The new Giant Swing
September 13, 2007
Photo:
His Majesty the King aims a jet of holy water at the new Giant
Swing during the inauguration ceremony yesterday. SAROT
MEKSOPHAWANNAKUL
The Bangkok Post has two stories on the festivities surrounding last evening's inauguration of the new Giant Swing and I have included both of them below. The first deals with the ceremony itself and the positive feeling the two red wooden pillars have left with the people of Bangkok, Phrae, where the trees used to build the swing came from, and beyond. The story also includes some background for those of you who might not be familiar with Bangkok's Giant Swing.
The second story deals with an interesting example of the use of biotechnology for a positive purpose. Read to find out how a million Thai people will feel a special emotional attachment to the Giant Swing and the trees from which it was made.
festivities – the activities that are organised to celebrate a special event งานเฉลิมฉลอง
inauguration – a special celebration to officially open something พิธีีเปิด
pillar – a large round wooden, stone or metal post that is used to support something, like a bridge, the roof of a building, etc. เสา
emotional attachment – a feeling of being closely connected with something or someone ความผูกพันธ์ทางจิตใจ
Photo: Thousands of people turn out to celebrate the unveiling of the new Giant Swing at Lan Kon Muang civic ground outside City Hall.
NEW ERA of HOPE
New Giant Swing pillars, blessed by His Majesty the King, bring hope of unity and prosperity to troubled nationStory by APINYA WIPATAYOTIN
Photo:
A Khon troupe puts together an elaborate performance, titled Creating a
City, to celebrate the Giant Swing’s unveiling.PAWAT
LAOPAISARNTAKSINA The inauguration of the new Giant Swing has given rise to hope the trouble-ridden country will be more harmonious and prosperous from now on.
Thousands of people gathered at the Giant Swing compound in front of Bangkok City Hall yesterday to take part in the historic event and to show respect to Their Majesties the King and Queen, who presided over the inauguration ceremony at 5pm.
Many believed the new Giant Swing, two red wooden pillars, would bless the country with luck.
‘‘The situation in our country will improve as we have replaced the old Giant Swing with a new, healthy one,’’ said Jadet Taneime, 37, who took leave from work to attend the ceremony.
Mr Jadet was among the first group of people to arrive at the compound, about 6am. He brought food and drinking water with him as he did not want to miss one moment of the celebration, especially the King and Queen.
Suthep Chanyungyune, 40, a shop owner, believed the new pillars would bring better times.
‘‘Many bad things have happened since restoration of the Giant Swing began,’’ he said. ‘‘From now on, our country will be strong and stable like the Giant Swing.’’
Boonrean Thongkham, 54, travelled from the southern province of Songkhla with four family members to pay respect to Their Majesties in the sacred ceremony.
Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin was also hopeful Thailand would enjoy greater stability now the new Giant Swing was installed.
unveiling – showing or introducing for the first time; removing a cover or curtain from a painting, statue, etc. so that it can be seen in public for the first time พิฑีเปิด
prosperity – the state of being successful, especially in making money ตวามมั่งคั่ง ความเจริญรุ่งเรือง
troupe – a group of singers, actors, dancers, etc. who work together คณะนักแสดง
trouble-ridden – full of trouble เต็็มไปด้วยปัญหา
harmonious – (of relationships) friendly, peaceful and without any disagreement ความสามัคคีปรองดอง
compound – an area, usually surrounded by a fence, in which a group of buildings stands บริเวณ ลาน(เสาชิงช้า)
preside – to lead or be in charge of a meeting or ceremony เป็นประธาน restoration – the work of bringing back something to the way it originally was, either by repairing and cleaning it or, in this case, making a new copy of it
stable – firmly fixed; not likely to fall, move or change
‘‘His Majesty told us to plant some of the cloned teak at Chitralada Palace,’’ he said.
The Giant Swing is one of the country’s most significant objects and is regarded as a symbol of prosperity and stability. The pillars were first erected by King Rama I in 1784.
