" Thingyan Fever "

" Thingyan Fever "

Tin Maung Than

We are travelling on the road passing through Meiktila plain, a vast stretch of mostly flatland with no mountain or mountain ranges in sight till reaching the horizons. Only few trees and some groves of bushes grow naturally on this dry area which now sees a gigantic greening plan covering a network of irrigation facilities supplying water for crops, tree plantations, regeneration projects, farms and the local people.

The plan in fact is for sustainable development of the multiple sectors and the environment of the plain home to a large number of people living in villages or towns big and small engaging in various kinds of businesses to earn their living or to stay wealthy. The plain is famous all over Myanmar for its business, trade and production activities, its important location in the central part of the country and the Meiktila Lake which is a significant topographical character in Myanmar literature and an important water storage and supply facility throughout history.

The plain saw real action during the World War II, may be the first ever major tank battle between the two rival armies -- one the British army and the other the Japanese Imperial Army – on Myanmar soil. Sherman tanks of the British army and Type 95 Ha-Go light tanks and 16 Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tanks of the Imperial Army battled against each other for control of the militarily strategic position during their Myanmar campaign.

Every activity whether implementing a project with the help of machinery light and heavy or in battling against enemy using mechanized troops need fuel as all machines run on it. They need a large amount of fuel as these machines are gas guzzlers. But my article is not about the heavy machines with high fuel consumption, but about my car that we are riding on our journey to Wundwin a town in the northern part of the plain. We start our trip from our home in the compound of the News and Periodicals Enterprise in Zeyathiri Township to the town where two NPE staffs make a solemn promise to each other for a new journey into life sharing joys and sorrows and overcoming difficulties together forever both making a declaration “Till death do us part”.

The car we are riding is not a gas guzzler. It’s a Japanese made Honda Accord. When it is at its fifth speed the car goes fastest and burns least fuel carrying us conveniently all along the trip till reaching the destination. So, we don’t need to fill gas during our up trip to Wundwin famous for its weaving industry producing cotton sarongs of beautiful designs and patterns for both man and woman of all ages.

On our return trip back home, we need to fi ll some gasoline. We see a lot of private filling stations all along the road, hoping to find the one selling gas at a price lower than any one of its rivals. Then we see one and stop there to fill gas. The good part is that young male and female staffs are so polite and hospitable, but the bad part is that they do not have gasoline which they call the white fuel. They only have another kind of fuel they call octane or the red one apart from diesel. And when we stop at three more private filling stations, they too have no gasoline left and only octane is available. One of the staffs tells us that gasoline supply will come only after Thingyan holidays. Station staffs suggest us to use octane as a substitution. We do not want to use octane as our car engine is designed to run with gasoline. Besides running on octane will cause damage to the engine and weaken its power in the long run. So we keep on finding a filling station that still has gasoline left to sell.

In the end, we find one where gasoline is available, but at a much higher price. But we decide to fill as we know that such things always happen whenever Thingyan is just around the corner. It is usual that prices of essential commodities like fuel, rice or cooking oil go up high or they are in short supply when the water festival is drawing nearer and in some years they never go down again even after the annual holidays. So, we Myanmars are accustomed to it. Every year when the water festival comes, Thingyan fever is always high among youths who want fun, older people who search Dhamma, government employees who love holidays, artists who love entertaining the public and the businessmen who take it as an opportunity for self interest. So, Thingyan is a win-win festival bringing happiness to youth, serenity to older people, relaxation to employees, satisfaction to artistes and profits to businessmen. Everyone enjoys the festival.

A pleasant Thingyan and a very happy New Year to all!

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