Times Colonist

Old colonial capital faces end of an era

- Story and photos by DENIS D. GRAY

On the stairway rising to Moulmein’s great Buddhist shrine, the visiting British writer Rudyard Kipling was inspired to pen one of the most anthologiz­ed poems of the English language.

“By the old Moulmein pagoda, lookin’ lazy at the sea/There’s a Burma girl a-settin,’ and I know she thinks o’ me,” go the opening lines of Mandalay, verses imbued with nostalgia for the windswept palms and twinkling temple bells the young poet left behind for the grey skies of England.

Today, 128 years after Kipling’s infatuatio­n, the Kyaik Than Lan pagoda remains a prime attraction for pilgrims and tourists.

Its soaring, gilded stupa gleams on a ridge overlookin­g a city of greenery and watery expanses which has retained links to the British colonial past that Kipling chronicled.

The Burmese women he noticed can be seen there too, some wearing the traditiona­l sarongs long discarded in most of Asia, some chatting on smartphone­s as they circumambu­late the stupa in proper Buddhist fashion.

Despite the intrusions of modern technology and being Myanmar’s fourth largest city, Mawlamyine (as Moulmein is now officially spelled) still maintains an air of distance from the world’s mainstream­s, in part because of its geography. It’s a long, 300-kilometre road journey from Myanmar’s internatio­nal gateway of Yangon, the other options being a rickety train ride or sporadic flights.

For decades, foreigners were banned from the area due to an insurgency. Tourists are still few compared with an influx to other areas of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, that followed the end of military rule in 2011 and the electoral victory of prodemocra­cy leader Aung San Suu Kyi last year.

Our party recently took the most scenic route to Mawlamyine: by car from Yangon to Hpa-An, the pleasant capital of Myanmar’s Karen state, and from there by hired boat down the Salween, one of the world’s longest, still freeflowin­g rivers. Before it empties into the sea, the Salween enhances Mawlamyine’s charm, flowing past its Strand Road, where families stroll to view the sunset across the broad stream.

Mawlamyine wasn’t always a byway. After the first Anglo-Burmese war, the British made it their capital between 1826 and 1852, building government offices, churches and a massive prison. They started business enterprise­s and the country’s first newspaper.

Many of these relics of the British Raj remain, along with mosques, Hindu temples and even a slice of Americana, reflecting Mawlamyine’s great diversity.

One of the earliest American missionari­es to foreign lands, the legendary Adoniram Judson, built the town’s First Baptist Church in 1827, going on to write an English-Burmese dictionary and translate the Bible into Burmese during his nearly 40 years in the country. Nearby stands the St. Matthew’s Anglican church, erected in 1887 and still in use, although, like many of the city’s heritage buildings, in a state of picturesqu­e decay. Vegetation sprouts from peeling brick walls and the tower clock is perpetuall­y set at 6:54 p.m.

Given Mawlamyine’s numerous Buddhist temples, one can succumb to pagoda fatigue. But aside from “Kipling’s,” said to date back to 875 and enshrine a hair of the Lord Buddha, the Yadarbon Myint Monastery is a must, although rarely visited. The monastery’s small palace contains some of Myanmar’s most exquisite carvings, commission­ed by Queen Sein Don, one of 45 consorts of the Mindon, the penultimat­e king of Myanmar.

The queen came here after Mandalay was seized by the British in 1885, bringing with her craftsmen from the royal capital. What they created has special value since Mandalay’s royal palace and most of its artistic treasures were destroyed in the Second World War.

While Mawlamyine’s Buddhist shrines will surely be preserved, the colonial heritage, along with the city’s unique character, is imperilled.

Dr. Tin Soe, a longtime resident, says the fledgling local government lacks expertise, the still powerful military has sold public land to line its pockets and the public sees little value in the old buildings. “The government has no time, no budget and no brains,” he says.

But a glimmer of hope comes from Yangon, where the Yangon Heritage Trust is spearheadi­ng a generally successful campaign to save the city’s magnificen­t colonial architectu­re from the bulldozer and decay.

 ??  ?? The hilltop Kyaik Than Lan pagoda offers a 360-degree panorama of Mawlamyine and remains a prime attraction for pilgrims, locals and a trickle of foreign tourists.
The hilltop Kyaik Than Lan pagoda offers a 360-degree panorama of Mawlamyine and remains a prime attraction for pilgrims, locals and a trickle of foreign tourists.
 ??  ?? Buddhist nuns make their way through Mawlamyine’s central market during their daily rounds to collect alms from the faithful.
Buddhist nuns make their way through Mawlamyine’s central market during their daily rounds to collect alms from the faithful.
 ??  ?? St. Matthew’s Anglican church is one of a number of Christian churches built in the 19th century in Mawlamyine. Although much in need of renovation, they remain places of worship today.
St. Matthew’s Anglican church is one of a number of Christian churches built in the 19th century in Mawlamyine. Although much in need of renovation, they remain places of worship today.
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 ??  ?? The last of the day’s fishing boats ply the Salween River which flows by Mawlamyine to the Gulf of Martaban. Mawlamyine was once a major trading port as well as a hub for smugglers from Thailand.
The last of the day’s fishing boats ply the Salween River which flows by Mawlamyine to the Gulf of Martaban. Mawlamyine was once a major trading port as well as a hub for smugglers from Thailand.
 ??  ?? Left: One of the exquisite carvings that adorn the palace of Queen Sein Don in Mawlamyine, one of 45 consorts of Mindon, the next-to-last king of Myanmar. Right: Visitors leave the First Baptist Church establishe­d in 1827 by one of the first American...
Left: One of the exquisite carvings that adorn the palace of Queen Sein Don in Mawlamyine, one of 45 consorts of Mindon, the next-to-last king of Myanmar. Right: Visitors leave the First Baptist Church establishe­d in 1827 by one of the first American...
 ??  ?? Mawlamyine’s central market offers everything from fish to toys, with many goods smuggled in from neighbouri­ng Thailand.
Mawlamyine’s central market offers everything from fish to toys, with many goods smuggled in from neighbouri­ng Thailand.
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