The Human Macchi

A few days ago, U Ko Lay happened to catch a glimpse of a wild life programme on BBC Knowledge television, about a tigress by the name of Macchi (lady of the lakes) in Ranthambore National Park in India. The name was due to her marks similar to that of a fish. In short, the programme documented on the famous tigress Macchi, who cheated death as the world’s oldest living tiger, after 17 years she can still be spotted around. But the Ranthambore of today is ruled by her descendent(s). Macchi these day is old, lost all her canine teeth due to age, slow and maybe a little less majestic, but still alive and kicking. Sadly, her throne is no more. It was well documented in the land of tigers and circle of their lives. U Ko Lay, thought how true, in real life, it would be the similar in some cases for us motels too, even though we may be so called civilized men, and they are supposed to be wild animals. He spied the programme through an open window of a ground floor apartment, while he waited for his bus at his stop. He could not watch it at home, since he does not have a reception dish and receiver set. In the pouring rain, he could just make out the story line but cannot hear the commentary. However, he did enjoy it and helped him not to think of the pouring rain under a scanty bus shelter.

In Yangon, old men would sit for ages in front of their houses sipping green tea all day long. In Chinatown, they would congregate in front of temples or in tea- shops, reminiscing on old times. While around 28^th Street, old Indian gentlemen in their cotton dhotis would be beside the road in the shade, chewing their favorite paan or smoking beedies and discuss the prevailing markets. Not officially, but through the grape vines, it’s been said that a few of these old folks with a selected few in their chosen fields, control the prices of gold, rice, cooking oil, cigarettes, peanuts and sesame, not following the general world’s prices but generating a life of their own. Strange, but there you are, take it or leave it. U Ko Lay wondered who these guys would they be, must be rich though. It if were him, he would have one thousand beautiful virgins on each side while smoking a Cuban cigar and cruising along in the latest Mercedes, fully air-conditioned, of course. He thought that old they may be with no more teeth, but if it were himself, he would not take it lying down. He would enjoy life to the brim, with the help of up to date medications, for that necessary drive. Ha, ha, dream on if you wish, after all, it’s free of charge.

Monsoon rains in Yangon can be hard. Escaping the poring rain is a true impossibility. From his humble home in Thaketa, a cheaper suburb of Yangon, to town center is an adventure by itself. He cannot wear leather slippers as it would just be destroyed and become a shape of its own in the rain. He prods along in his Thailand made bathroom rubber slippers. A bit more expensive compared to locally produced ones, but it’s durable and more presentable at work (he thinks). Every weekday morning, he would walk twenty minutes to his stop and take a bus ride into town, which is another thirty five to forty minutes. The busses are truly jam-packed and to be able to just secure a foothold is a marathon by itself. U Ko Lay carries a Shan bag, where he stuff his spare shirt and longyi plus his tiffin box for his lunch. With also his black umbrella, he balances to work and just glad to have arrived in one piece. His tiffin box is only rice for two reasons. One, with no oil in the food, it would not soil his second set of clothes. Two, it’s too expensive to have a dish or curry, together with the rice. Really quite an easy deduction, simple as that. Agree?

The busses are mainly from Japan and some from South Korea. These are second hand busses from there, more correctly, written off or retired busses. In Yangon, they have found a second lease of life, where their European counterparts are still unable to have a foothold in the business. His rides were never comfortable and always standing up, as their stop is halfway from the starting point. U Ko Lay never carry much cash or anything of value since he is much afraid of pick pockets, not that they will, he is too shabby in appearance to be targeted. On pay days, he would put the cash in a small plastic bag, and hang it with a file strap around his neck inside his singlet, and hold on to it until he gets home. It’s the safest way and works every time. Being rainy season, the busses windows are all down and he would only taste fresh air when the bus doors open. The busses were designed for air-conditioning during summer months and heater during wintertime, here, no such luck. Often than not, they are sardines in a tin can and feels the air-conditioning when stepping out onto the road only. In the mornings, U Ko Lay always takes a leisurely bath from a iron drum which stores rain water from the roof. However, by the time he gets out of the bus, he usually is smelly from being tightly squeezed and the body odors being passed on to him through contact with clothes of other fellow passengers. Thus, the second pair comes in handy, changed in office and fresh once again before the start of the day. During lunchtime, the office boy would buy moakhingar (fish) gravy only and split the cost three ways between him and two other staff. The rice travels smother down his throat and works out cheaper than steamed beans with fresh oil from home and no hassle of stains on his clothes or his Shan bag.

