Dear Oo Nyo Maung Wunna - Malaya Mani Sandar's wife

One

"I don't know if you've ever seen a sky that glows purple and green before."

"I've only seen it here. I really like the way the sky looks like this color."

"Revelation"

The sea breeze blowing across the Kaladan River blew between us. I couldn't understand what U Yin Maung was saying, as I was still feeling the warm sea breeze.

Sky, purple, green

"What did you say, teacher?"

"Look over there"

Sayar U Yin Maung pointed to the western horizon. I followed. A cloud cluster, the sun shining brightly, a vast expanse of sky...

"What are they?"

"I saw clouds"

"What color are the clouds shining?"

The clouds....

As soon as he spoke, I looked at the colorful clouds. The sun was just beginning to set, the sea was golden, white clouds, red clouds, yellow clouds, and then the blue sky.

I answered as I saw it. "Red, yellow, gold. Those are... the traditional colors of sunset. Why?"

"Look carefully."

I looked again.

"Oh... okay, silver, then lead."

"Look again."

I have to give up on Saya U Yin Maung. He is known not only by the teachers but also by the student community as the person with the greatest passion for art and the greatest artistic talent among our instructors who first moved to Sittwe College when it opened.

And he is the head of the philosophy department, his knowledge, his subject, and his nature are in harmony. He speaks calmly and slowly. He thinks slowly. He is gentle. I am the closest to him and know him the most.

Behind every word of a thinker are thoughts that not only reflect the thoughts he or she has, but also thoughts that make those who hear and understand him or her think.

U Yin Maung never spoke words that came out of his mouth, every word he uttered was filled with thought and power. That's why sometimes his words suddenly had hidden meanings. You don't know what they mean.

Now, pointing to the clouds in the western sky, he asked me to look at their colors. All I could see was. Not yet.

What is strange about the bright colors of the sunset?

Gold, red, yellow, silver, copper, that's all. That's all I see.

"The teacher said there are red, gold, yellow, and sky blue."

"Oh, okay."

"Look up there, into the rolling hills to the north. What color is shining where the sky blue and the shrimp oil color barely touch?"

I tried to look where he pointed.

"Oh.... yes. Red and light blue, purple."

“Not purple. Purple, purple, violet. Purple is a blend of red and yellow. Purple is a blend of blue. The meaning of purple is complexity, grandeur, distance, mystery....”

"Yes... purple"

"Look again. See that place on the south side where the little threads are intertwined? The blue of the sky there is very strong. The clouds are thinning and the sun is breaking through, and there is a faint yellow tint. On top of that yellow, try adding the blue of the sky. What color is it?"

"Yes, I found the green one."

"Okay, okay, I said, where have you seen purple and green clouds?"

I'm still reeling from the first words he said. The sky was glowing purple and green.

"Haven't you ever been beautiful?"

"It's really beautiful."

We both laughed. His laugh was dry.

“Well... we also look at the sky, the sea, the waves crashing on the Kaladan River, sometimes we go to the coconut grove, go to Navy Point, have a picnic on the beach, and when I think back, I think I've spent my time just enjoying the beauty of nature.”

His tone was not a complaining one, but a voice of sharing the truth. Teacher Ko Yin Maung always looked at the world with such forgiving eyes.

Normally, you would think of Saya Ko Yin Maung as a thinker and a sadist. His gentle movements and way of speaking would make you think of a dreamer. But he is actually the most resilient of us all.

We are the tutors and lecturers from various departments who came to Sittwe College as a pioneer group.

We, who had been transferred from universities and colleges in various places, met in Sittwe. Although the college had just opened, the courses were not yet fully open. A group of us teachers were living in a large room on the top floor of the new building, each with a bed and a table like boarding students. We became friends with each other there.

Sittwe is a new place, a new territory for all teachers. New experiences, new places, new lives.

The teachers, who had become friends overnight, had no one to talk to in Sittwe except for each other. They didn't know where to go or where to go.

From the moment the word "Sittwe" was mentioned in the "Transfer Order", everyone had the same thought in their minds. The thought was, "Is it too far?"

Even the teachers are just getting to know each other, so there's no need to talk about the teachers. The teachers are gathered in a small hut at the entrance of the school. We haven't met the teachers yet. We haven't become acquaintances yet.

Then, a steady, balanced murmur of complaint began to emerge from all the teachers in each department.

In the evenings, U Aung Bang, a lecturer in the English department, would sit on his lap and look at the large, leafless, dry tree in the schoolyard and moan, “Oh......... the thorn tree... the thorn tree.” The teacher was a proud English teacher. He would mutter in broken English and console himself by taking out his small transistor radio and listening to English broadcasts.

Among the teachers was U Sein Thin, a chemistry teacher who would wake up U Lun Oo, the English department teacher who was in charge of the chef, every morning when he returned from shopping.

In their own way, everyone is just trying to cope. Feelings of distance, longing, loneliness, and isolation are all interwoven among us teachers. In some way, we are just trying to cope with our own loneliness.

Among them, I find Sayar U Yin Maung to be the most calm. When I spend time with him, I find that he is an inherently calm person.

In a new place, new experiences, new people, new life, and a new, unfamiliar world, U Yin Maung is growing up with a strange and unfamiliar feeling.

“I don’t have the same skills as a teacher. I think I have more of a desire to read than to write. When I’m reading, I can forget everything,” he told me. As he said, he never takes his eyes off a book as long as he has time. At least in the dining room, he puts a small ‘reading stand’ on the table and reads while eating.

U Yin Maung and I got together because we share the same passion for writing and reading.