University Nandameet - One who asks for heaven and earth

Among the Thandwe writers, the closest to me is Ko Tin Aung (a university student). Ko Tin Aung is four or five years older than me and entered university earlier than me. I am not very close to Aston. He was a student, having entered the 9th or 10th grade before the war. I entered the 10th grade after the war. He lived in Thaton Saung and I lived in Uttara Saung (Shwe Bo Saung), so we only met occasionally. He was fair-skinned, tall, and full of body. His brown, sparse hair fell in a curl on his forehead. Maung Kyi Kyi introduced him to me, and he wrote articles and poems for the Kyaw Journal. Although I knew him as a university student, I was not close to him. When I saw him, he would light a cigar and smile. He didn’t talk much, and he would nod his head when others spoke. He was also cold, and I didn’t talk much in conversation. That’s why I wasn’t close to him. If I met him, I would just say hello. Just a smile. Another reason I didn't get along with him was that he had been drinking since then, and I probably didn't drink at that time. It's easy to get along with people around alcohol. "I think it's easy to understand each other around alcohol, and people who have experienced suffering are the easiest places to capture a person's mind."

Ko Tin Aung is said to be living in the Thaton monastery, but he is not in the monastery. He spends most of his time outside.

I don't know if it was in the Blood Drinking Magazine or the Journal Kyaw Magazine. I remember a poem he wrote very well. The title of the poem is "Encourage the Heaven and the Earth." His poems are not just four-syllable poems, but free verse. Sometimes he uses five or six syllables. Sometimes he uses two or three.

In 1950, when we worked together on the University Yearly Magazine, we became closer. That year, young writers from the university were elected to serve on the University Yearly Magazine, but usually there were no writers in those years. That year, we had the idea of ​​running for the position of editor of the University Magazine. Before the war, when the University Magazine, Owai Magazine, and Ganta Lok Magazine were published, they were led by contemporary writers. Writers were produced from those magazines. Before they wrote for other magazines, they wrote for the university magazines. You could say that they trained. Many writers who would become prominent in the Burmese literary world were born from those magazines. With that aim, we were elected to the University Yearly Magazine editorial board.

Luckily, all of our nominees were selected. Ko San Lwin and I (Sayyar Beeman) were English speakers, Maung Kyi and Nanda Meik from the University were Burmese speakers, Ko Tin Gyi (University Nilar) was the work manager, Ko Kyaw Aung (writer Kyaw Aung), the executive secretary, Ma Khin Win Kyi (later a retired professor from the Pali Department of Yangon University), and Ko Khin Maung Zaw (later a member of the film Luthu Aung Than as Ko Mya Gyi and who died in the United States more than thirty years ago while working for the American Voice). Ko Tin Aung and I became closer when we worked together at the magazine. I also helped them proofread their Burmese manuscripts. When we went to the press, we all went together. When we went to pick up advertisements, we all went together. When we went to see writers from outside, we went together. Before us, university magazines did not usually include manuscripts by outside writers. It is only during our time that we have included manuscripts by outside writers. We want to include the article "Bahein" or "Poetry" in the article "People's Studies" written by Dagontaray in English. When we think of someone who will be a translator, we think of the great gazetteer U Khin Maung (Taw Thar). The great gazetteer U Khin Maung used to dress in Burmese and talk about literature and poetry.

When Ko Tin Aung finished his BA, he left school and went to work as an editor at the Progress Newspaper. At that time, Min Shin was also at the Progress Newspaper, so he came to know about Min Shin. Ko Tin Aung lived alone in a small house on Kyauk Myaung Thita Street. When he came to the city, Ko Tin Aung would go to his house on Kyauk Myaung Thita Street and we would chat. Sometimes, after work in the evening, I would go to Ko Tin Aung’s house on Kyauk Myaung Thita Street and spend the night. His house had nothing. There was only a pot of water, a glass, three or four plates, a mosquito net, a pillow, and two blankets. Only books, empty alcohol bottles, and cigarette butts decorated his house.

Then, when Min Shin went to work at a radio station, I worked for a while at the Progress Newspaper. The owner of the Progress Newspaper, Progress U Sein (U Baji Ngo), allowed us to write headlines, so we both wrote headlines as we should. It wasn’t just a regular thing. If he had an idea, he would write it, and if I had an idea, I would write it. Our headlines were usually about world peace, domestic peace, and so on.

