Friday, January 09, 2015

Sithu U Kaung (my father) by Sithu U Cho, 1957.

In Memoriam--Sithu U Kaung--by Sithu U Cho--March 1957.

(Note:  Uncle Cho and Aunty Cho, Christians, were my parents very best friends.  Sithu is a honorary title given out by the democratic PM U Nu's administration in the 50s.  It is about #3 in ranking from the top, but one rank higher than Thiripyanchi.
My father received his medal during the award ceremony at the Sattathanga Yana Tin (Sixth? Buddhist Synod)--but we spent most of the time stuck in a traffic jam on Kokine Road, during which my father got car sick and had to open the window to throw up.  U Cho and Aunty Cho like their name "Sweet" were the sweetest persons in the universe.  I just loved them both.  U Cho headed the Fulbright Board in Rangoon.)

In Memoriam, by Sithu U Cho.

The Educational Exchange Newsletter notes with regret the premature passing of a great scholar, educator and public servant, Sithu U Kaung, former Director of Education.

A "meticulous executive" and a brilliant and informed leader, U Kaung served his country as diplomat and chief of several educational missions abroad.  One such assignment took him to America where, in 1952 he served as head of a Burma educational mission, interested in observing school systems, methods of education and textbook printing.  At his death, U Kaung was both Director of Education and Chairman of the newly established Burma Historical Commission, which seeks to record the definitive history of Burma.
A prominent Burmese educator and a life-long friend of U Kaung praises him in these terms:

"U Kaung was a man of wide interests, with a harmonious fusion of the cultures of the East and the West. His high scholastic achievement . varied cultural pursuits, keen interest and participation in sports and games, and a wide circle of friends of all races and creeds, bespoke a rich and well-balanced life.  A man with imagination and initiative, he was one of the principal architects of the Welfare Plan in Education for Burma.  Meticulous in his methods, he expected thoroughness and careful study and presentation of cases from his staff.  He was highly esteemed by all as a chief, an officer and a friend."
Sithu U Cho, Educational Exchange Newsletter, Vol. 1. No. 2, Rangoon, March 1957.

Burmese riddle verses from The Atlantic 1958

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1958/02/some-burmese-riddle-verses/640460/