Beauty From Destruction in Myanmar – Part II. (Arts From Disaster)

I've had just enough time to...   ponder on the irony of Life

The monkey peeking out to see if the storm is over...

Driving along the University Avenue road in Yangon, you will pass by an amazing display of huge wooden sculptures all along it and in front of the Sayasan Plaza. Many of them are carved out of fallen trees toppled by the Cyclone Nargis in 2008. ( See Part I – The Tragedy of Cyclone Nargis). The trees that were brought down by the storm that could not be saved ended up as raw materials for sculptors who used it as a most fitting tribute to the fallen trees.

The tall giraffe cautiously stands on high ground...

The lizard gape in wonder at having survived the storm...

Ironically, these trees also helped the sculptors as they provided them with much needed materials for their carving as they were suffering from a scarcity of woods in recent years. This problem was solved at least for the time being as an indirect consequence of the disaster. It also served to raise the awareness of Myanmese wood carvings. Exhibitions were held both within and outside the country to promote the art and the tragedy was a good platform to do so. This is the irony of Life, what it takes away with one hand, it also gives with another.

The proud peacock could not believe her luck...

The leopard growled remembering the storm...

The most prized wood for carving is the famed teak wood but this has become increasingly difficult to obtain. The trees salvaged after Cyclone Nargis however were Koako, a type of banyan tree and does not fetched as high a price as teak wood. Still, the sculptors were unexpectedly gifted with an abundance of valuable raw materials to work on. Most of the sculptures themselves were carved the traditional styles and the most popular subjects seem to be animals whether real or mythical. These are some examples of the wooden sculptures.

The girl is pleased that peace is again at hand...

Isn't it an irony of Life that such destruction should give birth to such beauty?

The gentle white Rhino lay contently on the grass...

Beauty From Destruction in Myanmar – Part I. (The Tragedy of Cyclone Nargis)

I've had just enough time to...   see wood carved from fallen trees

A typical farmhouse in the Irrawaddy Delta, Myanmar

In the last week of April, 2008, a low pressure system built up in the Bay of Bengal. On April 27, the Indian Meteorological Department declared that it has strengthened to a tropical depression. The depression moved north-northwest and was upgraded to the cyclone, Nargis on April 28. Equivalent to a category 1 hurricane, it picked up speed and intensity to wind of 100 mph making it to a category 2 equivalent on April 29. Cyclone Nargis made landfall on May 2, near the town of Wagon, Myanmar and moved inland but along the coast of the rich and densely populated Irrawaddy Delta. It had by then attained a peak wind of 135 mph (equivalent to a category 4) destroying everything in its path.

The very flat Irrawaddy Delta is especially vulnerable to the destruction coming from the sea

Trees, houses, people, everything living or non-living in its path were swept away. If not by the ferocious wind, then by the storm surge of above 7 meters (21 feet) sweeping up to 50 Kilometer (30 miles) up the delta. There was catastrophic devastation and it has been estimated that 138,000 lost their lives and 2.4 million people were severely affected. Some entire population of villagers was killed and wiped off the surface of the earth. Population and villagers just disappeared, never to be recovered. This was the worst natural disaster of Myanmar and caused untold sufferings long after the storm subsided.

The Cyclone Nargis is like a blind ferocious beast that attack everything in its path

Long after the storm subsided, there were trees were all over the land. The awesome power of Nargis uprooted 75 per cent of the trees in Yangon. It was estimated that more than 10,000 old-aged trees were downed of which 6,000 of them were up-righted and saved. Some of these trees were between 30 to 100 years old. Those trees that could not be saved were turned by sculptors into works of arts. More than 50,000 sculptures have been created, exhibitions were held and even a ‘sculpture village’ was created for the sculptors to work and to house these sculptures. Join me for Part II where I will showcase more examples of the fine sculptures.

A Naga (dragon) carved out from one of the fallen trees.

Below is a video of the destruction of the Cyclone Nargis. Please be warned that some of the images of this photo video are very graphic and may be disturbing. 

Street Football, Yangon (Myanmar) Style.

I've had just enough time...   to remember the little boy kicking the ball in the street

These images are drive-by shootings. I was in a car in Yangon Myanmar, squeezing through the crowded streets where old cars (government policy only allows import of second hand cars) shared the same space with bicycles, trishaws and trucks. Thankfully, there were no motor-bikes which are banned in the street of Yangon for the cars are confusing enough with right-handed drives and left-handed drives sharing the same road moving in both directions. I saw a crowd occupying one part of the road next to the shoulder and wondered why they are gathered there.

