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Myanmar artist and author of The Native Tourist, Ma Thanegi is always hungry-for food, conversation, and a good story. Not the sort of woman to settle into a comfortable middle-aged existence of tending to her knitting while watching soap operas, she decides to satisfy a life-long dream and travel the thirteen hundred-mile length of her country's Ayeyarwaddy River. Taking little with her but her red lipstick, her curiosity, and her unquenchable sense of humor, she sets off on a journey that Paul Theroux or Redmond O'Hanlon would envy. Traveling on any boat that will let her come aboard, sleeping on wooden decks, and eating with strangers, Ma Thanegi observes Myanmar with the eye of an artist and the insight of a lifelong resident. Stalking dancers at a Kachin festival, careening down the rock-infested white- water gorge of the perilous First Defile, traveling with relief expeditions into the Nargis-ravaged delta region, feeding a dragon that lurks at her journey's end, Ma Thanegi savors every adventure that comes her way and shares the details in her own inimitable, opinionated and thoroughly delightful style. Book jacket.
Spanning a period of more than a thousand years, Myanmar Architecturecaptures in architecture the historical essence of a rich culture influenced by trade, Buddhism and colonialism. From ruined temples that are all that remain of the long-lost Pyu to the magnificent richness of the bejeweled, golden form of the Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar is home to some of the most magnificent structures ever built. Experience the splendid ruins dotting the plains of Mrauk U or step into Bagan, the Kingdom of the Four Thousand Temples. Visit Ratnapura, Amarapura and Yadanabon to marvel at the history behind the facades of these royal cities. Explore the traditions that dictate every fine detail in the design,...
This is the delightful story of an eighteen-day bus pilgrimage to sixty pagodas across Myanmar. As the author settles into her seat, the aisle blocked with luggage, she trains our eyes on the collection of characters that, like it or not, will be her traveling companions for the whirlwind tour. This native tourist amuses us with her adventures of eating at roadside cafes, climbing up pagodas, bathing in rivers, shopping at markets, and sleeping on temple floors. Along the way, she encounters deeply rooted cultural values and develops camaraderie with strangers that become like family for the duration of her travels. Ma Thanegi is a painter, writer, and journalist who was born and educated in Myanmar. She lives in Yangon (Rangoon) and is a contributing editor of the Myanmar Times and editor of Enchanting Myanmar, a travel magazine. She was detained for three years in Insein prison for her involvement in the 1988 uprisings as a personal assistant to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Female Voice of Myanmar seeks to offer a female perspective on the history and political evolution of Myanmar. It delves into the lives and works of four of Myanmar's remarkable women who set aside their lives to answer the call of their country: Khin Myo Chit, who spoke about latent sexual politics in pre-Independent Burma; Ludu Daw Amar, who as the editor of the leftist Ludu Daily, was deemed anti-establishment and was witness to the socialist government's abortive efforts at ethnic reconciliation; Ma Thida, whose writing bears testimony to the impact the authoritative military rule had on the individual psyche; and Aung San Suu Kyi, who has re-articulated Burmese nationalism. This book breaks new ground in exploring their writing, both published and hitherto unexamined, some in English and much in Burmese, while the intimate biographical sketches offer a glimpse into the Burmese home and the shifting feminine image.
After a whirlwind romance in Bangladesh, Australian journalist Jessica Mudditt and her Bangladeshi husband Sherpa arrive in Yangon in 2012, just as the military junta is beginning to relax its ironclad grip on power. It is a high-risk atmosphere; a life riddled with chaos and confusion as much as it is with wonder and excitement. Jessica joins a small team of old-hand expat editors at The Myanmar Times, whose Burmese editor is still languishing in prison. Whether she is covering a speech by Aung San Suu Kyi, getting dangerously close to cobras, directing cover shoots with Burmese models, or scaling Bagan’s thousand-year-old temples, Jessica is entranced and challenged by a country undergoing rapid change. But as the historic elections of 2015 draw near, it becomes evident that the road to democracy is full of twists, turns and false starts. The couple is blindsided when a rise in militant Buddhism takes a personal turn and challenges their belief that they have found a home in Myanmar.
The Kings of Buddhism explores the consequences of state regulation and protection of a country’s majority religion. Sterken argues that religious liberty or the lack thereof results from rational interest-based calculations of both religious and state actors. Using insights dating back to Adam Smith, John Locke, and Thomas Jefferson, Sterken argues that centuries of state support for Theravada Buddhism has corrupted the Myanmar religious marketplace. At the expense of religions and the society, Myanmar’s kings and military rulers have protected and regulated religion to enhance their own political survival. The consequences of state and religion entanglement include 1) a state supported religious monopoly, 2) corruption, regulation, and repression of Theravada Buddhists, 3) repression and violence against religious minorities, 4) perpetual conflict and violence, 5) a corrupt religious economy, and 6) a corruption of truth. The consequences of state control are stark and should serve as a warning to all who would seek to entangle religion and the state.
Novelist and journalist Ghosh has offered firsthand accounts of pivotal world events over the past twenty years. He is an essential voice in forums like The Nation, the New York Times, the New Republic, Granta, and The New Yorker. This book brings together the finest of these pieces for the first time--including many never before published in the U.S.--in a compelling chronicle of the turmoil of our times. In his travels he has walked amid the devastation of the 2004 tsunami, stood on an icy mountaintop on the contested border between India and Pakistan, interviewed Pol Pot's sister-in-law in Cambodia, shared the elation of Egyptians when Naguib Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize, and stood with his threatened Sikh neighbors through the riots following Indira Gandhi's assassination. With intelligence and authentic sympathy, he "illuminates the human drama behind the headlines" (Publishers Weekly). Incendiary Circumstances is testimony of an era defined by the ravages of politics and nature.--From publisher description.
Asian theatre is usually studied from the perspective of the major traditions of China, Japan, India, and Indonesia. Now, in this wide-ranging look at the contemporary theatre scene in Southeast Asia, Catherine Diamond shows that performance in some of the lesser known theatre traditions offers a vivid and fascinating picture of the rapidly changing societies in the region. Diamond examines how traditional, modern, and contemporary dramatic works, with their interconnected styles, stories, and ideas, are being presented for local audiences. She not only places performances in their historical and cultural contexts but also connects them to the social, political, linguistic, and religious mov...