A slice of life on Burma's Inlay Lake

DBN Murthy

The lake measures 22 km long and 10 km wide, about three meters deep, shaped like a narrow channel located in the heart of the Shan State, in eastern Myanmar.

As I gazed at the vast expanse of water, I thought of our own lakes, dirty and spoiled by man’s activities. Here in undeveloped Myanmar (formerly known as Burma, one of the 10 poorest nations of the world) people live in harmony with nature as evident from the fairly clean waters of this vast inland lake lying in Shan Sate, where 70,000 people live on or near it in a sustainable manner.

The lake measures 22 km long and 10 km wide, about three meters deep, shaped like a narrow channel located in the heart of the Shan State, in eastern Myanmar. Tourism is one of the major income earners but fishing with nets, horticulture and floriculture too sustain the economy of the lake by innovative measures like using floating islands to grow plants. I was pleased to note this lake forms part of the Inlay Wetland Wildlife Sanctuary and is also a bird protection area. Cottage industries like foundry, silk weaving and cheroot manufacture are employment generation schemes, which employ mostly young girls and women.

Some of the shops sell all sorts of dresses, souvenirs, artifacts and so on. In one shop I was curious to note the presence of three tribal women with longnecks — wearing these rings around their necks to extend it. Two were young girls while the other an older woman. They were always smiling and willing to be photographed with anyone who requested a photo op. A few pagodas exist right on the lakeshore, which are places of worship as well as sightseeing. A steady stream of foreign visitors riding boats with guides indicated that these were popular spots for sightseeing.

Life on the lake is at a leisurely pace. Boats are the main means of commuting from place to place. People from nearby areas arrive at Nyaung Shwe, which is considered to be the gateway to Inlay Lake for trade and commerce and also to proceed to big towns like Taunggyi, capital city of Shan State, Kalaw and Mandalay. The boats, motorised versions, carry all sorts of goods and produce for trade and commerce to nearby towns and villages. Among the villagers I could spot a few Shan women traditionally dressed with their big colourful headgear, part decoration and part protection. Women are adept at self-rowing a boat in the channels leading to the lake. They use it to drop their children to school, visit friends and relatives and also do shopping.

I was keen to see at close quarters the famous one-legged rowers, the Inthas. The rower stands at the helm on one leg and the other is wrapped around the oar, which is used to propel the boat. Perhaps this unique style of rowing is a relic of the past when there were too many weeds and floating debris and the rower had to clear a passage for his boat. They have adapted to living on the lake in houses built over stilts.

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