It seemed they are watching a game in progress. One guy obviously a player himself by his uniform is sitting on a trishaw with his knee up watching the game even though other spectators were blocking his view. There were spectators watching from the balconies and windows of the shop block. Some of the spectators were wearing trousers while more are wearing sarongs but all non-players were wearing flip-flops. This is street football, Myanmar style.

The curb marked one side of the ‘field’ while a raffle string that separated the road marked the outer boundary with crates and parked cars and trucks marked both ends. The ‘field’ itself is just the paved surface of the road with crude chalk markings. 

Please take note of the players’ footwear. The player challenging for the ball wore boots, the other defender wore socks with the big toe sticking out and a knee guard below the knee while the attacker was wearing an ankle guard on one leg. This seemed to be a good representation of the footwears of the players.

The game was proceeding at a lively pace with the ball moved up and down the court with each side trying to take it to the scoring zone where a tiny and low goalpost sat at each end. Imagine raw feet charging on the hot, rough, and abrasive road surface and you will wince. But this does not shock me as much as bringing back nostalgic memories for that was precisely what we did too as kids. And the way to differentiate the teams then was always, those with shirts and those without and we always hoped we will be the shirtless team so they won’t turn up torn.  I so wanted to stop and watched the game but the car was moving on…

The Artist Who Paints With A Knife

I've had just enough time...   to learn about Life from the artist who paints with a knife

The street artist I saw in the street of Yangon, Myanmar who painted with what he has 

He paints with what he has

A kitchen knife

And a worn out brush

Sitting cross-legged bent to his task

He has no time for complaining

Of Life and her cards

He smiled when a piece is complete

A moment’s pause to savor it

Then start on the next sheet

The artist who paints with a knife

Has a lot to teach me about Life

He used the knife to create the while lines against the dark patches to create the required shape

That is a worn out wall brush that he is using

He adapted his painting style to the tools that he has

Dashes of the broad brush and fine stroke of the knife and you got a bamboo groove

The only good brush is used to draw more delicate portion of the painting

The whole painting almost done all in just minutes, and it now belongs to me :)

And the memory that came with the painting makes it even more valuable to me

Flower, Why Are You In The City of Man? (繁市中的花儿)

I've had enough time to...   lament for the flowers in the City of Man

Taken from a moving vehicle in the City of Yangon, Myanmar

Flower in the city

You are out of place

You do not belong here

Among rusty and stainless steel

The sun burns you

The night offers no sleep

You are valued only for your freshness

But your freshness doesn’t keep

The city sucks all vitality

The remains to the rubbish heap

This is the way the city lives

您孤立此地

此处非你所属

在钢铁与锈之间

烈日噬干您

入夜不得眠

鲜绿是您所有

奈何不持久

城市吸走您的生命力

残骸归废墟

这就是繁市生活之道

The fields and the mountains

They are so far away…

Flower, why are you here -

In the city of man?

田野与山丘

遥不可及

花儿啊，你为何身在此处

在人群的市中

(Many thanks to a dear friend for the translation into Mandarin)

A Bag Too Many, A Bag Too Few

I've had just enough time to...   ponder on how many bags to carry -

Taken in the wholesale market in Myanmar where this is a common sight...

Stacking bags as high as they could  to save a trip...

 Sometimes, that did not paid off and everything comes tumbling down...

A bag more or a bag less

It is hard to know

The difference that will make

Experience may help

Or lead us astray

When the scenery’s the same

But the terrain differs

An extra bag may carry us

To our destination

Or exhaust us

Along the way

 

With their combined weight, they tried to upright the cart...

But it was not enough...

I looked up at the weather

Then search my strength

Take on that extra bag

And pray –

I do not stumble along the way…

So they have to un-load and re-stack them all again...

What Is A Little Inconvenience Along The Way?

I've had just enough time to...   witness how a little inconvenience is no inconvenience at all!

Taken from my car along a busy street outside Yangon, Myanmar

We are going for a ride

Me and my friends

Going for a ride

Through the noisy street

With our face to the breeze

What is a little dust blown up by the gust?

We are more worried about the rust

What is a little smoke our nostril does choke?

We are more worried the engine will croak

What is a little standing holding to the ceiling?

We are more worried about our shilling

It doesn’t matter how we get there

As long as we get there

What is a little inconvenience along the way?

