King Bhumibol: The longest reigning monarch

In early June, Thailand celebrated King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 60th year on the throne. He was not born to be king. It was the untimely and tragic death of his elder brother King Ananda Mahidol, on June 9, 1946, that put Bhumibol Adulyadej on the throne. He was only 18 years at that time.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej was born on December 5, 1927 in America. He was the third child and second son of Prince Mahidol, and was named Bhumibol Adulyadej, which means "strength of the land."

In 1932, there was a coup (pronounced coo) in Thailand. A coup is a sudden, illegal and often violent change of government. Because of the unsettled conditions in Thailand, the family lived in Switzerland from 1933. So the two princes had their education in Lausanne, Switzerland. Prince Bhumibol entered Lausanne University and studied science.

In 1948, Bhumibol Adulyadej, two years king, but still uncrowned, met with a serious motor car accident. One eye was damaged. The muscles of one side of the face have been stiff since the accident, giving the king a stern expression. The muscles don't move when he smiles. Early in 1950, he became engaged to Mom Rajawongse Sirikit, the beautiful daughter of the Thai Ambassador in Paris.

After the royal family's return to Thailand, they married on April 25, 1950. A week later was the coronation. This happened on May 5, 1950.As canon shots were fired and bells rung, announcing the coronation, the King made this vow:

"We will reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the people of Siam." Royalty always speaks of themselves in the plural. The king used the old name for the country. Thailand became the official name for Siam only in 1940.

For 60 years, king Bhumibol Adulyadej has kept his promise, working, without any show, for the benefit and happiness of his people.

From 1782, the kings of Thailand belonged to the House of Chakri. (The present Royal family of England belongs to the House of Windsor). The first king of the Chakri dynasty was Rama, and all the kings after him took the name Rama - Rama II, Rama III etc. The present king is Bhumibol Adulyadej Rama IX.

The most famous king of this dynasty, Chulalangkorn Rama v, reigned for 41 years, from 1868-1910. Rama IX has been king 20 years more than his famous great grandfather. When Bhumibol Adulyadej became king in 1946, Thailand was already a constitutional monarchy.

Until 1933, it was an absolute monarchy where the king had all the powers of a ruler. Now the king is Head of State. He has authority, but the Prime Minister and his ministers rule the country.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej changed the role of the monarchy. "Serve the People" was his motto. This, he believed, was the real work of a royal family. The king has palaces in the major regions, where he spends weeks, making the palace his base to visit the villages. One or more of their children always accompany the king and queen. In this way, their only son and three daughters have bonded with the rural folk.

The king has initiated projects for the proper management of forests, built reservoirs and irrigation channels, and constructed roads to enable villagers to bring their produce to market towns. There are pictures of him working in rice-fields and wading in channels.

All this has endeared him to the people, His picture hangs in homes and taxis, pasted on ploughs, worn round necks and tucked into wallets. King Bhumibol's 60 year reign has not been a bed of roses.

He has had to face insurgencies (uprisings) and coups, deal with military dictators and corrupt politicians. In all these crises, this jazz-loving king has kept his cool. The people regard him as their constance refuge. Thais compare him to "the comforting shade of a large tree."

Sumana Saparamadu

Anne Ranasinghe: Internationally renowned poet

Have you ever heard about the internationally renowned poet Anne Ranasinghe? Did you know that this brilliant poet escaped from Nazi Germany to England, married a Sri Lankan, and became a citizen of Sri Lanka?

She was born on October 2, 1925 as Anneliese Katz in Essen, Germany. In 1939, this 13-year-old Jewish girl arrived in England; her parents had managed to send her there to stay with relations, to escape the Nazi regime, but they themselves could not emigrate, and were murdered in Chelmno, Poland, five years later. Anneliese went to school, then trained to be a nurse.

Later, she met, and married, a Sri Lankan Postgraduate and settled down with him in Sri Lanka. In 1956, she became a Sri Lankan citizen.

Her husband was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of the Medical Faculty of Colombo, and she devoted the first years in her new home country to her young family - their four children and three from her husband's first marriage.

In the sixties, she began to study journalism, and in 1971, she made her debut with a slim volume of poems titled And the Sun That Sucks The Earth to Dry. Although primarily a poet, she has also published short stories, essays, and translations. Her works have been broadcast on radio and published in 17 countries and translated into nine languages.

Drawing from her own life's experiences, her writing has been described as "vibrantly sensuous or stark and deeply moving."

In Sri Lanka, she is considered one of the foremost poets writing in English. She has been translated into Sinhala, Tamil, Dutch, German, Hebrew, Serbo-Croat as well as French and Swedish.

Anne Ranasinghe has won numerous local and international awards for her writing, including the Sri Lanka Arts Council Prize for Poetry in 1985 and 1992, and for non-fiction in 1987. In 1994, she won the Sri Lanka Literary Award for the best collection of short stories.

She is a founder member of the English Writers' Cooperative of Sri Lanka and regular editor of its journal, Channels.

Her name has been included in The Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century Poetry.