| Suwanni Sukhontha สุวรรณี สุคนธา | |
| Pseudonym: | Suwanni Sukhontha (สุวรรณี สุคนธา) |
| Birth Name: | Suwanni Sukhonthiang (สุวรรณี สุคนธ์เที่ยง) |
| Birth Date: | 1 March 1932 |
| Birth Place: | Phitsanulok, Thailand |
| Death Place: | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Occupation: | Government officer, writer, novelist |
| Language: | Thai |
| Education: | BFA |
| Alma Mater: | Silpakorn University |
| Genre: | Drama, education, historical fiction, humour, political satire, realistic fiction, romance, scientific fiction, tragedy |
| Spouse: | Tawee Nandakwang (ทวี นันทขว้าง) |
| Children: |
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| Awards: | 1971 SEATO Literature Award |
| Portaldisp: | y |
Suwanni Sukhontha (Thai: สุวรรณี สุคนธา) was the pen name of Suwanni Sukhonthiang (Thai: สุวรรณี สุคนธ์เที่ยง; 1 March 1932 – 3 February 1984), a Thai writer and novelist. In 1971, she won the SEATO Literature Award,[1] the award which has been succeeded by the S.E.A. Write Award after the dissolution of the SEATO.
Suwanni was born in Phitsanulok Province, Thailand. Her father, Yoi Sukhonthiang (ย้อย สุคนธ์เที่ยง), was a medical officer.[1] Her mother was Taeng-on Sukhonthiang (แตงอ่อน สุคนธ์เที่ยง). Suwanni had one elder sister.
Suwanni completed primary education at Phadung Nari–Kawi Phitthaya School (โรงเรียนผดุงนารี–กวีพิทยา) and secondary education at Chaloem Khwan Satri School (โรงเรียนเฉลิมขวัญสตรี) in Phitsanulok Province. She then studied at the Pohchang Academy of Arts (วิทยาลัยเพาะช่าง) in Bangkok for two years. Following that, she studied painting at the Faculty of Painting, Sculpture, and Graphic Arts, Silpakorn University, and completed a bachelor's degree in this field in 1951.
After graduation, she became a government officer, working as a government teacher at Bangkok's School of Arts for three years and as a lecturer at Silpakorn University in the 1950s.[1] [2] She began writing novels in 1965. In that year, her first short story, Chot Mai Thueng Puk, was published in Siam Rath Weekly (SRW) and she started using the pen name "Suwanni". She later changed her pen name to "Suwanni Sukhontha" upon suggestion of Pramun Unhathup (ประมูล อุณหธูป), SRW editor-in-chief.
Her first novel, Sai Bo Yut Sane Hai, was published in the magazine Satri San (สตรีสาร; "Females' Journal") and met with jubilant welcome. She then resigned from the government post at Silpakorn University and became a full-time writer. She also started a female magazine called Lalana (ลลนา; "Girls") in 1972 and later became its editor-in-chief.
Suwanni married Tawee Nandakwang (ทวี นันทขว้าง;), a National Artist who was her fellow lecturer at Silpakorn University. The two had four children. Because of frequent quarrels, they later divorced.[3]
Following the divorce, Suwanni spent her life with her longtime friend, Sirisawat Phanthumasut (ศิริสวัสดิ์ พันธุมสุต). When Suwanni and Tawee divorced, one of their children, Duangta Nandakwang (ดวงตา นันทขว้าง;) or Kop (กบ), had just been born. The children were then sent to Chiang Mai Province to live with their grandparents.[3] The family discord also distanced Suwanni and her only son, Wongmueang Nandakwang (วงศ์เมือง นันทขว้าง;) or Namphu (น้ำพุ), who saw his family as broken and resorted to narcotic drugs. Namphu died of narcotic drug overdose at the age of 18 in 1974.[4]
After the death of Namphu, Suwanni said she had frequently been asked how she could allow her son to become addicted to drugs and such question had always rendered her speechless. Because of her son's death, she also blamed herself for being "incapable of raising a child".[4] Suwanni later adapted his story into a novel called Phra Chan Si Nam Ngoen as a lesson for other parents.[4] In its preface, she wrote:[4]
"When I kissed you for the last time, our tears blended together. I told you to rest in peace, my dear. From that day on, I live my spiritless life like a wind-up toy. Today, I have just learnt the greatness of the suffering of a mother."
