NAKARAJAN

THAILAND RULER RAMA  V Chulalongkorn was the ninth son of King Mongkut, but since he was the first to be born to a royal queen, he was recognized as heir to the throne. He was only 15 years old when his father died in October 1868 ,  and he succeeded to the throne under the regency of Somdet Chao Phraya Si Suriyawong (q.v.). Over the next five years he was prepared to assume his duties by observing court business and by travels to British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies in 1871 and to Malaya, Burma (Myanmar), and India in 1871–72. Following his coronation in November 1873, the young king enacted a series of ambitious reforms, beginning with the abolition of slavery, the improvement of judicial and financial institutions, and the institution of appointed legislative councils.  His commitment to reforms patterned on Western models, which he considered vital to Siam’s survival, antagonized conservative factions at court and precipitated a politi...

ARCHIPELAGO CINEMA ,  SEA CINEMA THEATRE IN THAILAND Archipelago Cinema, an auditorium raft designed to float on the sea, premiered at the inaugural edition of the Film on the Rocks Yao Noi Festival, curated by Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Tilda Swinton. The Festival, which took place from 9th-12th March 2012, is set to become an annual meeting place for art and film. The final night of the first edition of Film on the Rocks Yao Noi took place on Archipelago Cinema, designed by German-born and Beijing-based architect Ole Scheeren. Guests were taken by boat through the darkness of the sea to arrive on a glowing raft in the middle of the quiet waters of Nai Pi Lae lagoon on Kudu Island. Surrounded by a dramatic landscape of towering rocks emerging from the ocean, the audience experienced an atmospheric convergence of nature and cinematic narratives – primordial notions of light, sound and stories suspended in the darkness between sea and sky. The thought of ...

CHIANG MAI`S ORIGINAL  MONKEY SCHOOL ,THAILAND Chiang Mai’s original monkey school was established in the Mae Rim district by former army sergeant, Tawee Pantachang. This small, friendly man, who left his home in Sukhothai some thirty years ago to settle in Chiang Mai, bought land in Mae Rim with a view to growing fruit and vegetables. However, the economic crisis of the late nineties created serious labor problems for Khun Tawee, and he faced the possibility of financial ruin. Never one to run from a problem, he went South and bought his first two monkeys, which he brought back to Chiang Mai and trained to help him pick tamarinds. The success of this venture led Khun Tawee to buy more animals from Southern Thailand, Laos and Vietnam; he now has a troupe of more than thirty monkeys and four gibbons at his school in Mae Rim Before anything else, you would have to buy a baby macaque. This will cost you something between 1,000 and 10,000 baht. Once you have your own l...

ELEPHANTS PAID RESPECTS TO THAILAND  KING BHUMIBOL ON NOVEMBER 8,2016  Elephants Pay Respects to King Bhumibol Mahouts lead a procession of 11 white elephants past the Grand Palace in honor of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, November 8, 2016. King Bhumibol died on Oct. 13 after reigning for 70 years, plunging the country into grief and extended mourning. The official mourning period is one year. (Photo by Mark Baker/AP Photo) Ayuthaya elephants and mahouts pay their respects at the Royal Palace where Thailand's late king Bhumibol Adulyadej is lying in state, November 8, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters) Ayuthaya elephants and mahouts pay their respects at the Royal Palace where Thailand's late king Bhumibol Adulyadej is lying in state in Bangkok, Thailand November 8, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters) Ayuthaya elephants and mahouts pay their respects at the Royal Palace where Thailand's la...

HOLLYWOOD  ACTOR  ATTENBOROUGH  BORN 1923 AUGUST 29  WHO LOST  TWO OF HIS FAMILY IN  TZUNAMI 2004 DECEMBER 26 IN THAILAND Richard Samuel Attenborough was born on August 29, 1923, in Cambridge, England. His mother Mary was a writer who was involved in socially progressive work, and his father Frederick was a scholar and college principal. One of his two younger brothers, David Attenborough, would become a noted naturalist; his other brother John, would become an executive at Alfa Romeo.  When he was fifteen, Richard's parents also adopted two German girls of Jewish descent, Helga and Irene Bejach, during World War II . Richard Attenborough developed a passion for acting and performance as a youth, with his father encouraging him to pursue theatrical work if he could dedicate himself to the craft. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, earning the Leverhulme Scholarship. It was at the Royal Academy that he met his future...