MANDALAY, 150 YEARS

May 18th, 2009

MANDALAY THE GREAT

Rich with cultural heritage, Mandalay, also known as Yadanabon, was historically built by King Mindon in 1857, standing as the last royal capital of Myanmar.

In 1857 Mandalay was set up in an empty area, because, according to an ancient prophecy, in that exact place a town would come into existence on occasion of the 2,400th jubilee of Buddhism.

King Mindon decided to fulfill the prophecy and during his reign in the Kingdom of Amarapura he issued a royal order on 13 January, A.D 1857 to establish a new kingdom. The Ceremony of Ascending the Throne was celebrated in July, 1858. The royal city and the kingdom were demarcated. The whole royal city was called Lay Kyun Aung Myay (”The Conqueror Land of the World”) and the royal palace, the Mya Nan San Kyaw (”The Royal Emerald Palace”). The kingdom was called the Kingdom of Yadanabon, along with other name Ratanapura, means “The Bejeweled Site”. Later it was called Mandalay after the Mandalay Hill, 2.5km far to the north east of the royal palace, and today the name still exists. The name “Mandalay” is a derivative of the Pali word “Mandala”, which means “a plains land”and also that of the Pali word “Mandare”, which means “an auspicious land”.

THE EVENT

It was a sun-drenched morning in the city of Mandalay, and thousands of people were lining the street on the southern end of the palace gate, anticipating the appearance of the king and his ministers.

In the meantime, the crowd was entertained by girls dancing to the music of a traditional Myanmar orchestra, the beauty of their dazzling costumes accentuated by the gleaming sunlight.

The royal parade, when it appeared, consists of scores of soldiers on foot and horseback, while other than men pulling heavy cannons behind them. Some carried cannons over shoulders. There were horse-drawn chariots and decorated elephants. And of course there were king and queen, princes, princesses and their royal retinue of ministers and servants.

It was a scene straight out of the 19th century, but the events actually occurred last Tuesday (14th May 2009) to kick off three days celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of Mandalay by King Mindon.

The opening ceremony was held at a decorated pavilion in front of Mandalay City Hall on 26th Street. More than 600 state students had assembled and were wearing the traditional costumes of the King Mindon period.

SHOOTING

It’s a perfect timing. I was in Mandalay since 13th May for new products launching party of my company. I have been lucky to be accompanied by local photographer friends, Nyi Min San, Tha Khin Gyi and Ko Mg Hla. Naing Naing Tun (Exposure) was also there for Mandalay’s 150th Birthday. We all had a pleasant shooting there.

14 May 2009. I woke up 4:00 AM in the morning to go and shoot at Mahamyatmuni Buddha Image. There is the face washing ceremony at 4:00 every morning. I have been dying to have this inimitable face washing process appeared on my site. So, I went there with my office staffs and arrived back hotel by 6:00 AM. I have captured couples of nice shots; most of them hit my expectation. It was 6:00 AM sharp when I called up Nyi Min San to pick me up at hotel. Then we met up with Tha Khin Gyi , Ko Mg Hla and Naing Naing Tun at Min Thi Ha local tea shop. Then we walked to the southern entrance of the Grand Palace. The sun was scorching and we all walked couples of miles taking shots of our favorite angles. Nyi Min San and I wrapped up around 10:00 AM since I got a meeting at 10:30 AM. Thank god I was on time for the meeting and I had good shots from the parade…

Credits: Nyi Min San and Tha Khin Gyi for their ultimate helps and accompanies during my stay…

Remark: Long Live Mandalay… This post is dedicated to the 150th Birthday Anniversary of Mandalay.