The gentleman works for a trading company in 35^th Street and got two more years before his retirement, striking sixty. He married late in life, got three children and the eldest is a boy. He sat his matriculation examination in June and found to be quite good in mathematics and chemistry. His wife Su Su, tuition four young lads in mathematics at home. His son must have gotten the mathematics genes from him. His son wants to join the Defense Services Academy (DSA), if he passes, he will get his Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree after four years, and the army will feed and clothe him through out. One less to be concerned about, U Ko Lay sighed a relief. Su Su is the banker and economist at home and he would hand over his monthly salary to her for necessary expenditures. The girls are fourteen and thirteen years of age, they are a great help at home. Cooking, cleaning and all washing ups are done by them. At school, they are managing well and nothing to be worried about, until their matriculation year, that is.

This Macchi is not a tigress, but a true human tiger, working as best as he could to fend for his family. U Ko Lay tries best not to step on anybody’s toes, and he would carry on his earnings until his last dying breath. Up till now, thank god the money he and his wife is earning proves to be sufficient to run the household presently. They owed nothing and no debts. Lucky in that sense, he supposes. At work, he is in charge of documents, meaning he handles Letter of Credits, Bills of Ladings, Stamp Duties, Delivery Notes and Dock receipts etc etc. In his line of work, he sometimes needs to entertain Port and Bank people, and it would be his breakfast or tea, as the case maybe. The main thing is to fill his stomach, which is saving him money. At times, the shipping lines would entertain him with lunch or dinners which he accepts after due consideration as he does not want any sort of commitments. On such occasions, U Ko Lay would leave the top of his tiffin box open, so the rice won’t go bad and takes it back home in the evenings for consumption. The company trusts him and he did not want anything to jeopardize his position. After all, this is his life. Once a year, the company would arrange a staff holiday depending on the overall performance. The trip might be to a seaside resort or a mountain getaway for a few days. U Ko Lay then would arrange for the family to join, paying for their share of expenses, as it would be at a discounted rate and could not have sponsored or afford on his own. This is once every two years or so affair, depending on his household yearly expenditures managed by his wife Su Su.

While on the bus, walking to work in town, or around his house, U Ko Lay noticed young men and women of today, in their trendy styles going about their ways are not to his expectations. The young men would sport hairstyles similar to their idols in the west. Very short sides and Elvis style tops, it looked like mops placed on their heads. Clothes wise, very tight trousers and shirts and looks like they just returned from Ethiopia and in need of an urgent meal. No more manly with broad shoulders, but more of a skeleton similar to a pencil stick. While the female counterparts in dresses resembling to what they saw in Korean soap operas broadcasted by the national television. They are neither here or there. Half Korean, half Myanmar, and don’t know half what. They must have spent a bomb on clothes. How can they seduce the businesses to hire them, he’s at a loss.  U Ko Lay thanked god that his son or daughters are not following them in their footsteps. In the land of Ranthambore, he is sure that the tigers would have devoured the lot of them. On second thought they might not, due to their appearance, even tigers might not touch them with a barge pole. It must be his advancing age, as his eyes are not too kindly on them. He would discuss with his wife Su Su on the younger generation, she just shrug it off and said that they would outgrow it with time. Real optimist.

Macchi would teach her offspring how to hunt and in keeping of a good mother was beside them all the time, chaperoning for a period over twelve months. She would play with her offsprings and also shield them from harm’s way. According to the programme what U Ko Lay saw, Ranthambore National Park in northern India, in the district of Sawai Madhopur in southeastern Rajasthan, is a haven for tigers. For him, his district of Thaketa is surely not a paradise, but rather a place of necessity, up to the only level he could afford. Standing outside the house, he would say to himself, how many people can afford and pay for their own piece of land, or, own their own house today? He is lucky to have a place to call his own. This would put a smile on his face and he would feel content. The eldest boy already left for DSA in Pyin Oo Lwin and the house feels a bit empty, but its all the best for him. The Army will make a man out of him and a life long career he’ll be happy with.  U Ko Lay must at least try to hold on for another five years, till his eldest daughter graduates. Meantime, he tells them both, education is important in life. Not only will it open doors of opportunity, but it also teaches one to think. Once a mistake, reversing is no more an option, especially for girls.

