Sule Pagoda Road in Retrospect

Sule Pagoda Road in Retrospect

Walking along famous Sule Pagoda road, he is thinking about the past things in this road. It is also renowned for having a series of cinema halls in it. It used to have good cinemas like Pa Pa Win, Gone, with the left of the road, Ye Yint, Nay Pyi Daw and Shae Saung on its right.

Sule Shangrila Hotel, formerly it was called Traders Hotel, used to be the place of Pa Pa Win cinema hall where people could watch foreign movies. Normally, it was usually crowded with movie lovers.

Those days it was not easy to see a new foreign movie. People had to queue up long to get a movie ticket. There were various ticket fees starting from 25 pyas, 50 pyas, 75 pyas, 1 and half kyats, 4 kyats, and 5 kyats.

That time, a price for a cup of tea was 1 kyat. Biriyani(colour Indian rice) was available for 5 kyats. There was also a black market for selling tickets. Even policemen had to take care of some naughty people who tried to climb over the entry fence. If someone broke the law, they tried to slap them with belts they wore.

Gone cinema hall was famous for its show of Japanese movies. The best thing they got was  good air-conditioners which could give enough cold for movie goers. Its seat plan was also good for them.

Ye Yint cinema hall was famous for showing Indian movies. Even when he was young, he had seen Amitabh Bachchan movies. He liked Indian films because it took almost three hours to finish it.

After 1988, then Traders Hotel replaced Pa Pa Win cinema hall and Sakura Tower replaced Ye Yint cinema hall. He still remembered how he watched Superman movie with his uncle when they had managed one ticket for them. He had to share with his uncle seat. That was a memorable event for him, because he still remembered it.

Apart from cinema halls, along the road, there were good food stalls after the movie. Let's say "Let Yway Zin" teashop was waiting for hungry bellies to taste its foods. The shop was famous for its noodle and coffee. The aroma of coffee wafted through the air so that passers-by had to look back at it. They could not resist its temptation so that they had to buy a packet for their home.

People liked to walk along the road when they returned from work. There were also bus stops there, where people could take buses for home. That time, old buses still ran for people. Sometimes, people were crowding at the bus stop shelters.

These things and scenes are locked in this famous road called Sule Pagoda Road. Even British poet C.J Ricard tried to capture the memorable moment he had encountered in a poem titled "To An Indian Bull in Sule Pagoda Road" to the amusement of readers.

Ipso facto, they become a minted page in Yangon city's history to relate to the next generation.■ Texts and photos by San Lin Tun

Fig.(1) Sule Pagoda Road With the Background of Shangrila Hotel

Fig.(2) Sule Pagoda Road with the Front View of Shangrila Hotel