Showing 1 - 10 of 15
To squat or not?
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 09/05/2016
» Like religion and politics, toilet etiquette is a touchy subject. The latest proof is the debate on the future of traditional squat toilets in Thailand after a new law on the manufacturing standard of toilet seats came into effect on April 23. The law has provoked discussion and even fear that the state will ban the use of squat toilets, archaic but cheap household facilities that are still used in rural areas, as well as many houses and buildings.
No rhyme, no reason
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 02/05/2016
» There's a beautiful piece of prose in a Thai poem that reads: "Kavee rue lang laeng Siam" -- (Siam never runs out of poets). Composed over 120 years ago by Prince Paramanuchit Chinoros, the verse is part of Samuta Koj Kam Chan, and it describes the golden age of Thai literary culture, in which poetry was ingrained as part of people's speech. It was a time when rhyme and stanza were infused in normal dialogue. Men wrote poems, or sang them for courtship.
Unforgettable Puey Ungphakorn
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 09/03/2016
» Today marks the centennial of Puey Ungphakorn, a remarkable man who lived a remarkable life as a founding father of the modern Thai economy, pedagogue at Thammasat University and Bank of Thailand, role model and larger-than-life figure who was influential during some of the most momentous years of Thai history.
Unconventional conservationist
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 02/03/2016
» By look and temperament, Sasiprapa Raisanguan, a 22-year-old staff member at the Centre for Protection & Revival of Local Community Rights (CPCR), doesn't fit the stereotype of a Thai conservationist. She is no starry-eyed tree-hugger clad in natural-dye cotton, nor does she have a hemp rucksack or ride a bicycle to reduce her carbon footprint. At our interview in Chiang Mai, Sasiprapa arrives on her motorcycle, which she calls "a practical choice" to getting around the northern city where her office is.
Drought, fishing scandals and winding roads
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 23/12/2015
» In the past year, environmental disasters once again proved how much of an impact they have on everyone's lives: the air we breathe (the haze in the South, blown over from Indonesia); the water we use (the contentious Chao Phraya roads); the lights we see (the coal-fired power plants); the ground beneath our feet (the gold mining scandals); the food we eat (the fishery disputes). In all of this, local communities and the rural poor feel the heat and the fire more than Bangkok's urbanites and they're the people who keep showing public resistance against environmental problems and the depletion of natural resources, despite the grip of military rule.
A golden opportunity for change
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 04/06/2014
» Everything that glitters is gold, but not for villagers at Ban Na Nong Bong, who live at the edge of a gold mine in Loei province. Since Thung Kham arrived to extract gold in 2003, villagers have complained that the company is poisoning its water source and farmland and harming their health.
The wordy wife
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 19/05/2014
» If you know the name “Sidaoruang”, you might already be reaching middle age. If you are younger or non-Thai, knowing the name probably means you are passionate about local literature, especially Wannakam Puea Chevit (Literature For Life), a genre of Thai books conceived in the 1970s that addresses the plight of farmers, social injustice and class struggle in Thai society.
Writer with a conscience
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 12/05/2014
» Chalermsak Ngamngarm, who has written books addressing social problems and different forms of bureaucratic corruption, has a fitting nickname. His friends and fans call him the Nai Amphur Nak Kien (District Chief Writer).
The professional interviewer
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 28/04/2014
» Columnist and writer Worapoj Panpong’s nickname as “The Interviewer” is one that fellow writers and magazine journalists have given him, and one that he cherishes.
Tales from the kingdom
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 27/01/2014
» Using one's national language sometimes has a downside. Among the obvious disadvantages are communication barriers and the low exposure of local literature on the international scene.