Midsummer - 3 am

About this novel

The entire delta region is familiar to me. Similarly, I have become familiar with the small town of Pantanaw. Among the Burmese people, there is a unique artist.

The town where I was born. Every time I visited that town, the feeling of being the hometown of U Ba Nyan moved my heart. I had read books about his art. I had read it in the Myanmar Encyclopedia Volume (8) in 1963. I had also read about U Ba Nyan in the Myanmar Art Paper presented by U Ba Kyi at the Golden Jubilee Celebration of the University. In 1968, the book "Knowing Myanmar Art" compiled by Ji Hla Maung, in 1974, the book "The Life and Works of U Ba Nyan" compiled by U Min Naing, in 1961

It can be said that they are composed in form. I have a desire to compose a poem in the form of a fantasy novel, to imagine a great artist like you, and to pay homage to you with a full-fledged story. In composing the poem in the form of a statue, I created the characters who talked to you on the SS Amarapura, a ship that I had sailed to England, and I created them with my own thoughts. There were reasons for creating them. Around 1980, when we were preparing GM engines in Mawlamyine, Maung Kyaw, a master mechanic who taught us, had been a stoker on old steam boilers and ocean-going ships in the pre-war era. I had heard and noted down my experiences from him.

The last time I met with Master Maung Kyaw, I talked about the SS Amarapura, a ship from the era of large steamboats, and I listened to all the knowledge he had to say. I had to think and write a novel that was not like an article, to make it interesting to read, to make the readers interested, to make the characters move. For example, I read

In some articles, the name of the young lady who collaborated with Master U Ba Nyan in London on the designs is Miss Sally Wright. However, I have written Sally in the prose of the Vutthu group to make it easier for readers to read. In the articles I have read, the young lady and Master U Ba Nyan worked together.

I think it would have been just a short sentence. However, in my collection of novels, I imagined the story of that little girl.

I had to write and compose from the principles that helped the master to bring the character to life. That is, I only took some of the main points from some articles about the master that I had read and used them as the original outline of a painting.

After drawing the outline, the story is filled with colorful brush strokes, which means that I painted with the thoughts and feelings in my heart.

I respectfully request the readers to forgive me if there are any shortcomings in my novel, which I wrote with respect for the teacher.

Recently, I went with my friend Dr. Than Win from Dawei to meet with Professor U Nyunt Wai, Dean of the Department of Physiology at the University of Medicine (1). On the way back, while sitting at a small tea shop in the University of Medicine campus, I saw this statue.

As I was about to return to Dawei, I was reminded again to write. To write a novel with interest, you need to have a million ideas in advance.

In Ma Hay Thi Magazine, Yaan Thit Magazine, Kalya Magazine, Shwe Wut Hmoon Magazine, and some journals, I have written about art exhibitions, artists who share their ideas about art, and my feelings about paintings.

I have written many articles. I even wrote an article about the art exhibition in “Fashion Image” magazine.

My friend, artist Kay Tun from Mandalay, said, | I have read articles about art in magazines that I write.

I was once encouraged by a friend to write a novel based on the world of art, after reading it.

So I had to think of a quiet place where I could write. I traveled to the small town of Maubin in the delta region.

U Htun Kyi, a retired school principal in Maubin Township, was supported by his sister Daw Daw Su and his son Pyae Thet Htun, who provided him with all kinds of support and care so that he could write well and peacefully at their home.

For these reasons, this collection has been respectfully presented to readers who love literature.

Song Win Latt Kheta-Maubin Township

Under a clear blue sky, the SS Amarapura was still moored in the Yangon harbor. It was a steam-powered ship. It was a particularly sunny day, with little rain or drizzle. On the morning of August 24, 1921, all the crew on the Amarapura were more active, going about their respective tasks.

They are working on their respective tasks. It is not raining yet, but it is a little cloudy. At high tide in the evening, the ship will leave for a foreign trip. Next to the ship's engine room, in the steam boiler room, the stoker, a Burmese sailor, Pe Maung, is working tirelessly in the scorching heat with sweaty eyes. .

The ship's journey will also reach Ceylon. | It will also cross the Red Sea. It will also encounter Africa. It will also enter the Suez Canal via Port Sudan. It will dock at Port Said. It will also stop briefly at Versailles, France, and then proceed to the port of London, England.

Must.

It was a month-long sea voyage. The sailor's lighter, Pe Maung, was described as a slim, slender man, about five and a half feet tall, with a quick tongue. He was a good sociable man and a good friend.

