Myanmar

I spent the first 3 days of the journey in the city of Mandalay in Myanmar to record the Mingun Bell, which is significant not only because of its size, but also because its construction involved thousands of brought slaves, who were also involved in the building of the never-finished Mingun Pagoda. The unpopular project contributed towards the dynasty’s demise. I am also interested in the close relationship between Buddhism and civic movements in this country, the most recent example of course being the monks’ involvement and leadership in the Saffron Revolution of 2007. I recorded a bunch of temple bells at various locations, and interviewed Buddhists who were involved in the protests. I also recorded the temple bell that sits on Mandalay Hill - the stage for one of the toughest battles of the Burma Campaign during WWII. Aside from recording bells, I also visited a third-generation bell craftsman’s workshop, and interviewed one of the members of the comedy trio Mustache Brothers, members of whom was jailed for 7 years for criticizing the military government in a performance at the home of Aung San Suu Kyi in 1996. Par Par Lay was again arrested in 2007 during the Saffron Revolution.

To listen to other sound recordings from Mandalay, Myanmar visit http://soundcloud.com/samsonyoung/sets/myanmar-mandalay