Aung Lin - Pit Tain Prison

Order of Yelena Zapadova (Makhlakoyt)

The order of Yelyana Zapadova (Mahalkaewt) included in the Russian edition of the book "Pittaintaung" published by the "Progress" publishing house of the Soviet Union.

The friendly relations between the Soviet Union and Burma are becoming stronger day by day. The Soviet people are becoming more and more interested in the history, literature and life of the many ethnic groups in the Union of Burma. A variety of works, including stories, novels and short stories by modern Burmese writers, have been translated and published in Burmese over the past fifteen years. A new modern Burmese writer, Aung Lin, is now introduced to the Soviet readership with his novel “Pit Tain Taung”. Aung Lin is a famous writer, literary critic and screenwriter, and is especially well-known in Burma.

Among the pen names of writer U Tin Pe (born 1928), Aung Lin is the most well-known. Burmese writers often use more than one pen name, one for novels, one for critical writings, and one for poetry. Writer U Tin Pe often wrote short stories and novels under the name Aung Lin, and Burmese readers know him simply as Aung Lin.

Aung Lin received his primary education at the English Mission School in Pakokku. In order to secure employment in Burma, which had been colonized by the British, it was essential to be literate in English. To provide the necessary personnel for the colonial authorities, English and Anglo-Burmese schools were opened in Burma. These new schools displaced the traditional Buddhist monasteries, which had been established to provide education for young men, especially boys, to study Buddhism (the official religion and doctrine of feudal Burma). Monasteries had existed in Burma for centuries before the British arrived (and were in every Burmese village). This helped to ensure that literacy rates in Burma (especially among men) were relatively high, despite the limited literacy rate. By eliminating the sole dominance of the monks in educating the people, the British opened schools for the upper classes and made them teach in English, thus closing the educational path for the lower classes of Myanmar.

In his “Five Hundred Nights,” Aung Lin, in describing his student years and teachers, makes a special mention of the Burmese national teacher U Ba Lwin. U Ba Lwin was a man who instilled in his students a love for their country and national culture.

The “Red Dragon Book Society” publishing house, which spread progressive ideas among Burmese youth in the late 1930s and 1940s, was particularly instrumental in the emergence of writer Aung Lin. The bookstore published translated books on socialist ideas and the international patriotic liberation movement. The books of Marx and Lenin were also translated at that time. Practical problems that were of particular interest to the Burmese people were discussed in the “Society”. The writers who gathered around the “Society” and the active activities of the “Society” contributed to the emergence of modern Burmese literature.

Regarding the importance of the association and its role in Burmese life, poet and writer Nay Thway Ni wrote in his book “Poetry Problems in the Post-War Era” that “the books published by the Red Dragon Book Association fostered hatred of the colonial system in the minds of the readers.”

The books published by the association were distributed throughout the country. The books arrived in Myaing, where Aung Lin’s family lived during World War II. Aung Lin recalled that teachers encouraged students to read the books published by the Nagani Library. Aung Lin himself revealed that he read these books with great enthusiasm day and night. From that moment on, Aung Lin’s way of thinking, which would later become a writer, began to take shape.

World War II was over. Aung Lin, like many other people, was only interested in the liberation of Burma from colonial rule. He began attending Rangoon University in 1947. He began writing under the pen name “University Blood.”

In his recently published book “Letter to Ba Toe,” Aung Lin himself wrote that the years 1948-1954 were the most difficult years of his life. He even used the word “unfortunate” to describe his writings during those years. However, it was during those years that he chose the difficult and arduous path of writing as his life path.

He began his literary career as a critic after becoming actively involved in literary discussions in the 1950s. The writer and critic Dagon Tara was at the time a fierce critic of the “New Literature” movement, which he had presented in his magazine “Tara”. Although the magazine was published for only four years, it was able to gather a progressive circle of writers. When he arrived in Moscow in 1954, in a meeting with a reporter from the newspaper “Soviet Skarakultura” (Soviet Culture), Dagon Tara explained the aim of his magazine: “to propagate a “new literature” based on realist criticism and presenting the subject matter in a realistic and realistic manner.”

Unable to agree with Dagon Thara's literary philosophy, Aung Lin proposed his own concept of "people's literature." In 1964, Aung Lin's book of literary criticism was published, which summarized his literary activities as a critic.

The book was called “People’s Literature, Film and Music .” Although Aung Lin and Dagon Tara had major differences of opinion on the role and importance of the style of writing and on some other issues, they shared the same view when it came to the realistic Burmese novels that emerged in the post-war years (Maung Htin’s “Nga Ba” novel and short stories, Min Aung’s “Moe Aok Thanyein” and the novels of U Aung Soe and other writers).

From the mid-1950s, Aung Lin entered the second phase of his literary career as a writer. His short stories were often published in magazines, and working people and farmers were the characters of today's literature. Aung Lin wrote in his critical articles that only real things should be reflected in writers. Aung Lin presented the real events of the stories described in the novels "Hla Pung Num" and "Bawa Utthaw" and the short story "Ngag Ma Te Ma" and the novel "Pit Tain Taung" and other novels in his memoir "Nya Paung Phai Hra".

A description of Aung Lin's role in Burmese culture and his spirit would be incomplete without including his passion for music.

Music could often be heard from the windows of a four-story building on a main street in downtown Yangon. Passersby stopped to listen, and a crowd gathered under the window. Everyone knew that the popular writer lived in this building. They read his books with great interest and wanted to listen to his music. They knew that his friends were at the writer’s house. The harpist was U Thein Pe, the violinist was U Khin Maung Yi, and the pattala player was U Aung Lin, the owner of the house.

Aung Lin plays many Burmese musical instruments. He studied music with famous musicians. Aung Lin composed many popular songs under his real name (U Tin Pe).

His love of national culture, especially music, seems to have inspired his choice of themes, settings, and characters. Aung Lin often presents the connection between art and human life in his novels, and he also writes about the importance of preserving national cultural traditions and the noble influence of art on young people.

This same theme is also presented in the novel “Wild Jasmine,” which won Myanmar’s best novel award for 1960.

Like all of Aung Lin's novels, "Wild Jasmine" is also based on true events. A musician, angered by the judges' unfair decision at a music competition, breaks his violin in front of the audience.