Chronicle
ဗိုလ်ဋီကာ
Not translated into English
Thakin Kodaw Hmaing · 1914
Synopsis
Twenty-eight articles in rhymed prose, framed as letters to the editor and signed “Mister Maung Hmaing”. The signature takes the name of the scoundrel in a novel by U Kyee and puts before it the “Mister” that educated Burmese of the time placed before their names, in the English manner. Behind this mask, the author comments on the Europeans and attacks those of his compatriots who prefer their ways to Burmese customs.
Context
The articles appeared from 18 February 1913 to 24 March 1914, then were collected in a volume at the readers' request, with verse and short narratives. The book opens its author's series of tika, satires that mix verse and prose in the form of learned commentaries, continued until 1940. The campaign worked: the fashion for “Mister” receded, several people went back to Burmese titles, and the signature remained attached to the writer.
Who it is for
Short texts in Burmese, mixing rhymed prose and verse, whose irony requires knowing colonial Burma; no French translation.
Prizes and reception
The text that made its author's pen name known and caused the fashion for English titles to recede among educated Burmese.
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