Burma 2018
In January 2018 I went to Burma in search of the Golden Lion, one of the most powerful teaching metaphors in the history of philosophy. It was used by the Chinese philosopher Fa-Tsang to explain the concepts of Buddhism in the 8th century T’ang Dynasty.
During these travels I observed post-colonial Burma and post-military Myanmar, I altered the lines of Rudyard Kipling’s “The Road to Mandalay” poem into a contemporary visual narrative as a way of connecting with his time in Burma. Bagan Temple 2018
Just married couple, in Yangon central park
Burmese performance culture club Yangon
Yangon street
BY the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin’ lazy at the sea,
There’s a Burma girl a-settin’, and I know she thinks o’ me;
‘Er petticoat was yaller
an’ ‘er little cap was green
Padung woman at Inle Lake
Fisher Boy at Ngwe Saung Beach
Padung girl at Inle Lake
Where the old Flotilla lay:
Can’t you ‘ear their paddles chunkin’ from Rangoon to Mandalay
On the Road to Mandalay
Ship me somewheres east of Suez, where the best is like the worst,
For the wind is in the palm-trees,
and the temple-bells they say
An’ the dawn comes up like thunder outer China ‘crost the Bay!
Bathers 1
Bathers Ngwe Saung Beach 2
Bathers Ngwe Saung Beach 3
The Myanmar Kipling boat on Inle Lake
An’ ‘er name was Supi-yaw-lat – jes’ the same as Theebaw’s Queen,
An’ I seed her first a-smokin’ of a whackin’ white cheroot,
Ogre island
Ogre island
Mawlamine
At Bagan Temple
When the mist was on the rice-fields an’ the sun was droppin’ slow,
She’d git ‘er little banjo an’ she’d sing “Kulla-lo-lo!
Min Nan Thu Village weaver
But that’s all shove be’ind me – long ago an’ fur away
An’ there ain’t no ‘busses runnin’ from the Bank to Mandalay;
“If you’ve ‘eard the East a-callin’, you won’t never ‘eed naught else.”
No! you won’t ‘eed nothin’ else
But them spicy garlic smells,
An’ the sunshine an’ the palm-trees an’ the tinkly temple-bells;
On the road to Mandalay…
Buddha statue in Pindaya Caves
For the temple-bells are callin’, an’ it’s there that I would be
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, looking lazy at the sea;
On the road to Mandalay,
Phaung Daw OO, Inle Lake
Burmese in traditional guards costume Yangon
Sunrise over Bagan temples
The search for the Golden Lion on the Road to Mandalay.
CONTACT
Get in touch on: martin.nangle@rocketmail.com or +44 (0) 7 56 55 49 557