin that he would go to Mandalay and he would like Lin to accompany him. They would go there by train. Lin called Eli and Oo that he would go on a trip to Mandalay on the second week of January and he would be back in three or four days.He told them that he would bring Htoe Mote (a kind of Myanmar delicacy) and Lapet (picked tea leaves) for them as souvenirs. Eli said Lin should take care of his health and she would come to see him off at the train station. Later, Lin called his editor John and explained to him that he would also visit some interesting places in Mandalay and he would contribute some stories of them to the journal after his trip. His editor agreed and so, Lin felt quite happy.. . .On the day when Lin left for Mandalay, at the train station, Eli arrived and saw him off. His uncle U Thein Lwin asked him wh
An English Writer Chapter-17
2018, December, New Year’s Eve, YangonOn the cab, Eli was thinking about Lin who gave her a poem on Christmas Night. She looked around to see Lin who was standing and waving at her at the corner. On the way home, she was so excited that she did not remember the time when she got home.On that night, she could not sleep well after reading the poem. It was so well-written and it could express the real feeling of Lin towards her. She was reflecting when she got firstly met Lin. Pan Che introduced her to Lin who was energetic and hard-working.She also liked his style and his relentless endeavor. She read the poem again and again until her eyes seemed droopy and finally, she slept. In the dream, she saw Lin who smiled down at him while he was extending his hand that she grasped.Soon, they were in a park, all beautiful flowers around them with butterflies flapping their colorful wings while both of them were enjoying the sceneries. At
An English Writer Chapter-16
2018, December, downtown YangonLast night, when he came back from the classical music concert at Chatrium Hotel, Lin could not sleep well because he was thinking about Eli. He thought that he had fallen in love with her. But, he could not reveal his real feelings to her because he thought that their friendship could be ruined if he disclosed his feeling towards her.He was rolling over the bed, sighing several times. He thought that he should talk it with Oo who would be back in Yangon tomorrow after their honeymoon trip. He wondered what Oo would say about that. He felt a little bit worried because if things went wrong, he could lose friends.Finally, an idea entered his head and he sat upon his bed before he went over to his table. He picked up a pen and wrote a poem. He felt that his feelings were dripping into the tip of the pen. It took nearly half an hour to finish the poem that he intended to give Eli.He felt satisfied now. At ab
An English Writer Chapter-15
2018, December, Chatrium Hotel, YangonLin was longing to meet his friend Oo and Pan Che who would be back on the morning of Christmas Day. When he called them, they said that they were now in Dawei and they would take tomorrow’s morning flight to fly back to Yangon.These days he had several assignments and appointments because the editor John told him that their media company would publish a weekly journal soon. He was happy for being busy but he thought that he would have less time to meet friends.At that time, a phone call came in and he picked up to hear Eli’s voice. Eli said, “Lin, it’s Eli. Are you free this evening around 7 p.m? I would like to go to a classical music concert at Chatrium Hotel. Can you accompany me there?”When Eli called, Lin was sitting at his writing desk and he was about to finish his last article on contemporary Myanmar art. He quickly replied, “Sure, Eli. I am free this e