In 2003, the city found the Giant Swing had deteriorated beyond repair and a panel responsible for its restoration decided to replace it with a new swing made from teak trees harvested from forests in teak-rich Phrae province. The restoration was completed last December.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration plans to keep the old pillars at the museum of the Department of Fine Arts in Pathum Thani province to ensure the precious objects are well preserved.
audience – a formal meeting with an important person เข้าเฝ้า
turn out – to be present at an event มาร่วมงาน
clone – to produce a plant or animal naturally or artificially from the cells of another plant or animal so the resulting plant or animal is exactly the same as it ทำจำลอง
saplings – young trees ต้นกล้า
harmony – a state of peaceful existence and agreement เป็นอันหนึ่งอันเดียวกัน ปรองดองกัน
erected – built; put in position ตั้ง
deteriorated – worsened เสื่อมสภาพ เกินกว่าจะซ่อมได้
beyond repair – unable to be fixed or repaired ไม่สามารถซ่อมบำรุงได้
preserved – kept in good condition บูรณะ
TEAK USED FOR SWING CLONED
One million people to each receive one of the auspicious trees from His Majesty the KingStory by BANGKOK POST and THAI NEWS AGENCY
Photo:
Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin, on a hoist platform, top right,
ties a ceremonial pink cloth given by His Majesty the King around one
of two pillars of the new Giant Swing. PATTARACHAI
PREECHAPANICH Thanks to DNA technology, one million Thais will each be given a golden-teak tree cloned from the 99-year-old tree used to make the new Giant Swing.
Somwong Trakulroong, director of the National Centre of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (Biotec) DNA laboratory, yesterday announced the success in decoding the DNA fingerprint of the Giant Swing teak.
‘‘After obtaining the DNA fingerprint, we have used tissue culture to generate the new plants, which have started to grow fresh leaves. DNA fingerprinting technology is employed to assure all recipients will have [clones from] the same auspicious tree,’’ he said.
Six teak trees, each about 25 metres long and 50 centimetres in diameter, were obtained from Phrae’s Den Chai district to build the new Giant Swing. From these, Biotec picked for the cloning project the 99-year-old tree, which was very tall and bore no insect marks or other blemishes.
The cloned trees will be presented to His Majesty the King for distribution to his subjects, said Mr Somwong. The first lot of about 200,000 cloned trees should be available about two years from now, he said.
The project is a joint effort of Biotec, City Hall, the Royal Forest Department, and the National Science and Technology Development Agency, which provides funding for research and development.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) said the project is aimed at instilling patriotism in recipients. They are expected to nurture these descendants of the special tree.
Phrae governor Atikhom Suwannapong yesterday led 120 residents of Den Chai district to Bangkok to attend the ceremony to inaugurate the new Giant Swing.
‘‘Phrae residents are proud to be a part of the history of the Giant Swing,’’ Mr Atikhom said.
The governor on Tuesday signed a deal with City Hall to promote Bangkok and Phrae as sister cities. Under the deal, the BMA will set up a fund for landscape development and construction of a memorial at Huay Rai forest reserve, where 120-year-old logs used to make the the main legs of the Giant Swing came from.
auspicious – showing signs that something is likely to be successful in the future เป็นมงคล
hoist platform – a flat surfaced raised about the level of the ground (see photo) ฐาน
decoding – finding the meaning of something that is in code ถอดรหัส
DNA fingerprint – the particular pattern found in the genetic material (DNA) within a living organism’s cells รหัสดีเอ็นเอ
tissue culture – the growth of tissues (interconnected cells) and cells outside the organism where they came from เพาะเนื้อเยื่อ
recipients – people who receive something ผู้รับ
bore (past tense of bear) – showed; carried แสดง
blemishes – marks on the skin or an object that make it look less beautiful or perfect ข้อบกพร่อง คราบ รอยด่าง
lot – a group or set of things กลุ่มแรก กอง จำนวน
joint – done together ร่วมกัน
instilling – gradually making someone feel, think or behave in a particular way over a period of time ค่อยๆ สร้าง ปลูกฝัง
patriotism – love of your country and willingness to defend it ความรักชาติ
nurture – to care for and protect ทำนุบำรุง
descendants – those (in this case trees coming from the original tree) that are born after ลูกหลาน ผู้สืบเชื้อสาย
residents – people who live in an area คนในพื้นที่ (คนที่อาศัยอยู่ในบริเวณนั้น)
fund – an amount of money that is available to be spent เงินทุน
landscape – everything you can see when you look across a large area of land, especially in the country ทัศนียภาพ
memorial – something that is built in order to remind people of an important past event or of a famous person who has died อนุสรณ์
reserve – a piece of land that is a protected area for animals, plants, etc.สงวน รักษา (ป่าสงวน)