Discovering Northwest Myanmar 14 - Burmese Days in Katha

Time again for a rest day. I was on the west bank of the Ayeyarwaddy River, in the northernmost part of Upper Burma. I had never heard of the town of Katha before I began researching this journey, but I learned that it was important in colonial times as the last outpost of civilization before the hinterlands of interior Asia.

Young Orwell spouting a moustache style that
has for some reason, gone out of favor.

In the early nineteen twenties, a young Englishman came to Katha in the service of the Indian Imperial Police. His name was George Orwell. He served in Katha until 1927, and seven years later, in 1934, he published his first book in what would become an important literary career. Orwell's first book, Burmese Days, is a tale of impotence, intolerance and imperialism. It's the story of a man who is beset by physical deformations, without a wife at an age which he should be married and beset by the cheap alcohol and easy living of the tropics.

I visited this tea shop on consecutive mornings. This old lady was there on both days. I suspect she's there every day.

I've said in earlier blogs that Orwell's protagonist is someone you want to sympathize with, but can't because he lets the reader down in one or another in every chapter, particularly in the last. Anyways, the protagonist and I have several things in common.

Which did you see first? Fish or butt?

First of all, we both suffer from a cosmetically disturbing condition. For him, it was a birthmark on his face, He was constantly compensating for it, turning his face unnaturally so that others couldn't see his deformation. For me, it's my psoriasis. My legs immediately draw people's eyes because of how disgusting they are. Furthermore, John Flory, the protagonist, likes to wake up and add alcohol to his coffee. He engages in carnal relations with the natives, but marriage doesn't enter his mind. Yeah, I've done that too. 

I'm not horsing around

Flory eventually undertakes some heroic acts, and I think my journeys might be called that, but his past acts catch up with him. I hope my current girlfriend doesn't come into church yelling what I've done... 

Enjoy my Burmese day in "Kyauktada"