Ba Gyan ( ; 1902–1953) was a pioneering

Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (horse), a ...

cartoonist who created the first cartoon movie released in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

in 1935. Ba Gyan's cartoons covered a wide variety of topics and events, and ridiculed human frailties such as discourtesy, dishonesty, snobbery, arrogance, inefficiency and sloth. Ba Gyan was born in 1902 at

Nyaungdon Nyaungdon ( ) is a town in the Ayeyarwady Region of south-west Myanmar on the Pan Hlaing River near the difluence with the Ayeyarwaddy River. It is the seat of the Nyaungdon Township in the Maubin District. It is divided into 10 wards. History ...

, the son of a silk merchant. He was admitted to Yangon College in 1924, and the University magazine included his first cartoon in 1926. After that, his work began to appear in several journals, including the ''Phauk Seit'' cartoon in the ''Thuriya'' newspaper. He also drew Magazine covers and water colour paintings, and wrote novels under the pen name Thonnya, meaning zero. He created the cartoon films ''Kyetaungwa'' in 1934 and ''Athuya'' in 1935, working with cartoonist Hein Son. Ba Gyan's 1937 comic book ''Ko Pyoo and Ma Pyone'' was the first Myanmar comic for young people. He pioneered the crucial role of news cartoons in newspapers such as ''

The Botataung The Botataung ( ) was a national Burmese language daily newspaper based out of Yangon in Myanmar. The paper, founded in 1958 by Thein Pe Myint, was arguably the leading leftist newspaper prior to its nationalization in 1964 by General Ne Win's go ...

'', '' The Mirror'' and '' Myanma Alin''. After the war, his ''Zayakati'' cartoon appeared in the ''Hanthawaddy'' newspaper. During a drive to stamp out corruption in the post-independence period, he collaborated with

Ngwe Gaing Ngwe Gaing ( ; 1901–1967), known honorifically as Sayagyi U Ngwe Gaing, was a Burmese artist who worked in both oil and watercolor. After the death of his teacher Ba Nyan, he was recognized as the greatest living painter in Myanmar. He had ...

to produce a series of powerful and effective posters. It is said that after the death of his wife around 1948, his cartoon character "Hpyauk Seik" began to appear in the garb of a holy mendicant, reflecting his sorrow. But he continued to produce the cartoon. Ba Gyan won the Alinka Kyawswa award for his artistic skill. He used to hold a cartoon show on 13th street, where he lived, each year during

Tazaungdaing festival The Tazaungdaing Festival (, also known as the Festival of Lights and spelt Tazaungdine Festival), held on the full moon day of Tazaungmon, the eighth month of the Burmese calendar, is celebrated as a national holiday in Myanmar and marks the e ...

, a custom that was continued after his death by his pupils such as cartoonist Pe Thein. Although the annual show was later abandoned, it was revived in 2010. In June 2002, an exhibition of his cartoons was staged at the meeting hall of Myanmar Traditional Artists and Artisans in

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

, with speakers talking about his work, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth. The celebration included a competition for modern Burmese cartoonists. He is featured in the Burmese textbook used all over the country.

References

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* {{authority control 1902 births 1953 deaths Burmese cartoonists People from Ayeyarwady Region Recipients of the Alinkar Kyawswar