A fun spin on Asean

Martial arts from across the region will be demonstrated, including, of course, muay thai.

Veera Pitaksin, 65, can make a top spin anywhere, and is happy to teach youngsters how it

TK Park teaches youngsters about culture across the region with its amusing new show

Thailand Knowledge Park, better known as simply TK Park, anticipates the impact of the coming Asean Economic Community with an exhibition called "A Journey through Asean", which opened last weekend.

For the third year running, TK Park is aiming to instruct youngsters on what exactly the Association of Southeast Asian Nations means to them. And thanks to a scholarly support of The Thailand Research Fund, the ripples go well beyond commercial interests, though, affecting culture, education and travel as well.

Various entertaining activities based on the theme "Asean - Unity in Diversity" demonstrate what happens when an eclectic group of countries bind together as a trading bloc. The ripples go well beyond commercial interests, though, affecting culture, education and travel as well.

Young people can learn more about the 10 countries that form Asean. This year's exhibition covers the popular literature of our neighbouring countries, the indigenous toys, sports and folk music and dance, says Dr Tatsanai Wongpisethkul, vice president of the government's Office of Knowledge Management and Development and director-general of TK Park.

Asean Association Thailand president Khunying Laxanachantorn Laohaphan, award-winning writer Prapatsorn Sevikul, BE magazine editor Kittipoj Autthavichian and performer Teerawat Mulvilai have been lined up to give talks on various cultural topics.

Films from across the region are being screened. Traditional dances from Indonesia and the Philippines will be seen courtesy of those countries' embassies. And the sports in which our neighbours specialise are being demonstrated.

The Pencak Silat Association of Thailand is showing how that wonderful combination of Indonesian martial arts is practised, Vietnamese will display how they kick around a shuttlecock, and the Roongaroon Folk Toy Group will spin some tops in mysterious, magical ways.

Veera Pitaksin, 65, demonstrated the extraordinary spins at the exhibition's opening. He can make a top spin anywhere, on request, and is happy to teach youngsters how it's done. "Uncle Veera" will offer another show and demonstration this weekend.

Tops used to spin across floors, in schoolyards and on street corners all over Asia, and had done for centuries. But the once-familiar grinding of the twirling axle against wood and pavement is rarely heard in the modern electronic era. Most kids today have never marvelled at the toy's endless gyrations or the hiss of the air against the surface.

But here are the tops at TK Park, whirling again in a multitude of sizes, styles and materials.

"I last saw a spinning-top show at a temple fair three decades ago," said Taweesub Ngamchajonroj, a coordinator with the Roongaroon toy club.

"This kind of show is already gone. Thais long ago replaced tops with new things like plastic toys and computer games and threw the old toys away. Today in Thailand you'll only find ethnic people in the North playing with spinning tops."

And yet the top is true magic, Taweesub said, right down to the patient winding of the string around the axle base. Held motionless against the floor for a moment, the top is suddenly set free with a quick yank of the cord to twirl off into a world all its own.

"I always tell children that this toy is 'extraordinary' - and very difficult to play! Then I challenge them to learn how. In the learning, the children become more discerning, really concentrating hard. The techniques are all scientific too, so they're gaining new knowledge every step of the way."

TK Park chief Tatsanai says the exhibition will extend beyond Bangkok in the form of mini-displays, learning kits and activities at its network of libraries all around the country.

"TK Park's goal is to make Thailand a learning society, and I believe this exhibition can generously contribute to this mission - by enabling children and providing greater access to a set of new knowledge," he said.

"Shows like this help open up their world and acquaint them with different cultures while preparing them for the advent of Asean integration in the years to come."

Wider world

_ "A Journey through Asean" runs until June 9 at TK Park on the eighth floor of centralworld.

_ The permanent exhibition is open daily except Monday. Talks, workshops and film screenings take place Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 4pm.

_ The Roongaroon Folk Toy Group will host workshops on spinning tops tomorrow at 11am and 2pm. There's room in each session for 30 families. Call (02) 257 4300, extension 226.

_ Find out more at www.TKPark.or.th.

Latest stories in this category

• 'Bohemian Rhapsody' on beer


• Choirs singing pop hits is the latest..


• club scene


• Spinning out with Sasha

We Recommend

• Facebook isn't the place to let off tension


• At 60, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong..


• It's time for Thaksin to respect the rule of law:..


• Aunt sold girl, 17, for sex work in Korea: police

Comments conditions

Users are solely responsible for their comments.We reserve the right to remove any comment and revoke posting rights for any reason withou prior notice.

Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/05/24/a-fun-spin-on-asean/