Birds Talk No One Hears

I've had just enough time to...   hear birds talking

Taken while walking in the street of Rangon, Myanmar

The lines of communications belong to the birds

That chirp, cheep, chitter and twitter

Short and sweet, incessant and insane

A thousand voice, one great din

Who is listening?

 Who is listening!?

Not me, are you?

We tweet to speak,

Not to hear

But who is listening

If everyone speaks?

You don’t get it, do you?

It is birds talk

In birds talk

Everyone talks

No one hears

If birds talk everyone talks

No one hears

The Silver Threads of Fate

I've had just enough time to...   feel the trembling of the string of fate

Taken in an industrial loom in Yangon, Myanmar

The silver threads of fate spins

In the loom of the blind sisters

Trembling under their fingers

And another hero falls

Blind eyes shed no tears

See no sorrow

Feel no fear

The quivering threads sing

Exciting the tender hearts

With its seductive rhyme

And another maiden falls

Blind eyes reveal no love

See no blushes

Feel no pain

The blind sisters chuckle

Picks another thread, breaks it

With a snap and attaches it again

But no silver thread

Can mend the

Severed string

Of a heart shattered

________

Darling, I am growing old,

Silver threads among the gold

Shine upon my brow today;

Life is fading fast away;

But, my darling, you will be, will be,

Always young and fair to me,

Yes, my darling, you will be,

Always young and fair to me.

The Newspaper Boy of Myanmar.

I've had just enough time to...   acknowledge the newspaper boy of Myanmar.

Taken on the way to the wholesale market outside Yangon, Myanmar

My Boy

He dreams

Of striking it rich and

Buying me a house to live in.

My Boy

He worries

About my health and

Saving to buy me new crutches.

My Boy

He wishes

To give more than love and

Love all the more because it is all he can give.

Meanwhile,

He wakes up early

Sells newspaper at the traffic stops

And dream of better days to be.

"Enjoy Your Life", You Said.

I've had just enough time to...   enjoy my life not yours.

Taken while walking through the main road of Yangon, Myanmar.

Enjoy Life, you said.

Well, I tried.

And I find it bitter with no means to sweeten it.

Change my attitude, you said.

Well, I did.

But there was no harmony in my singing.

Hope for the better, you said.

Well, I hoped and prayed.

Even as each day gets darker than before the day.

So now, it is my fault you said.

I think I agreed.

You with your fancy car and positive attitude.

With no need to hope for your days are bright.

And your nights are peaceful.

Go ahead and enjoy your life,

But stop telling me to enjoy mine.

It is MY LIFE!

_______

Live Your Life Feat. Rihanna 

Got Everybody Watchin What I Do 

Come Walk In My Shoes

And See The Way I'm Livin If You Really Want To 

Got My Mind On My Money 

And I'm Not Goin Nowhere 

So Keep On Gettin Your Paper 

And Keep On Climbing 

Look In The Mirror And Keep On Shining 

Till The Game Ends, Till The Clock Stops 

We Gon' Post Up On The Top Spot 

Livin The Life, The Life

Myanmar Is Changing!

I've had just enough time to...   see the beginning of Myanmar's transformation.

Taken in a Chinese shop in Yangon's Chinatown, Myanmar.

I found myself in the Chinatown of Yangon, Myanmar recently. While my colleagues were buying casual nuts, I took this shot from inside the shop, through hanging lanterns at the street outside. Chinese New Year was just round the corner. Though this is my first trip to Yangon, I could feel the change in the air. Myanmar is changing and it will never be the same again. 

This is the watershed year for the country. After decades of being trapped in its own time zone, Myanmar is finally opening up to the rest of the world. Democracy will follow soon. Business men already smelling profits are descending into the capital by the plane load. 

With the change, more freedom and progress will follow. But not all will be good. Some will find it hard to adjust to the change. The oppressors of the country will probably be the greatest beneficiaries. It must be hard for Aung San Suu kyi. Going after the perpetrator will plunged the country into a crisis, compromising for the sake of the people will let them get away scot free. Because she cared more for the living than the dead, she has only one option really. So the past must be buried for the future to have a chance. But the injustice of it all is quite difficult to swallow. The alternative is worse. 

If you can, visit Myanmar now. In ten years, it will change beyond recognition. Though it is all for progress and a brighter future, it is still kind of sad to see some old ways of Life changed and the country losing some of its charm and unique personality. Happy New Year Myanmar. May this be a happy new beginning for you.