The Hindu Business Line : A city in repose

It was a business trip with a personal tie, for the visit to Yangon in Myanmar would take me back 63 years in time. I was the first in our family to revisit the city that was once our ancestral home.

My grandfather and father, as well as several other relatives had lived in Bauk Htaw, a suburb of Yangon (then Rangoon) for 20 long years before the Japanese attack in December 1941 forced them to flee. Bauk Htaw was once notorious for a gang of dacoits that was headed by none other than our gardener. However, my grandfather reformed him and even retained his services. The city had a street called `Sasayi Lan' or `Sastri Lane' that was named after my grandfather.

The old name for Yangon was Dagon. The British called it Rangoon, but the locals always referred to it as Yangon — which means "a place free from fighting/quarrel". From the aircraft, the city looked green with golden pagodas strewn in between. Myanmar boasts six months of incessant rains. At the imposing Mingaladon airport, immigration clearance was hassle-free. However, a word of advice for tourists; travellers' cheques cannot be exchanged for local currency in Myanmar. Only US dollars get the best conversion rates.

No honking, please!

The drive into the city was cool and pleasant. The streets did not show any visible signs of a military regime. I found the city teeming with second-hand cars imported from Japan. The right-hand drive vehicles follow the right lane rule. Indians could get caught on the wrong foot while crossing roads. One must look to the left first.

Two-wheelers are banned within city limits except for a few that belong to Government staff. Cattle and dairy farms are also restricted miles away from city limits. So, city-dwellers rely only on condensed milk.

It was interesting to see 1948-made buses ply the city. These have stood the test of time. Barring the chassis and the steering, the impressive all-wood, bright-green buses carry loads of passengers and are truly unique to Yangon. While the government has fixed the fare at 10 kyats (pronounced as chats) from morning till 6 p.m., the rate is double after sunset.

And, by the way, no one breaks traffic rules in Yangon city. The rules are very strict and penalties include heavy fines and confiscation of one's driving licence. Most pleasant of all, drivers never honk since it is banned and attracts stiff fines.

Saying it with teak

The cab drove past the large Inya Lake, crossed the Aquarium and entered the impressive Kandawgyi Palace Hotel, which is built entirely out of teakwood and stands on the banks of the Kandawgyi Lake. A large `golden' restaurant nearby is a favourite tourist place. Myanmarese handiwork is visible in the exquisite woodcarvings, carpentry, cane and lacquer work.

Teakwood is used extensively in flooring, ceilings, walls and pillars as well as on arches and domes of the innumerable pagodas that dot the city.

Pagoda point

About 80 per cent of the population in Myanmar is Buddhist. Every major thoroughfare in Yangon leads to a pagoda. No wonder then that Myanmar is the Land of Pagodas. The most ancient of them is the Shwedagon Pagoda, which literally means the `golden place'. The 2,600-year-old pagoda has relics of the Buddha's hair. The central golden dome is 326 ft tall, with a golden umbrella weighing five tonnes. At the top is the vane — a flag-like ornament inset with a diamond orb shaped like a golf ball.

Bollywood stars reign

Six of the 30 cinema halls in Yangon screen Hindi films. Amitabh Bachchan is the all-time favourite here. Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan also have a fan following, especially among the women.

Roadside dosa vendors

The Myanmarese are early risers. They have breakfast between 5.30 a.m. and 6.30 a.m. Lunch is over by noon and by 6 p.m., it is time for dinner. You cannot invite a local for lunch at 2 p.m. for that will be considered an insult.

People here prefer snacks to food, and are usually poor eaters. Among their favourites dishes are `On Noe Khaut Swe', a broth of coconut milk mixed with vegetables and chicken, garnished with sauce, onion, ginger and garlic, and served with noodles. `Mon Hin-ga' is a fish-based gravy served with rice vermicelli. Another all-time snack is steamed rice, soaked in coconut milk and eaten with dry prawn powder. Myanmarese, Chinese and Indians alike eat dosa, paratha, naan and appam. One can also spot Indian women selling dosas on the roadside. But anyone craving for crispy dosas is required to bring the oil for it from home!

The ancestral house

With much difficulty, one found an Indian in Bauk Htaw. Vijayalakshmi, who still has her roots in Chennai, took us around the main streets of the town to help locate our ancestral house.

We visited the 200-year-old Subramanya Swamy Temple at Kambe, a neighbouring locality. There are several other Indian temples close by. As the names of streets had changed, we had trouble locating the old `Sasayi Lan'. Finally, we came to a lane close to the Bauk Htaw railway station, which, the locals said, could have been Sasayi Lan. We spotted an old, large wooden gate, and the house within matched the one in the old sepia-tinted photograph that I was carrying with me. With the permission of the current owners we went around the eight-room, Baker-style construction with its Malabar-tile roofing. I left Bauk Htaw with good memories, and photographs too!

Picture by the author

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