The novel has been adapted into films and television dramas for many times. It also made the term "problem child" (เด็กมีปัญหา) popular in the Thai society and called attention to family and drug problems.
Around 16:30 hours of 3 February 1984, Suwanni was stabbed to death by two young men on her way to a market in Bangkok. The two men, Khachin Sombun (คชินทร์ สมบูรณ์) and Phaithun Sawangphrai (ไพฑูรย์ สว่างไพร), were technical school students and were addicted to narcotic drugs. They wanted to steal her BMW car and seek some money to purchase drugs. Suwanni's dead body was found left in dense grasses behind Siam Park City and eight stab wounds were found on the body. The two students were arrested on 4 February 1984.[3] [5]
Because of her death, Suwanni left the novel Wan Wan incomplete. Novelist Kritsana Asoksin (กฤษณา อโศกสิน) later completed it.[6]
Suwanni's works are well known for their realistic structure. She is noted for using a common but sarcastic language in her works, contrary to the style popular at that time. The characters she created are usually ordinary people and reflect the downsides of human beings. Suwanni is also renowned for profound understanding of female psyche and her use of "brush stroke" to create rich imagery.[1]
The following is an incomplete list of her works:
A story about Kan, a newly graduated medical student who decided to serve as a physician in a rural city in Northern Thailand where law existed but could not be enforced because of rampant corruption and discrimination. Kan quickly gained popularity and respect amongst rural people owing to his efforts in enhancing their life qualities, much to the dismay of local officers. Kan's idealistic work caused the womanly desires of his young wife, Haruethai (หฤทัย), to completely be ignored by him. Haruethai was later injured in a car accident in Bangkok and Kan went to look after her. When Kan returned to the city, he was shot dead by two minions of the district chief officer who believed that his immediate dismissal came because Kan went to Bangkok to reveal his misconduct. The novel won the SEATO Literature Award in 1971.[1] The novel has been translated into Japanese by Yūjirō Iwaki (岩城雄次郎) under the title Sononaha Kān (その名はカーン).[7]
With the political conditions of Thailand during the 1930s to 1970s as subtext, especially the overthrow of absolute monarchy, the nationalist reform by Plaek Phibunsongkram, and the rise of military dictatorship; the novel tells the story of Phring (พริ้ง), a girl who had badly been raised by her elder sister. Phring grew up to be a selfish woman who only lived for money and her own happiness, without considering the right or wrong.
A romantic comedy and scientific fiction satirising Bangkok. The main character, Saosi (สาวศรี), was an attractive girl and was in romantic relationships with two men at the same time. Both men had just earned doctoral degrees in medicine. Saosi was later brought to "another planet" by an extraterrestrial being, named Thawichat (ทวิชาติ), and she married him. When she returned to Bangkok, she found that fifty years had passed since her departure and all of her relatives and friends had died. She later discovered that she had been given immortality by Thawichat. Although a great deal of time had passed and the advanced technology was everywhere, Saosi found that Bangkok was still full of sins, selfishness, and discrimination. Because of immortality, she became bored of her life. She then threw herself out of a window in order to commit suicide, but she could not die. The novel ends with Saosi sitting on the floor where she fell onto and crying, as she missed the aging and death.
The story about the conflicts in Suwanni's family which led to the death of her son, Namphu. The novel won the National Book Weeks Award in 1976.
The conflicts within a family told through the eyes of a chicken raised by the family, Chiap (เจี๊ยบ, meaning "chirp"). Chiap has beautiful feathers around its neck, looking like the Vermilion Bracelet, a chicken in the ancient tragic poem, Lilit Phra Lo (ลิลิตพระลอ); hence came the name of the novel. The novel won the National Book Weeks Award in 1973.
A collection of short stories published in Lalana magazine, based upon the animals raised by Suwanni who said that these animals were a recollection of warm happiness in olden days. The book is now used for education in Thai secondary and tertiary education institutions. It has also been translated into Japanese by Mineko Yoshioka (吉岡峯子) under the title Sārapī no Saku Kisetsu (サーラピーの咲く季節). The short stories are:[8]
Many of her novels have been adapted into films and television dramas. These include:
In several television dramas, Suwanni was notably portrayed by actress Sinjai Plengpanich. Suwanni was also portrayed by Patravadi Mejudhon in the 1984 film adaption of Phra Chan Si Nam Ngoen.[9]