Thawtar Swe - My dear friends and I

Father, hide the moon.

[1]

What do I do when I feel like writing? I want to take a bath and drink some bitter tea. So I sat at the writing table and looked at my younger brother who was not far away.

“Maung Kyi Win... go buy some tea for my brother.”

“Ha.. Brother Swe, I have an exam coming up, so please let Amarky go.”

Ama Kyi is our younger sister.

"So you just ask me to call you, Rob... come here and get the money."

At that moment, a young man entered...

"Hmm. Hmm, the executive meeting invitation is back."

I asked the young writer who came to me.

“No problem,” he said, taking a piece of paper out of his bag and asking me to sign the invitation.

I opened the pen..

"My dear, I only nominated myself this year to become a minister. I'm still getting robbed. I can't calm down. I have to attend meetings twice a week. What's wrong with you, the Ngwe Udaw group, not trusting me?"

“I don’t know, I’ll read it,” he said, and left. When I opened the invitation and read it, it was still today. It was 3 pm. “Well.. it’s almost 2 o’clock now.”

"What's so important, let's invite them so close?"

When I saw the invitation, I was so happy that I had to be careful not to jump up from my seat.

Because..

"To discuss the matter of going on a trip."

Hehe... Where are you going? Shan State is so luxurious. I've heard that Shan girls' cheeks are red as if they've been bitten by ants. After drinking milk, they wash their faces first.

As I thought about this and that, I stood up from my seat, grabbed the invitation, and went to my (Godmother) who was drinking coffee at the dining table...

"Nani, we're going on a trip."

If I'm happy, he's happy.

"Oh... that's good, where are you going?"

"I don't know yet, I have to go to an executive meeting, it's 3 o'clock, so I'll have to hurry up."

I took a quick shower. And when I changed, I put on long pants so I could walk briskly. I even put on a stylish tie.

“Well… I went both times, when I went to Mandalay and when I went to Myitkyina, so are you saying please be patient this time? I can’t stand it like this. Every time I get the chance to travel, I tell the executive committee that if I don’t go, I will resign.”

When we arrived at the clubhouse, there were already many people there.

"Well... if that's the case, then you're very diligent. For other matters, we usually make an appointment for 3 hours and arrive after 4 hours."

Linyun Phoe Ban Maw Tin Aung was waiting for me. But I was afraid that I would not be able to go on a trip, so as usual...

"Come when I want to come, so I can talk to you, you're my wife," without using any of the usual tricks, just keep your face soft and gentle.

“So, Ko Tin Aung... I'm a young man who wants to travel and write a novel. Ah, hey, I'm a cigarette smoker.”

I had to give up a cigarette to get one vote.

"Ah... Teacher Shwe Peinthaung, are you okay?"

I also had to coax the newly arrived editor of Myanmar Light.

"Now... everyone is here, let's start the meeting."

If she had to travel, her older sister, Janay Jo, who was also a great-grandmother, would call for her, and they would all gather.

"The reason for calling an emergency executive meeting is none other than to arrange a large rocket for the writers' club to send four people to the moon."

"What... what, where to go?"

I interrupted.

"Moon, I'm planning a big rocket for four people to go to the moon. So I'm calling a meeting to choose who will go."

“I propose to Sayar Thawtar Swe”

Phoe Ban Maw Tin Aung stood up, holding the cigarette I had given him, and I quickly stood up.

"Hey...Hey, comrade, be patient, it's a big deal, you don't know where the tent will crash or where it will die."

"... If my people have to travel, they should go wherever they want," Phoe Than Swe replied...

“Hey.. Japura, try to stay calm. I was talking about Kachin State and Shan State, and they said they were going to the moon with a big rocket. You go.”

“I am nominating Saya Min Aung, winner of the Moe Aot Thanein Award.”

U Marga stood up and said, and Teacher Min Aung also quickly stood up from his seat and...

“Amen... don't do this to me, Teacher Maga. You were the first to reach Mandalay and then Myitkyina, so go to the moon with a rocket.”

"Well... so I propose to Myint Swe, the husband of women who secretly gave birth to children as single fathers."

Ko Hla Aung of the translation department did the same, while Ko Myint Swe, who was playing with the name of the young man's father in the Lingyun Journal, did not get up from his seat, but calmly took the short cigar out of his mouth and...

