Completed Ven-Oattama statute is ready for installation Skip to main content

Completed Ven-Oattama statute is ready for installation

Completed Ven-Oattama statute is ready for installation

(By Maung Aye, Nariajara, August 19, 2014)
u-ottama statute
The statue of Ven-Oattama, the great revolutionary social scientist of Burma,  is ready for installation in the public place. The over 400 kg bronze statue, which was cast successfully in Mrouk Oo recently, will be placed in Anawmar park near Shittaung pagoda of western Burma.

Well known bronze casting master U Kyaw Tha Nyunt has prepared the statue within six months for installation on September 9 after rallying around Mrouk Oo city. The local  citizens have donated generously for the art-work.

“Everyone in Burma knows about the contribution made by Ven-Oattama for political reforms not only Burma, but also in many parts of Asia. He was the pioneer thinker to raise voices against the British colonial forces,” said U Maung Kyaw Zan, a conscious resident of Mrouk Oo.

He also added that Ven-Oattama’s contribution was sabotaged to some extend by a section of historians and also the governments and hence the people decided to erect the statue to pay tribute to the great soul. More today’s generation will come to know about Ven-Oattama with this initiative, he added.

Ven-Oattama was born in 1879 in Sittwe, the present capital of Arakan and emerged as a scholar in Pali and Sanskrit languages. He could communicate with altogether nine 9 languages and Ven-Oattama was respected as a teacher in India and Japan also.

He was involved with the Congress party of undivided India and once was elected as the president of Hindu Sobha. He had cordial relationship with legendary leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Sunyet Sin, which helped him to emerge as an influential revolutionary leader. The British authority arrested and jailed Ven-Oattama many times. He passed away on  September 9, 1939 and since then the day is observed as a Ven-Oattama memorial day.
U Maung Kyaw Zan also informed that the statue will be installed on the occasion of 75th anniversary of Ven-Oattama day and the opening ceremony will be held at Anawmar park. Local politicians, monks and the  general public are expected to attend the  function.

Essay and fine-art competitions among the children and youths on the life of Ven-Oattama are also on the card. Mentionable is that the Anawmar park will be renamed as Ven-Oattama park after the installation.

_____ Narinjara

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in Moulmein. Supposedly the first Burmese-language newspaper, it continued up until the first year of the second Angl

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do

Is 160 enough? One Indian man's family

By Sumnima Udas , CNN October 31, 2011 -- Updated 0857 GMT (1657 HKT) Ziona, center, with his has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren in rural Baktwang village, India. STORY HIGHLIGHTS One man in India is the patriarch of a family of 160 in rural India Ziona, who only goes by his first name, has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren. Ziona's father, Chana, founded the Christian sect in Baktwang that promotes polygamy "I never wanted to get married but that's the path God has chosen for me" Mizoram, India (CNN) -- The world's population hits 7 billion this week, but Ziona, the patriarch of what may be the biggest family in the world, is not bothered. "I don't care about overpopulation in India ... I believe God has chosen us to be like this (have big families). Those who are born into this family don't want to leave this tradition so we just keep growing and growing," he says with a smile. Ziona, who only goes by his f