He is also a native of the Delta region.

Pe Maung's mind was particularly active that day. Yesterday evening, when he was looking at the list of passengers who would be traveling abroad on the SS Amarapura, he unexpectedly came across the name of a Pantanaw man.

Ko Ba Nyan.... A native of Pantanaw... Ko Ba Nyan. Ko Ba Nyan, a painter in Pantanaw, a region in the delta region.

Since they were from the same region, Pe Maung and Ko Ba Nyan were acquainted. Like the ocean, they had to live separately, each seeking their own livelihood.

Now they will have to reunite.

During the British colonial period, the SS Amarapura was a ship with a crew of foreign nationals. There were mostly English, French, and Indian sailors, but only Maung Kyaw, Tun Kyaing, and Pe Maung were Burmese sailors.

My father and I were engine room workers, so before the ship set sail, we had to fill the engine oil (FO) properly, fill the SAE lubricants (SAE certified), and check the spark plug heads (SPEA).

In addition, the necessary lubricants are also being replenished in the telemotor room at the stern of the vessel.

After working as usual, they had breakfast. After the crew finished eating, some passengers boarded the ship one by one through the bridge at Pansodan Health Port in the afternoon.

When Pe Maung finished his duty in the machine room, Maung Kyaw and Tun Kyaing, along with other foreigners, had to work in the boiler room and machine room. While they were on duty for four hours, Pe Maung was allowed to rest for four hours.

So, from the top of the gangway on the left side of the ship, Pe Maung watched the passengers board.

A thin, dark-skinned, and handsome young Burmese man, neatly dressed in Western attire, was slowly climbing onto the ship, carrying a large suitcase in one hand.

Have you found Ko Ba Nyan? Father Maung was happy. “Give... give... Ko Ba Nyan.”

Pe Maung eagerly carried the artist's large briefcase. Ko Ba Nyan seemed surprised.

"Hey... Dad"

"I'm a stoker on this ship, Ko Ba Nyan," the two of them greeted each other with a hug.

Pe Maung took Ko Ba Nyan to the room where he was to stay.

“Have you returned to Pantanaw yet?” the artist asked. “I miss you, Ko Ba Nyan Ya, but the ship has a long journey.”

My mind keeps coming back, but I haven't been able to turn my back on myself for a long time, Koba Nyanya..."

“How many Burmese sailors are on your ship?”

“Three of you, my friends Tun Kyaing and Maung Kyaw | are working in the engine room, this guy from the sea

I will introduce you to them. Don't be discouraged by anything on this trip until you reach London. Tell me if you need any advice. We will take care of you as best we can."

“By the way.. I also met you, and I felt very happy. I met you Burmese sailors. So I have to ask. How long will it take from here to London?”

“The ship trip is a month long. Have you never been to London before, Ko Ba Nyan?”

"No... this is my first time abroad."

“Come on... Ko Ba Nyan... Let's talk on the deck in the breeze. Do you smoke weed, cigarettes, or cigars?”

“I... I've been craving cigarettes since I arrived in Yangon.”

The painter smiled and said. In fact, the painter was a man of few words. He was a thinker. However, he was happy to meet his own son again. Pe Maung took Ko Ba Nyan to the bedroom designated for ship's stokers for a while.

“This is... Maung Kyaw’s bunk, that’s where Tun Kyaing sleeps, I sleep in this bunk, being a sailor is a bit rough, Ko Ba Nyan Chey... Rob, a cigarette.”

Pe Maung... pulled open a drawer in a metal cabinet called a locker, where sailors kept their supplies, took out a pack of ten cigarettes, and handed them to the artist.

Yes.

"If it runs out, I'll warn you, Ko Ba Nyan." "Thank you." The two of them climbed onto the deck of the ship.

The August rain clouds are still falling. Looking along the Yangon River, there is a slight drizzle near the mouth of the Twe Te Canal.

It was raining. The river was a dirty yellow color because it was the rainy season. The seagulls had just returned to the sea, so there was not a single one to be seen. It had not rained yet. I thought it would rain about an inch by the time we got to the sea at night. The two of them were smoking cigarettes and watching some of the passengers boarding the ship, and the cargo unloading.

“When did you arrive in Yangon, Ko Ba Nyan?”

Pe Maung asked the painter from the spot where he was smoking a cigarette, leaning against the railing of the ship's deck.

“I only came to Yangon three years ago. Before that, I lived in Mawlamyine,” said Ko Ba Nyan.