Ludu U Hla - Military Era

Military Era

U Hla had nurtured a new generation of young writers and artists from the University of Mandalay and elsewhere in Upper Burma such as poets Tin Moe, Kyi Aung, Maung Swan Yi, Maung Pauk Si and Ko Lay (Innwa Gon-yi), writers Maung Tha Noe, Maung Tha-ya, Maung Thein Naing and Maung Saw Lwin, artists Paw Oo Thett and Win Pe as well as old established ones such as writers Sagaing U Hpo Thin, Shwe Kaingtha and Marla and artists U Ba Gyan, U Aung Chit and U Saw Maung. The Ludu Daily carried a Monday extra dedicated to poetry, and with U Hla's encouragement the young poets published an anthology titled A-nya myei hkit gabya (Modern Poetry from Upcountry). Book reviews, critical essays on literature and research papers in local history, arts and crafts enjoyed nearly as many column inches as domestic and international news and analysis. U Hla would not try and influence the content or edit out the young writers' efforts but he would ensure that they could back up any assertions or claims they might make. He would never talk down to them although he often complained that they had talent but they lacked effort; one of his dreams was for them to form a writers' co-operative and run their own publishing house.

The paper had featured articles about the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China; there had been a series of articles titled "From the Volga to the Ganges". Shwe U Daung, the chief editor, had translated "The Heroes of People's China". An old school friend of Daw Amar's father, he was famous for his excellent adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Brigadier Gerard as well as his translations of H. Rider Haggard's Alan Quartermain novels and was arrested at the same time as U Hla but he was to remain in Mandalay Prison for the duration.

The social calendar of Mandalay was, by the 1960s, featuring U Hla either as an organiser or as a guest speaker, from anniversaries such as National Day to hospital fund-raising and the founding of an old people's home. He served on numerous committees and the Senate of Mandalay University. He would often jokingly refer to himself as a "Mandalayan by marriage". He was liked and respected by senior Buddhist monks as well as the layfolk but he distanced himself from religious affairs as such. His popularity reached a level where a plot to assassinate him by some of the politicians, who became jealous and feared he might run for office, existed but only came to light after his death.

The Writers Association of Upper Burma reached a peak in its activities in the 1960s and the 1970s with U Hla at its helm.Sazodaw Nei (Writers' Day) in December each year eventually stretched to Sazodaw La (Writers' Month) with talks and seminars open to the public, paying obeisance to older writers, and subsequently literary talk and research tours which were very popular. U Hla insisted that these must not be a financial burden to the locals. He encouraged and ensured that the papers read at these seminars, both critical reviews in literature and research papers, were published in book form. It was during this period that he started collecting folk tales travelling up and down the country. U Hla encouraged ethnic Mon Thakin Aung Pe and Rakhine U Kyaw Yin to do the same among their own people. When the very first volume Kayin ponbyin mya (Karen Folk Tales) was planned, his assistant editor pointed out that it would lose money; he was given a lengthy explanation by U Hla how profit was immaterial in an effort to bring out in print something that would contribute to better understanding among the peoples of Burma and to unifying them, and how it was far more important to make sure these cultural treasures of ethnic minorities were not lost to future generations.

U Hla had also been the same driving force behind the revival of folk songs, from the early days of the Kyipwa Yay with Yadanabon Hpo Hmatsu's Shwebo bongyi than (drum music) and Maung htaung tay (rice-pounding songs), and Thuriya Kandi's Rakhine tay folk songs. The poet Maung Swan Yi was delegated the task one generation later, and one of the results was Lègwin dè ga ludu tay than mya (People's Songs from the Paddy Fields). He was delighted when presented with copies of Inle taik tay and Taung-yo Danu tay, songs from Inle Lake and around, by the local compilers who were inspired by him. The transfer to Mandalay University during this period of two of his old friends, Rakhine U Kyaw Yin as dean and Dr. Than Tun as professor of history, provided a boost to the literary and research activities, and the weekly Saturday seminars (Sanei Sapei Waing) came into being. The Ludu couple was well known to all foreign scholars of Burmese and the Ludu House in 84th. street was invariably the first port of call in their itinerary in Mandalay.

It had always been a strongly held conviction of U Hla that language should be simple and easily accessible to the readers. He had advocated speed reading and easy writing to the young writers, and when they started a campaign for writing Burmese in the colloquial form instead of the prevailing archaic literary form, he embraced and promoted it with the help of U Kyaw Yin and Dr. Than Tun while Daw Amar expressed some reservations at first. It was a very controversial movement in the history of Burmese literature, regarded as left wing and subversive by conservative traditionalists and in government circles.

In addition to his daily column Thaung pyaung htweila yay gyin ya-ya ("Medley Writings", later published in 3 volumes), U Hla also compiled and published during this period 3 sets of chronicles:

• 1. Thadinza mya thi thamaing go pyaw nei gya thi - Newspapers Chronicle History
  2. Thadinza mya pyaw pya dè sit atwin Myanma pyi - Wartime Burma as Chronicled by Newspapers
  3. Thadinza mya pyaw pya dè sit peeza Myanma pyi - Post-war Burma as Chronicled by Newspapers 1969

Two other volumes were published posthumously:

• 1. Kyundaw sa-daan kyundaw ahaan mya - My Seminar Papers, My Speeches 1983
  2. Hnit ta-ya ga auk-pyi auk-ywa - Lower Burma One Hundred Years Ago 2002