Ko Tin Aung's first novel, "Nanda Palle", was written and published around this time. His protagonist, Ko Ba Thin, can be said to be a clone of Ko Tin Aung. Ko Ba Thin and Ko Tin Aung are similar in their way of thinking and acting. His heroine is the poet Pule.

The poetess Pearl is also a portrait of a young poet he loves. “Nanda Pearl” is a love story between philosopher Ko Ba Thin and poet Pearl, but because it was written against the backdrop of Burmese politics at the time, the PFLP government banned the publication of his book and banned it.

Around 1952, when we were gathering at the house of Than Tin (publisher of the New Literature magazine and later editor of the National Library), Tin Aung also came to visit us. The regular guests at Than Tin's house were Aung Lin Minshin, myself, the university's Nandameet, and Maung Kyi-lin. Writers, musicians, and all sorts of people came to his house. Thaw Ta Swe was upset with his family and stayed with us at Than Tin's house for about a year. The guests who came for four or five days a week were Minshin, Naung, Moe Wai, Than Swe, the musician Thanat Than, Saw Nyein Sandara Aung Khin, Abbu U Than Myint, and Tint. There must be many more that I don't remember.

At that time, Than Tin’s house was a home for young writers after the war. In the evenings, there was always a literary, drinking or musical group. The music that was played by Saw Nyein’s songs such as Moe Thet Le Yon and Sam were songs of that era. Saw Nyein played the violin, Aung Lin played the pattala, and I played the mandolin, Than Swe and Min Shin played the music. When Nandamiek got a little drunk, he would pull out his cloth and dance to his song. The song was a song by YMBA teacher Tin. “When the time came, my mind would burst. No matter how hard I tried, I would go crazy.” Later, Nandamiek left the Progressive Newspaper and returned to Thandwe. When the teacher returned to Yangon, Nandamiek was not alone, but his wife, Ma Amar. The two of them lived in a small room at the top of the Hledan. Her house became our home and our drinking place. His wife, Ma A Ma, was also tolerant of her husband's friends. Nandamek tried to establish himself as a full-time writer. He wrote many short stories and novels. However, in those days, he did not get any money for his manuscripts. It was very rare for a writer to earn more than a hundred for a short story. Usually, they earned less than three figures. Then I heard that Nandamek had joined Myawaddy. At that time, I was studying at the University of Life. My stories were published in magazines and sent to my house as often as possible. So when I heard that he was being harassed, I was saddened.

Nandameet doesn't stay in one place for long. She likes freedom. She wants to have fun. If she's happy, she doesn't care how much money she gets. She doesn't mind. She wants to have a drink, write a letter, and talk to her friends. She's not someone who craves office trappings, tables, and chairs.

Soon after leaving Myawaddy, he found himself working as an editor at Nawaday Magazine. Nawaday Magazine became a major literary magazine with great influence. I don't know why. When Nawaday Magazine was discontinued, I heard that he was working at a detective magazine. At that time, he didn't see me much because I didn't write detective stories or anything like that. When I went to the university of life again, I became even further away from him.

“When I returned after a long time at the university, Nandameet had returned to Thandwe and was working as a teacher. I heard that his wife, Ma Ama, had also passed away and he had remarried. We never met in person.

I think the last time I saw him was around 1980. He came to me one rainy night. He wasn't as cheerful as usual, and he seemed to have lost his composure.

“I moved to Yangon. I wrote 3 or 4 of the manuscripts I already wrote myself. I translated two of them. Please help me find a publisher. You stay in Yangon, so we keep in touch, right? And I also want to reprint William Slynn’s “The Battlefield of Burma.” Please help me find a publisher.”

I contacted a publisher and one of his books was published.

I don't know if he has written any more books or not. I didn't see him again, but I heard that he had moved to Thanlyin. He didn't seem to be very interested in Yangon, and I, too, became blind, so I didn't go out without a companion. I didn't see him after I heard that he had moved to Insein. When I heard that he had passed away, the funeral had already been held. I didn't even go to his funeral. When I was writing for the Kanthayaar magazine, I remembered Nandameet and his Nandam Pearl, and I felt a pang of sadness.

Mya Than Tint