U Ko Lay has a eleven inch China made television set at home. The women of the household enjoys the Korean sit-coms with Myanmar dubbed dialogs or with Myanmar subtitles, every evening, and it make him pleased to see that they all are happy. The most he does is watch the news around nine p.m, and afterwards meditate in the bedroom for his peace of mind and his salvation. While dinner, he would tell his daughters not to rush into boys. His motto is education first, than boyfriend(s) and marriage later on. The right age for marriage is around twenty and twenty three, when the mind is fully matured. The eldest girl sets her mind to be a high school teacher and would pursue for her Bachelor of Education (Bed) degree. She does not mind moving from one town to another, in fact she looks forward to it. To her, that is the only way to see the country, she said. The young one does not know what she would like to do, but is very much attached to him and his wife. He thinks she would rather be a spinster and always stay beside mother and father. Mind you, she is bright and U Ko Lay is confident that she would pass the matriculation examination in a single stroke. The more he sees of those young generation in hairs of blond, brown, streak of purple, pink and orange, sends shivers down his spine. He just felt sorry for their parents.

The rain had come and gone. The months from November to February are the best four months of the year. The weather is dry and cool without humidity. Mornings are misty and the afternoon temperature hovers around twenty to twenty seven degrees Fahrenheit and comes down when the sun is no more. Evenings temperatures are crisp and cool. At times, one might even need a light blanket to keep warm and sleep. Flowers bloom and new crop of rice are showing up in the markets. At home, they tend to wake up a little bit later, due to the coolness, but never late for their chores. U Ko Lay still get up around six a.m, and take his usual bath around seven. The water in the iron drum is no more with rain water, but the girls do top it up with well water. He now takes his bath by the well, so that the girls need not top up the iron drum. The well water is not as sweet and soft as rain water, but what to do? He is just happy that he need not buy water like other households. There is no running water in their house, but the well serves its purpose. After sometime, they all got used to it. At least they got electricity when the Electricity Department decides to distribute it.

Hot season months from March to June are sizzling and has it’s own problems. The temperature is in the high thirties Fahrenheit and sometimes goes above forty. It’s so hot, they do not know when and where to sleep. The girls do not complain, they just live with it. U Ko Lay and his wife Su Su would spend the evenings outside in their small courtyard, in the dark, until they cannot hold up their heads anymore. They then would rush inside, the tiredness coupled with sleepiness does the rest till early next morning. It must be the season for mosquitoes as their pickings must be quite good and bountiful. Some evenings, the family would proceed up to Shwe Dagon Pagoda and pick a quiet spot and sit there till the gates closing time. Up on the Shwe Dagon hill, the evening breeze is cooler than home. At work, the office temperature is bearable with air-conditioning, however still suffers during times of electricity outages.

U Ko Lay is waiting for the bonus payment period, so that he can buy two China made electric fans, one for the girls and one for them. Presently, it’s the courtesy of hand held weaved bamboo and palm leaves fans. Electricity consumption is nil. His eldest boy is doing well in Pyin Oo Lwin, as no news is good news. Macchi, the tigress may be able to find a cool spot by the lakeshore, but here in Thaketa, there is no escaping, hot and humid everywhere. People wait and long for the monsoon rains to come and soak the land plus its surroundings, to make it cool once again.

Until then, U Ko Lay is still galloping along and earning money for his family. His girls still continue doing their chores without any complaints. His wife Su Su continues to manages the household. Macchi might be fending for herself in old age, but for this aging gentleman, he still tries to keep the family going with his salary and Su Su’s tuition fees. Like everything in life, the good never come alone on itself, it is always accompanied with the bad. Rains are threatening and the clouds are gathering and slowly turning dark. The winds are also picking up, at times with a warning of thunder. However, the mangoes are plentiful and cheap in the markets. So cheap that should some fruits suffer from a slight mark or dent, the vendors throw them away. Even the stray dogs would not eat them.

The girls lay down small blocks of bricks as stepping stone from the house entrance right up to the gate. Their small wooden house is built on stlits like most in the district. The outside toilet is also built on stilts with a small platform made with bamboo connecting to the house. By the surge of a strong monsoon, their small yard will turn into a sea of brown water and the house will also resemble Noah’s ark. The monsoon rains maybe hard to bear, but it is the source of life to paddy fields and plants, which they so much depended on.

The sparrows are making their nests between the beams of the roof with dry grass, they seems to know the rains are imminent. Jackfruits are back in season and can be spotted on their trees, which should make good picking for their owners. Su Su wipes the cow webs from his retired umbrella under the bed and to be put back into active service yet again, while the girls are cleaning their plastic slippers to be ready, in anticipation for the coming rain. The slippers make a noise when walking, but they do not slip or loose their shape. The galvanized tin roof is still strong for a few more monsoons. U Ko Lay is very much the male Macchi of his family.

The southwesterly monsoon is for sure arriving soon. It is after all, the circle of life.