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The Glass Palacechroniclers

Words by Moh Moh Thaw

Pointing his thumb at his chest, U Hteik Tin Thet says forcefully, “I’m a

former forestry officer – can’t you see?” I follow his gaze to a painting of the

Department of Forestry logo hanging on the wall of his house. I had asked the

former government officer what was his motivation for translating bestselling novel

The Glass Palace from English into Myanmar.

“I am crazy about the timber industry and also interested in elephants. That’s why I

translated The Glass Palace. Timber and elephants are important parts of the story.” He

says he got a copy of Amitav Ghosh’s popular work from a friend in his neighbourhood.

He then read the whole book from cover to cover, without taking so much as a break.

“The book starts with a burst of cannon fire by British troops arriving in Mandalay.

People in a small restaurant, when they heard the loud noise, became nervous and

whispered to one another, ‘What was that? What’s happened? What could make that

sound?’ At that time, a 10-year-old Indian boy suddenly says to the people, ‘It is from a

British cannon. They are shooting from the river because they want Myanmar timber.’

When I heard that phrase it immediately sucked me in and I read the whole book

through to the end,” U Hteik Tin Thet explains, taking the original version of The Glass

Palace off the shelf beside him.

The author Amitav Ghosh. Pic: flickr.com

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“Actually, the friend who gave

me the book does not really

like reading fiction but he was

hooked by The Glass Palace.

When he finished reading it,

he gave it to me because he

knew I would definitely like

it. Once I finished, I started

translating it,” he added.

Five months later, U Hteik

Tin Thet completed Mhan

Nandaw (The Glass Palace)

and it was released in 2009

by Yangon-based publishing

house Arlinkar Wintyee. It

marked his first foray into the

publishing world, and he has

since published two more

novels.

“I didn’t have any difficulty

translating the book. I have

had articles published in some

local magazines, like Cherry,

in the past, and the writing

style of the original version

is very clear and easy to

understand,” he said.

However, the ex-forestry

officer admitted he developed

reservations about publishing

his novel shortly after finishing

the translation. Famous writer

and translator U Nay Win

Myint had begun serialising

sections of The Glass Palace

each month in Shwe Amu

Tay magazine, under the title

Yaykanthar Kyartine Aye.

However, he felt the different

translation styles of the two

authors made it worthwhile

to push on with publishing the

book.

“I have read Nay Win Myint’s

translation in that magazine

and I like it because he tried to

translate in his own style,” U

Hteik Tin Thet said. “My book

is more like a direct translation

– that’s my style.”

This difference is evident

even in the titles. Mhan

Nandaw literally translates

as “The Glass Palace”, while

Yaykanthar Kyartine Aye is a

reference more to Nay Win

Myint’s translation style than

the content.

Yaykanthar Kyartine Aye was

published over a period of two-

and-a-half years in Shwe Amu

Tay. The popular series was

then released in book form by

Bagan book publishing house

earlier this year.

“I have seen sometimes

three or four people translate

the same book at the same

time because it is difficult for

us to know what others in the

industry are working on,” said

the 58-year-old U Nay Win

Myint. “That’s why I didn’t

think it was a problem that

we both released translations

of The Glass Palace; we

translated it in our own

styles and we have our own

readers.”

Like U Hteik Tin Thet, he got

the original English version

of The Glass Palace from a

friend and decided he would

translate it soon after he

finished reading the first

chapter. The Glass Palace

“Hteik Tin Thet

I have seen sometimes three or four people translate the same book at the same time because it is difficult for us to know what others in the industry are working on. That’s why I didn’t think it was a problem that we both released translations of The Glass Palace; we translated it in our own styles and we have our own readers.

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was U Nay Win Myint’s third

translation book, after bringing

two works by Russian author

Turganer to Myanmar readers.

So what was it exactly in

Amitav Ghosh’s novel that

caught U Nay Win Myint’s

imagination? The mixture of

historical fact and fictional

protagonists, he says.

“The first chapter, ‘Mandalay’,

starts with a barefaced

challenge by the British to

the Myanmar throne; it meant

that they were going to

colonise all of Myanmar. The

Myanmar troops in Sagaing,

Nyaung Oo and Myingyan

around Mandalay were trying

to stop the British and King

Thibaw and Queen Supayalat

were about to be taken away,

together with their retinue,

but the Myanmar people were

wavering in the face of the

war,” he says.

“It was a historical moment;

the fall of Mandalay broke the

feudal system, which was

the dawn of a new world for

Myanmar people. I was so

excited when I read the book

I began translating it in my

mind before writing it down

on paper,” he says. “It was

so interesting to read about

this time, particularly because

the characters in the book are

blended with the historical

facts.”

“King Thibaw in Madras,

his exile to Ratanagiri. The

Myanmar forest, the nature

of elephants, Indians who

migrated from India to

Myanmar. All are mixed

together and are fascinating

topics so it is difficult for me

to say which chapter I prefer.”

To complete the translation,

U Nay Win Myint said he had

to read many history books,

theses and political history

journals to learn about the

royal customs and formal

language of the Konbaung

era, which he then used in his

translation.

“I think doing translation is

often like seeing a carpet

laid upside down; we can

sometimes lose or change the

meaning when we translate

from one language to another.

But I tried to catch the spirit of

the original novel and infuse it

with the smell of Myanmar,”

Nay Win Myint explained.

Nay Win Myint with Amitav Ghosh

It was a historical moment; the fall of Mandalay broke the feudal system, which was the dawn of a new world for Myanmar people. I was so excited when I read the book I began translating it in my mind before writing it down on paper.

“

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U Hteik Tin Thet also praised

Amitav Ghosh’s efforts in

researching Myanmar history

for The Glass Palace and said

he would like to meet the man

if he had the chance.

“I was really impressed that

he did five years of research

before he started writing the

book. He had to read a lot of

reference books and to make

many research trips as well.

That is why his book is so good

and has been translated into

nineteen languages,” he said.

In that regard, U Nay Win

Myint has been luckier than

his counterpart; last year he

met Amitav Ghosh while

attending a Southeast Asia

culture and art festival at

Nay Win Myint in US while attendinga Southeast Asia culture and art festival at Brown University

Brown University in the US

state of Rhode Island.

“He was so happy when

he knew I was translating

his book and he presented

me with some of his other

works. That was a very rare

opportunity for me to see

the author whose book I was

translating,” U Nay Win Myint

said with a satisfied smile.

“Then, when I apologised

to him for translating The

Glass Palace without asking

his permission, he said he

understood the situation, that

we [Myanmar writers] cannot

ask his permission. And he

even said he was proud that I

translated his book.”

“He was so happy when he knewI was translating his book and he presented me with some of his other works. That was a very rare opportunity for me to see the author whose book I was translating.

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