I must have been in Grade 2 at the then Maryknoll College when my older sister Chona and I were selected to play two of the children of King Mongkut of Siam, in a stage version of “The King and I.”
Based on the novel “Anna and the King of Siam” by Margaret Landon, which in turn was based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who worked as a tutor to the King’s children in the early 1860s, “The King and I” was made into a Broadway musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It was later adapted into a movie.
At the time of the restaging, Maryknoll was using all-female casts for both female and male roles. All I remember clearly was the requirement for my sister and I to have our hair cut into short bobs and to appear onstage barefoot, albeit clad in glittery costumes.
Maybe that was why I’ve always held Thailand, the name adopted by Siam in modern times, with fondness. And by the same token, this may be why I’ve followed the goings-on in the royal household. Also because King Bhumibol, until his death a few days ago, was revered by most Thais, and served as the longest reigning monarch in the world.
Then there is Queen Sirikit, who, during a visit to Manila in 1963, mesmerized us Pinoys with her gracious, graceful, world-class beauty. Even in her later years, she always seemed to me to embody the kindness, the gentility of the Thais.
Of course, time has inflicted serious blows on both the stature and reputation of the Thai Royal Family. The King and Queen have been models of decorum and service to their people, but the Thais have not been so lucky with the royal heirs who often shock and dismay the public with their scandalous behavior.
It didn’t help, too, that the royals became embroiled in Thailand’s tumultuous politics through the decades, although observers concede that the King has been his country’s main stabilizing force, rallying his people through coups and electoral controversies. One wonders how Thailand will fare now, with a military junta in charge of state affairs (having forced through a recent referendum on a rewritten Constitution) and thereby jeopardizing the “democratic project” in our economically progressive neighbor.
To remember King Bhumibol, let me quote his gracious words uttered during his state visit in 1963 and recently posted on Facebook by the Ortigas Foundation’s John Silva.
“The Queen and I have come to this beautiful country … bearing with us the friendship and high regard of our people for the Filipino people. We come to reaffirm the fact that within the borders of our kingdom live a people who are as one with the Filipinos in desiring peace and prosperity for the entire South-East Asia region.
“We are overwhelmed by the warmth of this welcome that you have extended to us, and we can even feel that we are not in a foreign land. For it has been said that the Filipinos and the Thais look more alike than any other peoples in Asia, and they may have been brothers once upon a time.
“Perhaps, in the dawn of history, or before it, on some crossroads in the heartland of Asia, the ancestors of the Filipinos and the Thais all belonged to the same great family.”
Brothers and sisters are we. My sympathies to all my Thai friends!
There is a church in Butuan where the altar is covered not with marble or religious images but with a gleaming wall of wood. Friends said the altar was built partly to pay tribute to the lumber industry, which has been a major contributor to the economy of the Caraga region.
Since my visit took place more than 20 years ago, I’m not sure if the lumber industry is as dominant as it was. But despite the growing clamor against the industry mainly from environmentalists, it continues to play a big role in the economy.
On Oct. 25 and 26, the Philippine Wood Producers Association will hold the first Philippine Wood Expo and Forum, gathering wood specialists, businesses and enthusiasts from all over the world.
The Expo to be held at the Centennial Ballroom of the Manila Hotel will “showcase sustainable trends and innovation in the wood industry, while also raising relevant environmental issues and benefits of using wood products to mitigate climate change.”