Career
His fame spread to Thailand, and he was invited to sing for the then Thai King. He was well liked by the king and officials and was entitled “Phai-ros Loe Koern” in Thai or “Phee-rom Pheasa Ou” in Khmer which would means one who is excellent in the use of language. He generally included issues relevant to ways of life of the people then in his songs or poetic teachings.
They include: working in the farm to earn a living, choosing a spouse, poverty and its causes, ignorance of the people, consequences of laziness and inactiveness, dominance of foreigners on Khmer people, the loss of sovereignty, and the decline of the Khmer culture and literature.
He was called for an audience with and sing for the King Sisowath of Cambodia and was given a title as “Neak Preah Phee-rom Pheasa Ou” unofficially translated as the elevated one who is excellent or perfect in the use of language. Ou was his name, but later on was given another name by the King to Ngoy in order not to duplicate with another royal official whose name was also Ou.
His educational poems were delivered in voice form and not recorded. His wife’s name was In and he had got six sons namely Doung, Cheng, Cha, Chen, Chong, and Chevalier
Aja refers to a teacher, a wise elder, the one who is knowledgeable in his subject, particularly literature or religion.