Maung Day
The Inside of a Local Arakanese Restaurant
Mixed media on paper
27.5 cm x 37.5 cm
Copyright The Artist
In April 2022 – almost a year after a series of wars broke out between the Arakan Army and the Bamar Military in the area, Burmese artist Maung Day took...
In April 2022 – almost a year after a series of wars broke out between the Arakan Army and the Bamar Military in the area, Burmese artist Maung Day took a trip to Arakan Land. On this trip through Sittwe, Mrauk-U and other small Arakanese towns, he brought along a drawing book, into which he sketched out the sights of his journey. Upon returning home, he redrew many of these sketches.
Of this drawing, Maung Day writes:
"After Sittwe, we rented a car and drove to Mrauk-U, the famous ancient city, passing numerous temples and pagodas, bomb pits, military posts, and small towns on the way. In Mrauk-U, my wife and I went to a local restaurant. They had steel pots with different dishes in, put on a table. I approached and asked the woman standing between the pots and the kitchen about the dishes. She looked at me briefly and went on doing the stuff she was doing. Then a girl holding plates of rice walked past me. I stopped her and asked about the menu, she also did not seem willing to talk to me. This baffled me a bit, and made me think why I was ignored. Was it because I could not communicate in the local language, or was it because they were afraid of strangers, or was it my Indian looks? I finally managed to get some food, and while we were eating, I noticed that a lot of people came to the restaurant, a lot of them not speaking the local language. The people of this restaurant are in fact used to having strangers and non-locals. When we paid, my wife was furious because they overcharged us, something that was confirmed later when we went there again with a few local friends. This was one of several incidents in which I felt discriminated and very uncomfortable."
Of this drawing, Maung Day writes:
"After Sittwe, we rented a car and drove to Mrauk-U, the famous ancient city, passing numerous temples and pagodas, bomb pits, military posts, and small towns on the way. In Mrauk-U, my wife and I went to a local restaurant. They had steel pots with different dishes in, put on a table. I approached and asked the woman standing between the pots and the kitchen about the dishes. She looked at me briefly and went on doing the stuff she was doing. Then a girl holding plates of rice walked past me. I stopped her and asked about the menu, she also did not seem willing to talk to me. This baffled me a bit, and made me think why I was ignored. Was it because I could not communicate in the local language, or was it because they were afraid of strangers, or was it my Indian looks? I finally managed to get some food, and while we were eating, I noticed that a lot of people came to the restaurant, a lot of them not speaking the local language. The people of this restaurant are in fact used to having strangers and non-locals. When we paid, my wife was furious because they overcharged us, something that was confirmed later when we went there again with a few local friends. This was one of several incidents in which I felt discriminated and very uncomfortable."