[Translated Text] Master Bagyi Aung Soe and I (January 2004)

Lin Yaung Tin, “Master Bagyi Aung Soe and I”, Yokshin A-myutay (January 2004), 106-110.1

106 The symbolism of the eight planets I don’t remember the exact date but it was around 1980 when one of my short stories was published in a March issue of Thwaythauk magazine. It was titled “The 13th Day of the Second Half of the Eleventh Month of the Burmese Calendar”. It was Master Aung Soe who illustrated it. I adored this illustration because the master depicted the revolutionaries’ gestures with force.

Since young – that is to say since I began reading magazines – I adored the works of Bagyi Aung Soe. Because he had a remarkable and extraordinary style, I was very interested in his works. Moreover, his name “Bagyi Aung Soe” is totally unlike anyone else’s. he didn’t follow the rules of spelling. He endorsed the idea that the pseudonym need not follow the rules of spelling, that it could be written in any way.

He thus spells it as “Bagyi Aung Soe” instead of “Pangyi Aung Soe”. The most peculiar sign is the symbol of the big circle surrounded by eight small circles which he always adds below his signature. It looks like the round design made with fragrant paste on the cheek.

Here it is…

[Image of the sign] 107 That is Bagyi Aung Soe’s symbol. Instead of writing his name to sign his works, he only draws this symbol for some illustrations. That is his style. After I knew Bagyi Aung Soe very well, I asked him what it meant.

Laughing, he replied, “That is not the round design made with fragrant paste on the cheek. It signifies the eight planets. The sun is represented by the big circle in the centre; the eight small circles represent the eight planets. Look at them!”

Immediately, he drew it with a felt-tip pen on paper. First, he drew the big circle while saying that it was the sun. then he drew four small circles at the four corners of the big circle.

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This translation only conveys the gist of the article, not all the nuances.

Lin Yaung Tin, “Master Bagyi Aung Soe and I”, Yokshin A-myutay (January 2004), 106-110.

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Finally, he added another four circles between the first four as if they were the cardinal points.

As his symbol is well proportioned, the distance between the circles is symmetrical. Master had thought through his creation very scrupulously. It wasn’t random.

The master who loved the young I first met Master Bagyi Aung Soe at his home at Thida Road in Kyaukmyaung. I was then 28 years old with a BA in Burmese, and he was about 60 years old.

I had known his since the age of 20, when I was working as an editor of a magazine. I often wen to Master’s home to have him create illustrations for the magazine’s poems.

Each time that I went, I had to give him 200 kyats for eight illustrations – that is to say, 25 kyats for each illustration. At that time, I was only making 40 kyats for a short story. Later, I earned 60 kyats. At present, writers of short stories earn 200 kyats for each story. It has increased; it depends on when.

From time to time, he recognised me and we became friends. But it was after 1980 that we became close like family.

In the 1980s, I worked at the publishing house of Myawadi at 32nd Street in Yangon which Master Bagyi Aung Soe frequented. He would come to submit his illustrations. Even though I was younger than him, he treated me with respect. He was likewise with all the editors and illustrators, not only me.

The illustrator who drew on the spot Master Bagyi Aung Soe had the habit of bringing his colour felt-tip pens around in his bag.

Sometimes, he would carry drawing paper too. When he didn’t have them, he would ask the editors for them.

When the editor asked him to create an illustration, he didn’t take the work back home. He would stay in the office and start work on an empty table immediately. He was not used to sketching using pencil. He preferred ink instead and created his illustrations without hesitation in a single line.

His favourite colours were red, green and black. He was the only one who could create so swiftly using ink and line in this style. After his death, I saw works by other illustrators that resembled those by Master Bagyi Aung Soe very much. Yet, their lines are not as strong as his.

After completing the illustrations, he would give them to the editor. The editor would pay him immediately. Master Bagyi Aung Soe never illustrated without thinking first. …

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Lin Yaung Tin, “Master Bagyi Aung Soe and I”, Yokshin A-myutay (January 2004), 106-110.

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… He would think properly and draw inspiration from the poem he was supposed to illustrate.

The one who wanted to go to the pagoda on Sunday It was the time when I was working for Myawadi magazine. After we became friends, he lamented to me, “Well Ko Lin Yaung Tin, I am now old. That is why I would like to visit the Shwedagon Pagoda once a week. At my age, I don't see well and I don't hear well. Instead of going around alone, I prefer someone to accompany me. I often dream of that.”

There I understood his wish, so I immediately decided to assist him. I replied, “Don’t worry master. Me too, I would like to go to the pagoda at least once a week. I will come with you on Sunday.”

Sunday was my day off. Having promised him, I would go to his home on Sunday morning to accompany him to the pagoda, and that lasted months.

The one who created esoteric diagrams At the Shwedagon pagoda, we would begin with prayers. We would next go to the Shan pavilion. (It is no longer the same today.)

At the Shan pavilion, he would sit before a low table to draw esoteric diagrams and runes on pieces of paper. (I wasn't a writer of spiritual fiction yet at that time. I didn’t understand anything at all. From time to time, ever since I began studying them, I understand and remark his intelligence.)

After drawing the esoteric diagrams and runes, Master asked me for my date of birth and age so that he could draw me a rune for my protection. He offered me this rune here as a present. He said that it would keep me well.

