war. I thought we were lucky as my grandparents said. We also never
knew the cruelty of Japanese rule in 1942 to 1945 in Burma. We never
felt the bombs dropping from air. We did not see their harrowing
experience of World War. When we were born, the wars were ended since
many years ago. We only heard from our grandparents of their
experiences of war life; running and hiding from bombs dropping,
hungry for foods, selling slippers when they were penniless, tailing
for raw fish at the market, buying eggs with high price, meeting days
of torture and nights of horrors. That's why they thought we were
luckier.
'Our Modern World'
TV appeared about 1980 in Burma. My grandparents first watched the TV
when they were 65 years old. My grandfather always said 'How lucky you
are! We did not know TV, VCD or computer at your age. But these new
things were born when you are young. You are luckier than me.'
Technology and new invention were frequently undated. The existing
things were always out-of-date. We spent most of our time with new
inventions. The cell phones were popular here now. The internet was
also well-liked new thing among people. The young people spent most of
their time with new technology.
But all the things were mixed up with good and bad. TV and internet
were good, but on the other hand, it was not good for our eyes and we
became have less free time. The cell phone was a good invention, but
on the other hand, the more we used it, the worse our health. It was
proved by the scientific research. It said the heat (micro wave)
emerged from the cell phone could injure the some organ of the brain.
So, we have to be careful to use these new inventions. There were good
and bad results from the new inventions. Let me end here about good
and bad of the new invention in our modern world, because we all both
love and enjoy these things. We expect new creations and more
modernized technologies in our future world. The world seemed complete
and perfect with the new technologies. But there were other things
which we lacked in the modern world.
'What We Missed in the Modern World'
In our grandparents' days, although they faced many difficulties, they
could watch the waxing moon and tell their son the story of it. Every
night, they could sit around and telling their experiences of their
daily life. They could spend many hours reading books. They also
enjoyed their time with friends and families. They could visit to the
theatre once a week for watching films or play.
Moreover, they gave themselves a good time tasting Burmese foods and
all the varieties walking along the road at the Burmese pagoda
festivals especially in the Shwedagon pagoda festival. 'It was
celebrated on the ground around the hill where stands the great
pagoda. The grounds were filled with rows of bamboo and thatch huts
which are market stalls or show rooms. There were also merry-go-rounds
and ferries wheels and musical shows.' My grandmother said the part of
the festival grounds was a wonderland. They might wander and browse
for hours there.
We were lucky that we once gave ourselves a good time walking along at
Pagoda festival and enjoying beautiful toys made by bamboo or other
material from all over the country come and sold there. I remembered
we went there in the late evening with our parents enjoying and
wandering walking along the road at the Shwedagon pagoda festival. My
mother said at that time we took taxi to the Shwedagon Pagoda festival
was held. We wandered circling (from north->east->south->west->north))
of the Pagoda hill ground by foot and enjoying all the things we saw.
The time seemed passed so quickly that we could not notice it was
almost 10:00 PM. The open Burmese Entertainment of music and dance
were not started yet. Most of the people watched these shows whole
night through. But we all had to return home! We could not hire a taxi
because the people were so crowded that it was difficult to hire a
taxi. So we went back home by foot. We walked almost a mile to return
home. I remembered how happy we were at that time although we were
tired. Our grandparents also enjoyed to walk with us. Sometimes they
waited us at home and waiting to taste what we bought delicious food
from the festival. It seemed how people enjoyed the pagoda festivals.
But these pagoda festivals do not last long. These memories were now
history.
'Epilogue'
When we were young, our grandparents always said, 'How lucky you are!'
At that time we were too young to argue their belief. We accepted
without thinking. We believed it might be true. If we measured the
good thing and the bad thing of older time and of this modern world, I
wondered which side would be heavier.
(picture (above) – It was drawn by Maungyit- my twin brother – by the
instruction of our grandmother for her article named 'Pagoda
Festival-Trade Fairs-More Pwes'.
It showed how beautiful and celebrated view of the Shwedagon Pagoda
Festival. The grounds were filled with rows of bamboo and thatch huts
which are market stalls or show rooms. We could see the temporary roof
made with large tough cloth which was for Burmese show - A Nyeint (an
entertainment of music, song and dance). It attracted people to watch
the show whole night.)
Comments
Post a Comment