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IN PICS: Behind the bamboo curtain called Myanmar
Myanmar, a largely-forgotten country, but with great potential in the world's eye, mostly made headlines in the past because of its sufferings under its military junta, since early 1960s.
But now, the country appears to be undergoing a facelift, with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi making her debut on Wednesday to join a system created by the military which had locked her away for much of her struggle against the dictatorship, ushering in a new political era.
Rediff.com brings you unseen pictures from the country formerly known as the Golden Land.
Young men attend a punk show during the water festival at a music bar in Yangon. Myanmar celebrates the New Year Water Festival of Thingyan during the month of Tagu, which usually falls around mid-April.
Picture: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters
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IN PICS: Behind the bamboo curtain called Myanmar
A devotee poses for a picture with a snake during a Hindu festival in Yangon.
Picture: Reuters
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IN PICS: Behind the bamboo curtain called Myanmar
A cat rests in hallway of a deteriorating colonial era building in central Yangon. Myanmar, also known as Burma, was a British colony until winning its independence in 1948 thanks to the late national hero General Aung San, the father of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. Yangon, also known as Rangoon, was the capital of British Burma and a major port between Calcutta and Singapore.
It owes its current appearance to British planners, with streets laid out in a grid, interspersed with churches, temples and grand but neglected municipal buildings. British Prime Minister David Cameron will push for more reforms during a landmark visit to Myanmar on Friday, the first by a major Western leader in 50 years as countries jockey for business and influence in the long isolated state.
Picture: Damir Sagolj/Reuters
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IN PICS: Behind the bamboo curtain called Myanmar
Chicken meat is displayed as a street vendor waits for customers at her food stall in Yangon
Picture: Reuters
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IN PICS: Behind the bamboo curtain called Myanmar
A street vendor selling weekly journals displays some journals towards a vehicle stopping at a red light in Yangon.
Picture: Reuters
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IN PICS: Behind the bamboo curtain called Myanmar
People walk and exercise by a lake a day before the by-elections during early morning in Yangon
Picture: Reuters
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IN PICS: Behind the bamboo curtain called Myanmar
A monk walks past eagles at the Yangon Zoo.
Picture: Reuters
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IN PICS: Behind the bamboo curtain called Myanmar
A boy plays in the mud on the bank of the Bago River in Bago.
Picture: Reuters
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IN PICS: Behind the bamboo curtain called Myanmar
People rollerskate at a park in the city of Myitkyina in northern Myanmar.
Picture: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters
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IN PICS: Behind the bamboo curtain called Myanmar
An elephant is transported in a truck from Taungoo towards Bago
Picture: Reuters
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IN PICS: Behind the bamboo curtain called Myanmar
A novice Buddhist monk gets his head shaved by a Buddhist monk at a monastery in Yangon
Picture: Reuters
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IN PICS: Behind the bamboo curtain called Myanmar
A novice monk rings the Mingun Bell, which is the world's third largest bell, in Mingun village, in Sagaing, proximately 21 km southwest of Myanmar's second capital city of Mandalay.
The Bell was cast on orders of King Bodawpaya in 1808, and measures 12 feet in height with a diameter of 16 feet 3 inches, and weighs approximately 55,555 viss (199,998 pounds) according to historians.
Picture: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters
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IN PICS: Behind the bamboo curtain called Myanmar
Children hold onto a mooring line as they swim at the Yangon River
Picture: Reuters
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IN PICS: Behind the bamboo curtain called Myanmar
A bear and his caretaker rest on a bench at Yangon Zoo.
Picture: Reuters
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IN PICS: Behind the bamboo curtain called Myanmar
People travelling towards Yangon look through windows as the train stops at Danyingone Station
Picture: Damir Sagolj/Reuters
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