Par Par Lay (1947 – August 2, 2013) was a

Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (hor ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

, satirist and entertainer. He formed the comedic troupe, The Moustache Brothers, with his younger brother, Lu Maw, and their cousin,

Lu Zaw ''Lu Zaw'' ( my, လူဇော်) is a 1978 Burmese black-and-white drama film, directed by Zaw Htet starring Kawleikgyin Ne Win, Kyaw Hein, Kyi Kyi Htay, Swe Zin Htaik and Myint Naing. Cast *Kawleikgyin Ne Win as U Win Lwin *Kyaw Hein as Lu ...

. A critic of the Burmese military regime, Par Par Lay often parodied the ruling generals and their government. He was arrested and imprisoned on three separate occasions by the military government. Par Par Lay was born in a village near Shwebo, Burma, in 1947 to a family of traditional, travelling Burmese entertainers. His grandfather and father were Ah Nyeint performers, a form of Burmese entertainment where the participants mix satire,

humor Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

, dance and music. Par Par Lay began his career as an entertainer when he was fourteen years old. In 1990, he was arrested for the first time and sentenced to six months in prison for campaigning during the run-up to the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. In 1996, Par Par Lay, Lu Zaw and two other entertainers traveled from their home in Mandalay to Aung San Suu Kyi's home in Yangon for an

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

celebration. All four achieved international attention when they were arrested in the middle of the night in Mandalay just three days later. The five men were held in custody for the next five years. Par Par Lay was imprisoned at Ching Krang Hka in the northern

Kachin State Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...

. He was forced to smash rocks in the prison, but other prisoners agreed to break the rocks for him in return for performing for them. Par Par Lay was arrested for the third time in 2007 for supporting the Saffron Revolution. He was jailed from September to November 2007. Par Par Lay campaigned throughout Burma on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) during the 2012 Burmese parliamentary by-elections campaign. He urged supporters to have "no fear" during the election. The NLD won the by-elections by a wide landslide, taking 43 of the 44 contested seats. Par Par Lay died from kidney disease in Mandalay on August 2, 2013, at the age of 67. He was survived by his wife, Ma Win Mar, younger brother, Lu Maw, and their cousin,

. Lu Maw and Lu Zaw will continue to perform as The Moustache Brothers as a duo. Their first performance without Par Par Lay was held four days after his funeral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Par Par Lay 1947 births 2013 deaths Burmese comedians Burmese satirists Burmese democracy activists People from Mandalay