"Don't bother me, just stay calm. I'm just upset that you didn't get to meet me, so let's go."

I jumped up from my seat and slammed the table with the heel of my hand.

"But, my dear, it would be better if you didn't mention my name."

I'm angry and I'm speechless.

However, Chairman Dagon Tara...

"Are you saying that you are the only one who is angry? Are you saying that only the journalists and the reporters' association went to Panglong and the writers' association was not there?"

“The chairman... Please think about what Chairman Pipi said. What right do we have to say that we are “displeased” with the fact that we were not invited to Panglong? I can only say that I am sad and crying because the Writers’ Association of Shan State was not invited.”

"Now..now, come on, don't be long and sit down."

Teacher Shwe Pein Thaung stood up from his seat, interrupted me, and...

"In this case of going to the moon with this rocket, it's not going to be a case of him going and me going. No one wants to go. To be honest, I don't want to go either. So instead of pushing each other to get the job done, we'll have to think about who should go and who should go."

"That's right."

Min Aung got up and drove back...

“What kind of people should go? People who have taken advantage of opportunities to go to Mandalay and Myitkyina first.”

“Hey.. hey Po Min Aung”

Having been through both the Mandalay and Manaw games, I quickly stood up and...

"People who have to go twice like this should take a break because they are tired of traveling and have lost their jobs."

Shwe Pein Thaung pointed at me with a small smile... "Hey.. hey Thawtar Swe, don't be a fool, what you said is true."

“Well... so if there are people who have been there twice, there are me, Janejo Mamalay, and Dagontara. I can’t go to this month in any way. Well... only those two people asked.”

"Here you are... I am a woman."

What my older sister Jane Jo did, Than Swe Japu...

"Wow.. What kind of woman is this? Back then, I didn't know what to do with my heart, I just wanted to live..."

"This is how it is."

Big sister Jane Jo spread her hands in her usual manner (the Dagons were big men at the last meeting, and she had to admit, “I think Daw Tin Hlaing is a good listener”) and was about to scatter the air, when this shadowy, golden-haired man stood up and said...

“Now... Daw Tin Hlaing, please leave the reason for a moment, let Chairman Dagon Tara speak.”

The gargoyle stood up from his seat, a little dizzy...

"So in this case, as you can see, I'm not a very good person, and I still have to do cooperative things for the team."

“Aung Mar... Aung Mar, I don’t even remember when I went to Mandalay and Manaw Festival.”

Ko Hla Aung got up and started blowing.

Teacher Shwe Pein Thaung got up and said again..

"Well... so in short, there are four people on this rocket, so the only thing left to do is find three of you and one more person to go."

"Oh.. Teacher Chombaeng Baung," I got up from my seat and...

"Well... what's the point of us not wanting to go here, Chairman?"

Turn to Tara..

"We can't go on this rocket, so we'll give up this trip. Let other people go if they want to."

"Ha..what will happen to this, Ko Thawtar Swe?"

“Now... I'll hand over the reporter and the journalist team, so that Mr. Chatterjee, who recently returned from India, U Ba Than, and Mr. Tok Gyi, who are the fuel workers, can join us.”

"Will they accept it? They'll be like you."

The great Bhamo did it again...

"Well... so you're just leaving this big rocket for free, saying no one will go."

"Here, Ko Thawtar Swe... don't talk too much, is it okay to do this to something that we have spent a lot of money on for our team?"

"Now... Now, this is about not being able to finish," Teacher Maga stood up... "

"If we don't talk about this committee meeting, we'll have to call everyone together and discuss it, and then the people who will go will show up."

"Uh... that's right, then let's send a rocket at the people who are trying to take down our group."

Min Aung said. Here is Dagon Tara...

"So... everyone has agreed to call Masamit."

"What are we going to do differently? It's not just a committee anymore."

In the history of writers, these two movements were unprecedented. Since I was the executive of the association, I was worried about when I would have to go to a general meeting and when I would have to speak out against the opposition. So I had to carry sandbags at home and wear pants when I went to meetings. Today, I was especially careful about refusing to go to the moon. I even had to wear a thick, tight-fitting shirt underneath.