A legacy of laughter and defiance

A legacy of laughter and defiance

By Phyo Wai Kyaw   |   Wednesday, 21 August 2013

On January 4, 1996, in a compound on Yangon's University Avenue, an audience laughed heartily at comedian Par Par Lay's wordplay on the makeshift stage.

Par Par Lay (left) with brother Lu Maw in July 2012. (Phyo Wai Kyaw/The Myanmar Times)

Discussing how the word for "co" in Pali means "sufficient or equal", and "operative" in Myanmar means "endeavour", he wryly noted that "when the two are combined the whole shop gets cleaned out" – a reference to corruption in the Ministry of Cooperatives.

Those in the audience responded with loud belly laughs. But the comedians, and the audience, knew not everyone listening would find the jokes so funny.

The performance was being held to celebrate Independence Day. Par Par Lay and his cousin Lu Zaw were performing at Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's compound. The National League for Democracy leader had been released just six months earlier, after six years of house arrest, and was sitting in the audience. Even before the event, Par Par Lay knew he would pay a heavy price for making government corruption the butt of his jokes.

That he told them anyway – and told them well enough to make people laugh in such an environment of oppression and fear – speaks to his commitment to his cause, one that he stuck to even in the last months of his life.

On August 2, Par Par Lay – comedian, activist and three-time political prisoner – passed away from at his home in Mandalay. He had been suffering from kidney and urinary problems and when it became clear his condition would not improve he was released from hospital so that he could spend his final days at home.

One-third of the famous Moustache Brothers comedy trio – along with cousin Lu Zaw and brother Lu Maw – Par Par Lay leaves behind an adoring audience, a collection of inimitably sharp-tongued jokes and a long list of those whom he has mocked, including many some who are still in positions of power.

In an interview with The Myanmar Times on July 29, just days before he died, he spoke of that famous performance, the repercussions that followed and his hopes for the country's future.

"When I gathered artists to perform [on Independence Day], some cancelled … once they found out that we would go to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's house," he said.

Many were afraid of what would happen if they participated – at that time anyone deemed anti-government could be subject to strict punishments – so he had to find replacements for those who pulled out at short notice.

However, he did not have enough time to change the National Registration Card numbers on the tickets.

When the conductor came to check the tickets, Par Par Lay said he knew he had to find a way to divert his attention so he and his companions took out drums, an oboe and cymbals and started to perform. The ticket inspector drifted by, smiling heartily – and did not bother to interrupt the performance to check their identity cards.

"That was the power of art," Par Par Lay said. "I do battle using the skills of my art form to organise the public."

Ticket collectors, of course, were the least of the group's worries. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said at the time that she would take responsibility if authorities tried to charge performers.

"The show is being celebrated in my compound and so the issues are all my responsibility," she said. "The comedians have a responsibility to reflect what is happening at this time. They are not guilty of anything. If there is [an offence], it's mine."

For Par Par Lay, those words were the best reward for his work. However, as soon as he got back to Mandalay he packed a bag. And as he expected, at 1am the next morning authorities from Military Intelligence knocked on his door.

Other performers from the Independence Day show – Lu Zaw, two female performers and four musicians – were also arrested.

Reflecting on his brother's legacy, Lu Maw told The Myanmar Times on August 6 that the performance changed both their lives.

"I told Par Par Lay before he went to the Yangon show to perform to his utmost if he decided to go there," he said.

For the audience, the performance was inspiring, a brief reprieve from years of fear and censorship. For the authorities, however, it was a challenge – one they believed threatening enough to land both Par Par Lay and Lu Zaw in prison.

"We had been waiting for them at the Maha Aung Myay township court," Lu Maw said, remembering the day of Par Par Lay's sentencing. "However, we learned he had been sentenced behind closed doors."

Lu Maw said they had tried to have four witnesses testify, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. But she was kept from attending due to travel restrictions imposed by the government on her mobility.

It wasn't the first time Par Par Lay had been sent to prison – he had been sentenced to six months in 1990 for criticising the military regime for not recognising the results of that year's election – but this term was considerably harsher: seven years in Kyain Kayan Kha labour camp, about 43 kilometres (27 miles) from Myitkyina in Kachin State.

Lu Zaw was also found guilty and sent to prison in Katha seven years. The other performers were released after interrogation, although two NLD members were also sentenced over the show.

After his colleagues were jailed, Lu Maw and the rest of his family continued to perform for audiences. In prison, Par Par Lay performed as well, entertaining other prisoners and sometimes even prison authorities. He believed it was the best way to stay healthy during the long years of incarceration, and was also a way to boost the spirits of those around him.

Par Par Lay was released in July 2001. Just as he had brought jokes to his fellow inmates, he gave his new audiences a glimpse of prison life through his performances. A routine performed on his knees with hands and feet bound in wire always brought rapturous applause.

After 2001, the comedians were banned from performing in public. Despite the restrictions, however, Par Par Lay and his comrades-in-laughter in the Moustache Brothers continued pushing boundaries by exploiting a loophole that allowed them to perform for foreigners inside their own home.

"When I was released and prohibited from performing I opened a restaurant," one of his jokes ran. "My wife is a good cook and so more and more customers came to us. The staff of [Mandalay] City Development Committee eat so much. Traffic police eat again and again. Contractors and engineers eat until they're totally filled."

And the audience's laughter – at the expense of authorities and, often, the Moustache Brothers themselves – kept coming.

In 2007 Par Par Lay was arrested again, this time for supporting monk-led protests. Despite the cost of resisting the authorities – who to this day have yet to remove the ban on public Moustache Brothers performances – Par Par Lay never stopped opening his mouth, speaking for those too afraid or too vulnerable to speak for themselves. This past year he began to flout the ban, touring rural areas and making speeches to the people in what he called his "No Fear" campaign.

"The upcoming 2015 election is so important," he told me in his final interview before his death. "It's important that people are able to vote for what they believe in. When I went around the country for the 'No Fear' campaign, I found that there is still fear among people."

When he began to feel pain in his back earlier this year, he refused to cancel the tour. He also participated in Thingyan celebrations in Mandalay in April. The pain later spread, however, and on July 16 he was admitted to hospital for treatment.

Par Par Lay won't be around to judge the winners and losers of the election in 2015. But his fellow Moustache Brothers will continue to perform as a duo, they say, just as they did when Par Par Lay was in prison. And they'll be ready carry on his legacy – to apply a spittle-covered finger to the ears of anyone who doesn't respect its results – just as he did after the last election, and just as he would have done after the next.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/08/21/a-legacy-of-laughter-and-defiance/