Nyo Thit - Wild Beasts and Short Stories in Translation

The guards thought he was going to sneak in and eat. What was worse was that some of the guards came and sat very close to the railings and watched.

They could not bear the light in the hall. The chief of the staff shone the flashlight on the artist. The bright light did not cause the artist any more trouble. He had been unable to sleep for a long time. It had been almost a long time since he had slept. No matter how bright the lights were, no matter how many hours the spectators were beating, how hot, how restless, the artist could only doze off. He was pleased to find a way to pass the many sleepless nights that had been caused by such guards. He would joke with the guards who were watching him. He would tell them stories of his life experiences. Then he would make sure that the guards did not sleep.

The guards need to know that there is nothing to eat in the cage. It is also important for them to know that none of the guards can do such a job of starvation. The happiest time for the artist is at dawn. As soon as dawn comes, food will be brought to the guards. For the healthy ones, they would eat this food without hunger. They are tired from not sleeping at night. They have to rely on the artist to eat. Some say that feeding the guards this breakfast is a kind of bribe. I think they are saying too much.

The critics were frightened by the invitation to watch the wild beast and the translated short stories. Don't eat breakfast. Don't sleep all night. Just watch. But they stubbornly held on to their doubts.

In any case, these doubts are a necessary part of the professional hunger strike. Who can watch a starving artist day and night? This is a real hunger strike. No one can witness it without stopping. The only person who knows the work is the artist himself. The artist is a spectator of his own hunger strike from beginning to end, a spectator with pleasure. And so he himself is not completely satisfied. This is a spectacle that is too much to watch and he leaves with a feeling of sadness. It is not satisfactory for him. Being only skin and bones, the artist knows something that other people do not know. It is that starving is very easy. It is also one of the easiest jobs on earth. He does not hide this fact. People don't believe him. He's just trying to belittle himself by saying that it's too easy. He's just shouting loudly in front of people. Or maybe he's just doing it because he knows that this kind of starvation can be done easily.

Some of the new people were arrogant and cruel, and they tried to force him to admit the ease of starvation in various ways. He was patient. As time went on, he became accustomed to it. However, the dissatisfaction burning inside his body always bothered him.

No matter how long the hunger strike is, he did not abandon this work of his own free will. In fact, he should have been allowed to go on hunger strike. The exhibition organizers set the hunger strike at (40) days. The artist is not allowed to go on hunger strike beyond that period. There is a good reason for this, even in big cities. The public interest during the hunger strike is at its peak for about (40) days. Experience has shown that it is possible only by advertising and encouraging the completion of those (40) days. If those (40) days are exceeded, the interest of the city will disappear and decline. The support provided by the people will also be significantly reduced. Although there are some variations, roughly speaking, the (40) days are the limit, depending on the city and the region. So when the 40th day had come, the cage, decorated with flowers and a canopy, was opened. The hall was filled with eager people. A military band played. Two doctors entered the cage. After testing the effects of the starvation, the results were announced over a loudspeaker.