Thu Maung - Vegetarian Essays

My pens

“My pens” is a term that is now widely used. It does not mean that I have to separate the names of my writers, such as “pen”, “pen hide”, “pen sly”, etc. It means the writing instruments such as pencils, fountain pens, and pens that I have been using since I was a child. In the past, these writing instruments were called “pen sticks”. In fact, they were used with “pen sticks” at the tip of the feather. Later, many people called writers “pen masters” and “pen makers” until now. However, in terms of equipment, they are called “pen sticks, pens”, and “pencils”. The era of pens is over. As for the “pen”, which has passed away, it is seen that it is renewed every now and then. Some people (including me) have returned to using a fountain pen for a while. They use it especially in the office and for urgent matters. Some use it in a certain style. I used to write with a real “pen” when I was writing novels. I found a certain taste in writing sentences, inking with ink in the inkwell.

I first got the chance to use a fountain pen when I was in fifth grade. I started using a “dog brand” pencil when I was in school. When I first got a pen, my father gave me his 61st Park Car fountain pen as a gift. It was a coincidence. It was..

I was born in 1951, the same year my father, the writer “Sadhu”, won the Sapaya Beemaan Sapaya Award for his novel “Tat Tain Myat Ko Ko”. That book was also used as a university entrance exam paper. For that award, along with the cash prize, I also received the aforementioned Pakka 61 fountain pen. Therefore, I think my father believed that the book and the commemorative fountain pen were related to my “birth karma”. That is why when I was in the 5th grade and started holding a fountain pen, he gave me the fountain pen as a gift.

The fountain pen had a blue-green body and a blue-green barrel. The cap was silver and the nib was gold. I had a great desire for it since I first got my hands on it. Like most people, I wanted a brand new fountain pen, but I had heard that my father's fountain pen was valuable. I only knew that it was expensive because it was 61 paise. I did not know the real value of the literary award. However, I only had the opportunity to hold the fountain pen for a few days. My uncle, who knew the true value and the monetary value, took it back, saying that the fountain pen was not suitable for me, a lowly student. After explaining the reason to his brother, my father, he gave it to my brother "Maung Wunna", who was four grades older than me and was more literate. The uncle loved his brother Maung Wunna very much. The fountain pen was a permanent fixture in that regard. I didn't get hooked on it as a child. Another reason was that he immediately bought me a new Pilot fountain pen. Later, I even liked the Pilot fountain pen better. This is because students in those days would test the quality of a fountain pen by throwing it on the desk and staring at it. As far as I can remember, the various fountain pens that were available at that time made a "duh" sound and made my pen shake, and when I wrote back, it was still as smooth as before. It's no wonder that I forgot the 61-page book that my father had given me, which won the Literary Award.

I voluntarily transferred from St. Paul's School, which was mostly attended by rich people, to Natmauk Technical School, which was mostly attended by poor people. At that time, I bought and used a "Winsin" Chinese fountain pen and a pen that had just appeared. The "Winsin" Chinese fountain pen was very beautiful in drawing a single line in the subject of mechanical drawing. I also wrote with a pen. I became the school football player at Natmauk School. I was not interested in other athletics.

However, one year, a friend of mine fell ill in a high jump competition and came first in the competition as a substitute for the “Kyan Sittha” team. Then, as a prize, I was awarded a 45-pound female-handled pen. The pen fountain pen came into my life once again. However, I did not use the pen and kept it as a souvenir. The pen was reddish-brown in color, and the handle was made entirely of plastic. The pen itself was not damaged, only the clasp was made of gold metal. At that time, my younger brother Maung Nyan Pao (the future writer Min Lu) passed the eighth grade. Then, as a souvenir, I gave the 45-pound sports prize pen that I had kept as a gift to my younger brother. It is a funny story to tell here. One day, “Min Lu” was returning from the city by bus, hanging from the back seat, and a young man nearby picked up the pen. The pen’s cap had a It was not closed with a clasp, but was simply closed, so the pickpocket's hand simply took the cover. "Min Lu" also found out about this. Then "Min Lu" responded to the pickpocket as follows.

“Here, you guys... don’t do it to each other. I’m a “Kha” from the “Nat Sin” Baad Toi neighborhood. Which part are you from? So, before the people around you see it, please put my pen cap back in its place.” The pickpocket also thought that “you” was picking his pocket like him and gently put the pen cap back in its place.

But... At that time, "Ko Nyan Pao", who was not yet "Min Lu", showed that the past of the writer Min Lu who was about to write a smiley letter was a burning ember. When I came to the literary field, I had to handle various kinds of top pens. I do not mean that writers have to handle various kinds of pens. If possible, a writer would like to use only one type of pen, pen, or paper. The pen and paper used are important to keep his thoughts and affairs in a continuous flow. However, he also had to follow the good pens that emerged over time. Depending on the price, he had to use the pen that suited him. Therefore, the name pen and fountain pen often became a thing. A good quality 'pen' or 'fountain' is also in the closet. Since the recipient is a writer, the best souvenir is a 'pen' and a 'pen'. By the way, a man from another world sent me a gold 'fountain' made in China as a gift. When I checked it, it was the 'Winsin' type that I liked when I was young, and it was being sold in a Chinese mall, so I had to appreciate the imagination and memory of 'Man'.

And so, after wandering around in the cycle of “pencils,” a “pakka” type pen suddenly entered my literary life. It was my father, Saya Thadhu’s pakka pen.

This is a weekly connection.

On April 7, 1991, my father passed away. When the writer passed away, he did not leave behind a large amount of money, diamonds, gold, or other valuables. As a film director and company owner, he left behind a small estate. Let's say. He left us an intellectual legacy. We do not need material inheritance. However, I must admit that I really wanted some material inheritance. Since he passed away, I asked for three legal heirlooms from my father. A headset, a diamond stud, and a ballpoint pen. I myself am a small ear. I always wear a collared shirt. I thought that from that time on, I would start writing with the pen that my father used to write in his last moments. My father also willingly gave me the inheritance that I would use. Since my father's death, I have only written with the ballpoint pen of "Sadhu". In other words, I created "Sadhu's" literature with the pen of "Sadhu". No matter what anyone thinks, for me, every writer has a different taste in that matter. If I were to speak in a local language, I would consider it a ghost story.

However, one day, the “Sadhu” pen that “Shumaung” was carrying around accidentally disappeared. Because he never put pens in his pocket when he went out, he accidentally put it in his pocket and lost it somewhere. In any case, that incident was a great loss for me. Because that pen was not an ordinary pen. It was a pen. It was the “pen” that captured the last handwriting of the great writer “Sadhu”. In other words, it was his father’s legacy. Not an ordinary legacy, but a literary legacy. The great writer was a young writer.

The “pen legacy” that was given to create literature. Now, the pen of “Sadhu” has been lost because of “Sayar Thu Maung”.