The Glass Palace chroniclers

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36 | Air Mandalay - The Golden Flight. The Glass Palace chroniclers. Words by Moh Moh Thaw. Pointing his thumb at his chest, U Hteik Tin Thet says forcefully, ...
The Glass Palace chroniclers Words by Moh Moh Thaw

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ointing his thumb at his chest, U Hteik Tin Thet says forcefully, “I’m a former forestry officer – can’t you see?” I follow his gaze to a painting of the Department of Forestry logo hanging on the wall of his house. I had asked the former government officer what was his motivation for translating bestselling novel The Glass Palace from English into Myanmar. “I am crazy about the timber industry and also interested in elephants. That’s why I translated The Glass Palace. Timber and elephants are important parts of the story.” He says he got a copy of Amitav Ghosh’s popular work from a friend in his neighbourhood. He then read the whole book from cover to cover, without taking so much as a break.

The author Amitav Ghosh. Pic: flickr.com

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“The book starts with a burst of cannon fire by British troops arriving in Mandalay. People in a small restaurant, when they heard the loud noise, became nervous and whispered to one another, ‘What was that? What’s happened? What could make that sound?’ At that time, a 10-year-old Indian boy suddenly says to the people, ‘It is from a British cannon. They are shooting from the river because they want Myanmar timber.’ When I heard that phrase it immediately sucked me in and I read the whole book through to the end,” U Hteik Tin Thet explains, taking the original version of The Glass Palace off the shelf beside him.

“Actually, the friend who gave me the book does not really like reading fiction but he was hooked by The Glass Palace. When he finished reading it, he gave it to me because he knew I would definitely like it. Once I finished, I started translating it,” he added. Five months later, U Hteik Tin Thet completed Mhan Nandaw (The Glass Palace) and it was released in 2009 by Yangon-based publishing house Arlinkar Wintyee. It marked his first foray into the publishing world, and he has since published two more novels. “I didn’t have any difficulty translating the book. I have had articles published in some local magazines, like Cherry, in the past, and the writing style of the original version is very clear and easy to understand,” he said. However, the ex-forestry officer admitted he developed reservations about publishing his novel shortly after finishing the translation. Famous writer and translator U Nay Win Myint had begun serialising sections of The Glass Palace each month in Shwe Amu Tay magazine, under the title Yaykanthar Kyartine Aye. However, he felt the different translation styles of the two authors made it worthwhile to push on with publishing the book. “I have read Nay Win Myint’s translation in that magazine and I like it because he tried to translate in his own style,” U Hteik Tin Thet said. “My book is more like a direct translation – that’s my style.”

Hteik Tin Thet

This difference is evident even in the titles. Mhan Nandaw literally translates as “The Glass Palace”, while Yaykanthar Kyartine Aye is a reference more to Nay Win Myint’s translation style than the content. Yaykanthar Kyartine Aye was published over a period of twoand-a-half years in Shwe Amu Tay. The popular series was then released in book form by Bagan book publishing house earlier this year.



I have seen sometimes three or four people translate the same book at the same time because it is difficult for us to know what others in the industry are working on. That’s why I didn’t think it was a problem that we both released translations of The Glass Palace; we translated it in our own styles and we have our own readers.

“I have seen sometimes three or four people translate the same book at the same time because it is difficult for us to know what others in the industry are working on,” said the 58-year-old U Nay Win Myint. “That’s why I didn’t think it was a problem that we both released translations of The Glass Palace; we translated it in our own styles and we have our own readers.” Like U Hteik Tin Thet, he got the original English version of The Glass Palace from a friend and decided he would translate it soon after he finished reading the first chapter. The Glass Palace Air Mandalay - The Golden Flight |

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was U Nay Win Myint’s third translation book, after bringing two works by Russian author Turganer to Myanmar readers. So what was it exactly in Amitav Ghosh’s novel that caught U Nay Win Myint’s imagination? The mixture of historical fact and fictional protagonists, he says. “The first chapter, ‘Mandalay’, starts with a barefaced challenge by the British to the Myanmar throne; it meant that they were going to colonise all of Myanmar. The Myanmar troops in Sagaing, Nyaung Oo and Myingyan around Mandalay were trying to stop the British and King Thibaw and Queen Supayalat were about to be taken away, together with their retinue,



but the Myanmar people were wavering in the face of the war,” he says.

together and are fascinating topics so it is difficult for me to say which chapter I prefer.”

“It was a historical moment; the fall of Mandalay broke the feudal system, which was the dawn of a new world for Myanmar people. I was so excited when I read the book I began translating it in my mind before writing it down on paper,” he says. “It was so interesting to read about this time, particularly because the characters in the book are blended with the historical facts.”

To complete the translation, U Nay Win Myint said he had to read many history books, theses and political history journals to learn about the royal customs and formal language of the Konbaung era, which he then used in his translation.

“King Thibaw in Madras, his exile to Ratanagiri. The Myanmar forest, the nature of elephants, Indians who migrated from India to Myanmar. All are mixed

It was a historical moment; the fall of Mandalay broke the feudal system, which was the dawn of a new world for Myanmar people. I was so excited when I read the book I began translating it in my mind before writing it down on paper.

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Nay Win Myint with Amitav Ghosh

“I think doing translation is often like seeing a carpet laid upside down; we can sometimes lose or change the meaning when we translate from one language to another. But I tried to catch the spirit of the original novel and infuse it with the smell of Myanmar,” Nay Win Myint explained.

Nay Win Myint in US while attending a Southeast Asia culture and art festival at Brown University



He was so happy when he knew I was translating his book and he presented me with some of his other works. That was a very rare opportunity for me to see the author whose book I was translating.

U Hteik Tin Thet also praised Amitav Ghosh’s efforts in researching Myanmar history for The Glass Palace and said he would like to meet the man if he had the chance. “I was really impressed that he did five years of research before he started writing the book. He had to read a lot of reference books and to make many research trips as well. That is why his book is so good and has been translated into nineteen languages,” he said. In that regard, U Nay Win Myint has been luckier than his counterpart; last year he met Amitav Ghosh while attending a Southeast Asia culture and art festival at

Brown University in the US state of Rhode Island. “He was so happy when he knew I was translating his book and he presented me with some of his other works. That was a very rare opportunity for me to see the author whose book I was translating,” U Nay Win Myint said with a satisfied smile. “Then, when I apologised to him for translating The Glass Palace without asking his permission, he said he understood the situation, that we [Myanmar writers] cannot ask his permission. And he even said he was proud that I translated his book.”

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