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Burmese translator of Mera Naam Joker passes away
Guwahati: Acclaimed Rakhine author Maung Paw Tun, who translated
popular Hindi novel Mera Naam Joker of Khwaja Ahmad Abbas into Burmese
language passes away. The award-winning writer-translator, who was
suffering from colon cancer, breathed his last at 9:45 am on 13 August
2022 at his residence in Yangon city of Myanmar (also known as Burma
and Brahmadesh).
Born as Khin Maung Soe on 14 May 1935 to the family of Maung Pu
(father) and Aye Tha (mother) at Shwemyetwa village under Manaung
township of Rakhine State in British Burma, Maung Paw Tun completed
his secondary education in his native town and arrived in Yangon
(formerly Rangoon) for matriculation and college education. He
received a bachelor’s degree in history in 1973 and started working as
a stenographer. Later he worked as an editor of magazines namely Pen,
Cherry, and Cee-bwaa-yay.
He entered into the world of literature with the translation of
Russian story Seven-Year-Old Girl in 1958. Maung Paw Tun translated at
least 30 novels into the Burmese language. His first novel was Revolt
on the Nile (published in 1974). He received the national awards for
translation works namely Kan-taa-ya San-yay-aing (1997) and Kam-kya-ma
Ah-kyin-thaa (2006). He was honoured with Myanmar national literature
award for lifetime achievement in 2014.
Mentionable is that Kam-kya-ma Ah-kyin-thaa is the Burmese translation
of Hindi novel Mera Naam Joker, based on which the 1970 blockbuster
Hindi movie (with the same title) was produced. Directed by Raj
Kapoor, the film has casts including Raj Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Simi
Garewal, Kseniya Ryabinkina, Padmini, Manoj Kumar, Dharmendra, Dara
Singh, Rajendra Kumar, etc. It was partly shot in Moscow with the
participation of some Soviet Union actors.
