Katha, Myanmar
Katha (pronounced, and spelled, Ka-thar; Burmese: ကသာ; MLCTS: -) is a town in Sagaing Division, Myanmar, on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady river. Precisely at LAT 24.2 and LONG 96.4 with elevation of 269ft. It is known as the real setting of George Orwell's Burmese Days.
Location
It is 15 hours by rail north of Mandalay through the railroad junction town of Naba which is 23km or 14 miles to the west of Katha. Katha and Naba are connected by a small branch of railway. Kathar is also reachable by ferries that run on the Ayeyarwady river from the town of Bhamo upstream down to Mandalay.There is also direct bus route from Mandalay to Katha, but it is of bumpy ride.
Economy
Katha is a main district township comprising of seven small townships. It is populated with government offices and many of early town settlers are from every parts of Myanmar and usually got background history of civil service under at least one of ministerial departments. The main economy of the town is fisheries and farming of kidney beans. Production of rice is very less, not enough for the region’s consumers and has to depend on nearby townships such as Indaw or Kawlin. Forestry is thriving but virtually does not provide any opportunities or advantages to town dwellers. Katha is legendarily bureaucratic stronghold, and its prosperity is crippling by it.
Setting of George Orwell's Burmese Days
Kathar is known in literature as the real place underlying the fictional Kyauktada, setting of George Orwell's first novel Burmese Days (1934). Orwell himself served at Kathar in 1926-27 in the Indian Imperial Police. The British Club (including active tennis court), police station, and town jail are locations referenced in the novel that can still be visited today. More accounts on this section is readable in Emma Larkin's "Finding George Orwell in Burma". Katha links with prominent Burmese writers such as Shwe U Daung, Theik-Pan Muu Tin, and AFPFL leader Kyaw Nyein from Stable faction .
See also
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