Maung Tha Cho - Oil Lamp Children

Will you take me to the port?

( one)

The world-famous Indian writer Rahul Sankrityayan once expressed his views by saying, "Travel the world, life comes only once. Youth comes only once in a lifetime." I think that if there are three basic things to live for, and if there is a calm state of mind, people who are content with life, who live in their own little nest and do not want to leave anywhere, become a little more active.

It is said that when people travel a lot, they become more democratic. They get to experience a world that is different from their own. Unfamiliar voices, facial expressions, clothes, manners, food, customs, beliefs, dances, musical instruments, customs, lifestyles, oh....... all the strange things to look at with wide open mouths and round eyes. A different world. Thus, people come to understand and accept that there is not only one kind of body, and they become more democratic.

A more open, freer, softer world. No more corners and angles. No more hard waters. No more closed, dark places.

People have been trying to find a different world for many years.

( 2 years)

The adventures of humans leaving their own little nests and venturing out into the outside world seem to have begun with sailing across the vast expanses of water.

Wasn't it because the Italian Vasco da Gama (Christopher Columbus) crossed the Atlantic Ocean with the support of Spain and discovered America in the mid-15th century that he traveled by sailing ship?

Wasn't it because the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama sailed across the ocean in a sailboat that he discovered India in the mid-15th century by sailing around Africa?

Therefore, the adventurers' journeys seem to be parallel to the journey by water.

( three)

In the past, when Burmese people left their homes and ventured out to interact with the outside world, the most common route used was by water.

Myanmar, which is rich in rivers and streams, also has many small ports. There are many, from well-equipped ports with docks and piers, to small, rustic ports where you have to moor your ship at a suitable place on the shore until it sinks, then climb up and down the steep bank, then climb up and down the steep bank.

The locals, with their eyes wide open, pass through these ports and spread the news to their villages and cities. New movies, new music, new shampoos, new clothing styles, new batteries, new cosmetics, new food products, new rumors, new horoscopes, and so on.

We, who are not used to traveling, who are tired of traveling, have had a long time when we gathered at the port for a moment, waved goodbye to the ship as it sailed away, and then turned around.

Travelers in this era of uncertain priorities, who are afraid to travel by ship, are afraid to bow down to the ticket clerk, and to get a place on the ship's deck to sleep overnight in a cabin on the ship's deck.

In those days, getting a decent seat on a ship meant that you had to be a powerful person, a merchant with a bag of money on your back, or someone who occasionally fulfilled the wishes of the ticket salesman. In those days, most people were afraid to take a ship.

However, despite these circumstances, there are those who are forced to disembark at the port due to the difficult transportation conditions and lack of choice.

The singer Tin Maung Kyi once wrote a song about some of the people who came down to that port. He was a black man who was carrying the goods. The singer was Wai Wai.

( four)

“It’s not far from the village , it’s not too far, it’s easy to get to the harbor. When the ship docks , the prince and his wife will follow. If you take them to the big city, they’ll take them with them . If you take them to the harbor, they’ll take you to the harbor . You’re a simple, gentle boy, don’t be shy, and I’ll tell you, brother, to take you to the harbor. ”

The sound of the siren is in my ears, xx Yes, it is true, it is beautiful, xx If my brother comes to meet me on the way home, xx Oh, don't be slow, I will give you gifts. xx Everything I saw on the way, the beautiful fields, xxx The green, lush mountains, everything I saw, xx I will tell you again and again, so that you will like the handsome, handsome man .

Oh.. Ko Yin, come with me , if you call me, I'm sad, I 'm afraid of you

This is a song that was heard on the Voice of Myanmar during the good old days of radio. Longma is going to the city with her aunt, so she asks the young man to accompany her to the port. The young man refuses because he is afraid of her aunt. The song is composed of the following lines: Longma says that if she comes to meet him on the way back, she will give him gifts, and that she wants to relive the sights and experiences of the city along the way.

( Fish)

Now the ports are dry. There is not much traffic. Pyapon, Bokalay, Mawkyun, Laputta, Myaungmya, Pathein, Uinme, Kunchankon, Deydere, Twante, Kyaiklat, Wakhama, Kyongma Ngae, people do not rely on ships. Ships that are driven by the Irrawaddy and Sittaung rivers are not fashionable. They only bring goods to the port, but people do not board. The time and effort of waiting for a ride are no longer needed. .

The highway network has spread out everywhere. Wow, people, wow, people, up and down, oh my. Oh... I don't need to ask if you'll take me to the port. . .

Regarding the oil lamp children

( one)

It is said that the first people in the world longed for light when darkness reigned . However, the sun only shone during the day, so they continued to long for night , and the moon appeared again.

This is expressed in ancient poems such as "The first person in the world, the darkness is thick. The first person is the first person." It is said that the first people were shouting and shouting in the darkness.

Darkness. To fight the darkness, nature's gifts such as the sun, moon, stars, and fireflies. Then came oil lamps, candles, glass lanterns, and all sorts of colorful, flowery, speckled, solid, and dim electric fireworks. The modern world.

( 2 years)

Books are also light. To overcome the darkness of unwholesome thoughts.

With that in mind, I write these letters. However, my letters are like the sun, like the moon, and like the light.

It's not very strong. It's just a faint, dim light, like the light from an oil lamp.

So, I named it “The Lamp Children.” These are the letters I wrote in 7 Day News.

It is because of the darkness that I want to be able to see the light. I hope that the roads and bridges are only dimly lit, but I hope that they will forgive me for saying that it is only because of the oil lamps.