Expert - Panha Katha

From the third door

In the section on meeting readers, I have planned to meet writers and teachers from various fields, and this month I will be meeting a translator and author, “Sayyar Paragu.” As book lovers already know, Sayyar Paragu is a translator and author, but he is a translator of Oriental literature, which is unique to other translators.

It has been a long time since I read your letters. But since we have not met in person, with the help of U Aung Myint, a member of the Pe Phu Lath Sahay, I was able to meet you at the peaceful and quiet Bahan Township, Kinbe Street (Phaishat Gyi Pagoda Street), No. (3). The teacher was a single man who enjoyed reading books, so the entire living room was almost filled with books, big and small, and the watercolor paintings on the walls represented the artist's thoughts.

“Sir, this is Ko Win Nyein from our magazine. As I informed you in advance, I have come for the March issue of the magazine.”

"Nice to meet you, teacher."

“I am happy too. Ko Win Nyein Nyi, Ko Sanni Nyein, and I are already friends because we often meet at the Khaye Tea Shop with painter Pe Nyunt Wai and Ko Wunna.”

Seeing the friendly and open smile on the teacher's face made me feel more relaxed about the questions I had prepared to ask. Recently, my friends and colleagues have been saying that they are asking me questions, so I am very cautious. This month, the person I will be asking is someone I am not close to, and the line is a separate line. So I wondered if it would be okay. When I saw the teacher's smile, I felt relieved.

"I've read most of what you've written."

"Ask Ko Win Nyein, if you have any questions, ask them. I will answer them as best I can."

"Before we discuss the subject of teacher education, let's talk about how you entered the world of teacher education, shall we?"

“I think people who enter the world of literature have different reasons. Some enter to make a living. Some enter to write as a hobby. There are also people who enter the world of literature for other reasons. If I talk about myself, I can say that I entered the world of literature as a hobby. I used to live in a village when I was 16 or 17 years old. That village was a big village with about two hundred or three hundred houses. But it was poor. There was a small village near that village with about fifty houses but it was rich. The chief of the rich village ruled the poor village. That chief was as bad as some chiefs during the British era. The people of the poor village were miserable under the rule of the chief. When I witnessed the torture of the chief with my own eyes, I wrote a short story about it and sent it to the Progress Magazine.”

"About what year, sir?"

“It was around 1940. At that time, the editor of the Progress Magazine was U Thwin, who used the pen name “Tawka Thadun”. The editor included my novel in the magazine. I can say that I started writing at that time.”

"After that"

“After that, I wrote a little bit in the Progress Magazine and Dagon Magazine. I also wrote a little bit in the post-war period in the Journal Kyaw. But at that time, I couldn’t say that I had entered the literary world. The time when I could say that I had entered the literary world was after 1950.

Let's say there are three or four doors through which one can enter the world of Burmese literature. One door is the door through which one enters the world of literature with one's own writings. People flock to that door. The other door is the door through which Western English literature is translated into Burmese and Burmese literature is translated into Burmese.

It is the gateway to the world. People are lining up at that gateway. I, who wanted to enter the world of Burmese literature, chose the gateway through which no one had entered. That gateway was the gateway through which Indian novels entered Myanmar directly.

To be honest, I don’t know if it’s my weakness. I enjoy Eastern literature more than Western literature. Among Eastern literature, I usually prefer Indian literature. That’s why I study Hindi, the main language of India, to fully enjoy Indian literature. I read Indian literature, especially novels written in Hindi. I also have a passion for writing, so I translate Indian literature into Burmese with the aim of filling the gap in Burmese literature with the novels I like. That’s how I came into the Burmese literary world. But so far in my literary career, I haven’t written anything original. That’s why I don’t want to call myself a writer yet.”

"I would like to know about the reason for adopting the pen name 'Paragu', sir."

“Speaking of my pen name, Paragu, it was a name that stuck with me when I was young, but I didn’t like it when I grew up, but I couldn’t change it. The name Paragu was not given to me by myself. It was the name given to me by my teacher when I was a child. I started writing under that name when I was a child. I continued to write under that name when I was a child. Paragu is not really a pen name. It can be said to be my real name.

Later, I wanted to change this name. But it has become so entrenched that it is not easy to change it. The reason I want to change it is because the name is big. It is popular. When people hear the name "Paragu", they often ask what kind of "Paragu" is. As you know, "Paragu" means someone who is at the peak of expertise. I don't have any expertise.

I will say that the name of the doctor is related to the context. About twenty years ago, we went to Kyaukme to give a lecture. Before we went, we put a sign in Kyaukme saying, “A doctor and three people are coming.” When the sign arrived at Kyaukme, the sign was changed to ‘and’ and it read, ‘Three doctors are coming.’” At that time, Kyaukme was very busy, thinking about what kind of doctors they were. And the comedian also said that there was a doctor. He also said that there was a tutor named after a doctor. People have asked me if I was a comedian or a tutor. The signs of the specialists also say “doctor.” That’s why I want to change my pen name.”

"The novels you translate are mostly novels related to Buddhism. Do you have any specific goals in selecting and translating these novels?"

“It is true that the novels I have translated into Burmese are related to “Buddha”. I think it would be more accurate to say that they are related to the Buddhist era or the flourishing of Buddhism in India rather than being related to Buddha. When it comes to my favorite novels, I prefer historical novels. That being said, why don’t other novels written in the backdrop of Indian history be translated into Burmese? Burmese people are more familiar with the flourishing of Buddhism in the Buddhist culture of India. I am the same way.

I am not very interested in the Mughal period and the period when Brahmanism flourished in Indian history. For example, I am interested in the history of Bhima in the Buddhist era and the teachings of King Ashoka. Buddhist epic literature has been used to