When I was a child in Thailand, I used to ask myself why my friends and I have to stand in line in front of the flag pole and sing the national anthem every morning in school. Everyday at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. all radio and television stations will play the national anthem and show the pictures of the King and royal family. Everyone stops their activities whether they are running, shopping or eating. They stand still until the song ends. Every car stops. The policemen stand steadily and touch their eyebrow with the right hand. It’s an incident I see everyday. Thai people do so in order to pay respect to the king and his family. In the movie theatres, before the movie starts, the Royal anthem will be played and again the pictures of the King will be shown. I always wonder who the king is and why Thai people have to see and know about the king so much. When I came home, I asked my mother about the king. She looked at me with her warm smile and told me, “The king is a man who reigns the country and the King had done many good things for the country and Thai people. That is why all the Thai people respect and love the King very much.” Then she gave me a little book about the king. That night, I was reading it until I slept.
Since I heard about the King and royal family a lot, I started to be interested in them. I tried to find many books about them. I read and I found that his life was very interesting.
The King, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great, King Rama IX, the ninth King of Chakri Dynasty of Thailand, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the United States of America, on December 5, 1927. His Majesty came to the throne on June 9, 1946, when he was only 18 years of age, and was crowned as The King of Thailand on May 5, 1950. His ceremonial name, according to the ancient tradition is “Phrabat Somdej Phra Paramindra Maha Bhumibol Adulyadej Mahitaladhibet Ramadhibodi Chakrinarubodindara Sayamindaradhiraj Boromanatbophit”. That day, His Majesty pronounced the traditional oath of accession which stated, “We will reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the Siamese people”. Since then, over 60 years after his coronation, everyday, His Majesty has been concerned about the uplifting of the general well-being of the Thai people. His Majesty has traveled throughout the kingdom visiting his people, though there was rain, sunshine, floods, or difficult ways to go through rural barren areas, to listen to his villagers’ problems. His Majesty tried to solve these problems with Royal projects, giving the villagers knowledge to improve themselves to have a better livelihood. There is a picture that impresses all of Thai people. It is a picture of The King. In that picture, His Majesty holds a map in his left hand, a pencil in right hand, and there is a sweat drop on the tip on his nose. I saw this picture everywhere, and every time I saw it there would be a smile on my face and deep in my heart.
Nowadays, His Majesty the King is well recognized as the heart and soul of the Thai nation, as the longest-reigning monarch in the history of the world. But, how many people know why Thai people love their King so much? If you ask Thai people, “Who is the one you most love and esteem?” The answer surely is “Nai Luang” or my King.
One of my favorite books has many stories to express the love of Thai people for their King. In the story “My stake”, Mom Rajawongse Cuckrit Pramoch, a member of the Royal family, asked His Majesty “Have you ever been discouraged?” His Majesty answered “Yes, I have. Sometimes troubles are discouraging. But I can't be disheartened, because my stakes are very high. My stakes are the country and happiness of all of the Thai people”. An another story I read, I learned that many years ago His Majesty visited people in poverty in the North East of Thailand because there was a drought for many years. When His Majesty arrived there, an old woman crept to him and asked for the water. His Majesty said, “Don’t worry. There will be water here. We will give you water”. Incredibly, it suddenly rained. That made people and the entourages surprised. I like this story very much. I told this story to my friends then they said, “He is a deity from heaven”.
When I grew up, I went to the university which was established by one of the kings of Thailand. The university was named after the king’s name, Chulalongkorn University. I feel very proud of my university. Many times, when there was an important event such as a conference that had important people around the world come to Thailand, it took place at my university. I sometimes saw a king and the family passing by when they came to my university to attend an important occasion. The people would sit politely on the ground and wait to see the king. Thai people believe that if they have a chance to see the King in person, they will have good lives. I am very happy to have a chance to get a graduate diploma from a daughter of the king. It is not easy to have an opportunity to be close and get something hand to hand from the royal family. Not many universities in Thailand are honored to have such an opportunity. The King and his family will give the diploma to the graduated students who graduate from public universities only. On my commencement day, I heard a very impressive story about the king from my teacher. He told that over the past 40 years, His Majesty have given diplomas to more than 100,000 graduate students every year. The rector of the university asked His Majesty to give diplomas to master and doctoral degree only. But His Majesty said that he can’t because most students graduate with only a bachelor degree and they have only one chance to get diploma from his hand. One day; moreover, when His Majesty was giving diplomas, the electric light was broken down. One student lost his opportunity to have his picture taken with the king. After the last student got his diploma, His Majesty let that student took a picture again. I think if I were that student, I would be very happy because the king gave me special attention.
This year, there was a very important event about the King of Thailand. On June 9, it was the 60th Anniversary Celebration of His Majesty the King’s accession to the Throne. Many important people, royal families and leaders of countries around the world came to Thailand and celebrated in this event. I now understand that the Thai King is loved and respected by many people, not only in Thailand.
So June 9, 2006 was pronounced a national holiday due to this celebration. It was 7 in the morning; I went to join the people to celebrate this important day. When I arrived at the location where the ceremony was to take place, I was very excited to see many people waiting to see the King. I think there were almost million of people in that place. Everyone wore a special designed yellow T-shirt and yellow wristband for this event. We all waved royal-yellow flags. It was very amazing that there were so many people doing the same thing. An old man standing next to me said that some people came to this place since 11 p.m. of yesterday to attend this ceremony. I said to myself that if I came here later than this, I might not find a space to stand. At 10:11 a.m. the King, Queen and other members of the royal family came to the throne hall. At 11:24 a.m., the King and the Queen appeared on the balcony in their Royal attire to greet the people. Everyone sang a Thai Royal anthem loudly. Everyone was happy, proud to be born in Thailand and have such a great king. After the spokesman officially began the ceremony, the King gave a brief speech to all the people. He and the Royal family thanked everyone for being there and wishing them the best. He wished for all Thai people to love each other and be in harmony. He wanted the Thai people to adhere to righteous thinking and act reasonably. When the speech was finished, the king waved his hand to the people. The crowd began to give a deafening cheer of “Long Live the King” “Long Live the King” “Long Live the King”…… until the king left there.
After the ceremony, I took a taxi to a place called Impact Arena where there was an exhibition showing the life and all the activities that the King had done to improve the country. It took a long time to get to the place because there was heavy traffic. I was supposed to meet my mother there, but there were so many people and I thought for sure I could not find her. So I called my mother and told her that we should not meet. It took me three hours to see only one section because I could not walk freely. It was so crowded that people had to flow into the flood of people. The exhibition was nationally broadcast and at 7 p.m. every Thai person all over the country, including me, lit up candles and sang the song composed for the royal family together. I unconsciously cried with joy when I was singing. After the song ended, many fireworks were shot into the sky. They were the most beautiful fireworks I have experienced in my entire life. When I went back home, I saw my father watching the news showing the celebration that I attended in the morning. They showed the pictures from different angles. In one picture from the high angle, I saw the people wearing the yellow T-shirt everywhere. It looked like Chow Praya River, the main river of Thailand. I saw many people, actors, actresses, children, the old and the handicapped. They all cried with joy. I can say that I had the best sleep in my life that night. My heart was filled with joy. I am very proud to be Thailand born in a country that has the great king. “I love my King.