Face to face, we talked by writing Master Bagyi Aung Soe was so deaf that he had to bring a device to help him hear. Even then, he couldn’t hear well. It was necessary to speak loudly to him. It was tiring. I would therefore write what I had to say to him on a piece of paper. Initially, he would reply by speaking.

Later, he said, “Me too, I would like to speak to you by writing. It’s a conversation without voices, isn’t it?” He then wrote what he wanted to say to me.

We would also converse like that in the teashops. For a long time, I kept these papers of our conversations. As I often move house, I cannot find them anymore. They would have been valuable.

Face to face, we had these conversations on paper …

Lin Yaung Tin, “Master Bagyi Aung Soe and I”, Yokshin A-myutay (January 2004), 106-110.

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109 … which brought me so much general knowledge.

At the Viśva-Bharati University During the meetings, Master Bagyi Aung Soe spoke to me a lot about the Viśva-Bharati University where he studies painting. It is in India, in the region of Bengal where Śāntiniketan is.it was the great poet Rabindranath Tagore who established the university.

It is known as the university of Śāntiniketan. it was there that Master Bagyi Aung Soe learnt painting. He told me many different things.

“It was an extraordinary university. We did not study in classrooms. We sat on the grass under the big trees. That was how we knew nature by the sense of touch. It was also to have the feeling of freedom. It was windy in the shade.”

He looked like he was onto an unforgettable memory when sharing his past.

“There, we studied things that were quite extraordinary and interesting. When I arrived, a professor in charge told me to walk to a small village which was five miles away from the university. Then, he told me to observe well what was peculiar in that village.”

“Were you alone there, master?”

“Yes, I went there alone. If I had went with someone, I could not have studied the village well. I observed the village, its inhabitants and their custom, and then I returned. But the professor was not satisfied with my reply. He told me to go back.

The following day, I travelled ten miles both ways. I made efforts to study the village.

There, I saw that there were many bamboos. When I returned, I told my professor what I saw. He accepted my reply and told me to draw the bamboo which interested me the most. On the third day, I went back to observe more.”

“Weren’t you tired, master?”

“I wasn’t tired because I was enthusiastic about studying. I obeyed the professor’s instructions.”

“Were you keen to continue?”

“Each time I went there, I studied the bamboos’ characteristics by heart. And then I drew the bamboo which I had observed in front of the professor. Each bamboo was different. At that point, I understood the nature of lines straight and curved.

What modern art [Burmese: ေမာ်ဒန်အတ်] is about

Lin Yaung Tin, “Master Bagyi Aung Soe and I”, Yokshin A-myutay (January 2004), 106-110.

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Amongst the artists showing modern art in Myanmar, Master Bagyi Aung Soe is one of the pioneers. …

110 .. The works he created interested the public. He was the one who created the new style by modifying traditional art. He wanted Burmese painting to be at the international level.

When I discussed the aim of modern art with him, he said, “The public has not understood what it is well. It is necessary to study it through examples. The difference between straight and curved lines, the difference between long and short lines, and then the sense of direction.”

He told me many things, but with the passage of time, I do not remember anymore.

The one who does not want to drink alcohol Not only was Master Bagyi Aung Soe brilliant in the field of painting, he was also famous in the world of cinema. He acted in a few movies. He played the lead role in the movie Sky Full of Rain.

“I wasn’t behaving wisely in the film industry, so much so that I didn’t stay a lead actor for long. I would like you to write that in the magazines to forewarn young actors.”

Master told me how bad and foolish he was in the film industry. But I don’t want to speak of these things out of respect for the dead. He wanted me to write something [about them] but I would like to respect his art instead of recounting his shenanigans to readers.

To comply with his wishes, I will say one thing. Master drank a lot when he was young. He would next do many foolish things. He wanted, in old age, to tell the young to not drink and commit foolish acts like he did.

The man who circumambulated the Sule pagoda for as many times as his age Master told me a funny story. It was the say he celebrated his 40th birthday. After drinking excessively, his drinking buddy U Myint Aung (journalist, editor) and him had taken a motorbike. U Aung Myint rode and master held onto his back (his waist).

When they arrived at Sule pagoda, master told his friend, “Ko Myint Aung, it is my birthday today. I’m 40 years old. To celebrate that, we are going to make 40 prayers by circumambulating the pagoda 40 times on motorbike. Let’s go!”

U Myint Aung agreed. But before making the tenth round, police came to stop them. It was a major mistake for an artist. Master admitted that he should not have done that. He wanted to forewarn young actors and artists to not make mistakes like he did. It is easy to err when we drink too much.

Lin Yaung Tin, “Master Bagyi Aung Soe and I”, Yokshin A-myutay (January 2004), 106-110.

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He is no longer around now, but I remember him every time I visit places where we met. It is an artist that served his country well.

He was a professor that taught art to students at the university of technology. He was also a well-known actor. I am sorely aware that this article does not do justice to the life of Master Bagyi Aung Soe. If someone could write a biography of Master Bagyi Aung Soe’s life, that would be …

[Auspicious prayers]

Translated by Khin Swe Win & Yin Ker

Lin Yaung Tin, “Master Bagyi Aung Soe and I”, Yokshin A-myutay (January 2004), 106-110.

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