Reflections

Hui:

I think it was my first time visiting Little India. Or probably my last visit was so long ago that I do not remember. All of us hated the sun. It nearly fried our brains. The trip to Little India was a fruitful one. There were many things that I would have missed if not for this heritage trail. Little India contains traces of how the Indians lived. I feel the Indian culture is strongly reflected in Little India. The agricultures and the things sold are reflective of the Indian culture and they made me realized how unobservant I am. The temples were built by people who had contributed to the society back then and it is comforting to know that they are not demolished! With the aid of the information board, there are indeed many things that we can learn. In my opinion, Little India makes Singapore a place with more "history".

Hana:

I was excited about the heritage trail to Little India even before the actual trip because of the great food that awaits us and we were planning to shop around the area once we are done. After we have met at Little India MRT station, we agreed that we have to settle something first – to fill our tummy. Feeling energized after breakfast, I was all set to explore Little India. The weather was intolerably hot and I took every opportunity to walk in the shade and to enter air-conditioned buildings. The buildings such as places of worship that we have to visit are magnificent with a wonderful history. I was not aware that there are places of worship of numerous religions including Buddhist temples and Muslim mosques could be found within walking distance of each other or that there are numerous European influences in the area as evidence by the roads named after these prominent Europeans such as Dunlop Street.The trip did not take as long as I had expected because of our efficient tour guide, Reena. We were able to locate the stops rather quickly except for the Chinese Villa because it looked different from what we had imagined. I expected the Chinese Villa to stand out from the buildings around it and to have a distinctively Chinese architectural style.
Shortly after we finished our trail, I had to rush back to school for my lessons. I did not have the opportunity to shop around and to try the Henna. I would definitely return to Little India to for the food, to shop and to try the Henna. But when I return, I will try to remember to bring an umbrella – just in case it is scorching hot again.

Reena:

Little India is not a new place to me as occasionally I go there with my family. However, the heritage trail made me view Little India very differently. Initially, I considered the food and the places to shop the major attractions there. However, after going on the trail, I discovered many historical sites with huge information boards beside them. It was so amazing that I never noticed the boards whenever, I passed by the areas. Also, I never noticed that Little India has so many places of worships. Moreover, there are not only Hindu temples but also other faiths and religious places, like Buddhists temples, mosques and churches. This is rather interesting because most people and even I associate Little India with the Indian community that is largely Hindu. Therefore, it shows that having a plural society is not a new concept in Singapore as it existed previously shown by the evidence of different religious place in Little India. Also, I was astonished to find out how the road names in Little India were derived. While on our trial, the weather was really scorching hot, despite me carrying my umbrella. The heat was so unbearable that we all began to conclude that maybe it never rained here before. Towards, the end, we all applied Henna on our hands. It looked beautiful initially but it came off really fast.
Overall, it was a very fruitful experience as I learnt a lot about my own heritage. I always used to wonder what interesting attractions, other than Sentosa and the zoo, tourists can actually see in Singapore. However, I have realised that Singapore is actually very rich in history. Thus, whenever I go out nowadays I will be more vigilant to any information about historical sites, instead of just walking past all these historical monuments.

Aini:
I was really looking forward to the Little India trip. I’ve been there once, back in primary school. Since that was ages ago, I can’t really remember much about Little India, except that I could find interesting things there. The very mention of Little India would remind me of FOOD. Tekka Market has great food. There is this particular stall that sells a mean mee kuah. Very delicious. Also the chendol there is simply irresistible. Before we started the trail, it was essential for us to fill our tummies. The weather was very hot that day. I made a mistake of wearing a black tudung and slippers. I felt a little hot and uncomfortable throughout the journey. Nevertheless it was fun trying to locate the different places we were needed to visit. It was interesting to see the diversity in Little India. Despite being called Little India, you could see all the different communities there, like the Chinese and Malay community. We would have a difficult time to locate the places if not for Reena. Personally, I’m hopeless in locating things. Reena’s truly our savior. I was in awe of all the places of worships that we went to. The buildings had amazing designs and looked truly majestic. Going to the Little India Arcade was a pleasant change. The goods available at the Little India Arcade truly shows the beautiful and colourful Indian culture. There I was able to find my favourite sweet, the laddu. It was really an enjoyable experience. It was interesting learning about the history of the different places we went to. Through the trail, I learnt a lot more about Little India and what lies within it. The trip was a starting point for me in terms of exploring Little India. I would really love to go back to Little India and explore the other interesting places in it. I’m sure there would be lots of wonderful places in store for me there.

Dunlop Street

Originally known as Rangasamy Road, Dunlop Street was named after the secretary of the Race Course Committee, Mr. A. E. Dunlop.

Race Course Road

As its name suggests, Race Course Road is known for its biannual horse-racing event in the past.Its first race was held in 1843.

Campbell Lane

Campbell Lane is the centre of activity during Hindu religious festivals. Three weeks before Deepavali( Festival of Light), the street will be turned into a festival village. Traditional Indian garments , jewellery, food, art, handicrafts, spices and carpets are available for sale. The origin of the street has little to do with its main activities Campbell Lane is named after Sir Colin Campbell, a Scottish field marshal (1792-1883). He is involved in successful military campaigns in the Far East, including the Indian mutiny and the Crimean War. However, there exists a varying account that suggests that Campbell Lane was named after Robert Campbell, a member of the managing committee of the Public Library and Museum in Singapore in 1874.

Colourful garlands are hung on the shop. Flower garland is one of the oldest surviving trade on Campbell lane. Threading together jasmine, marigolds and roses to represent purity, peace and love respectively. Given to the chief guest or guests during functions as a symbol of respect.

While we were looking for P. Govindasamy Pillai's shop, something caught our attention! Cows brought in for harvest festival, Pongal.

Back to the topic, yes, we've found the shop of “The Shop of P. Govindasamy Pillai". He is affectionately known as PGP P. Govindasamy Pillai and he came to Singapore being a “lowly immigrant” but with a bank loan, he managed to embark on a new retail career. Eventually he went on to become the “king of the textile industry, a social reformer and philanthropist”. He helped in many worthy causes, such as the establishment of the University of Malaya, the Ghandi Memorial Fund, the Ramakrishna Mission, Mount Alvernia Hospital and Sri Perumal temple.

Little India Arcade

The Little India Arcade is situated at 48 Serangoon Road (S) 217959. The site was once a Hindu burial and cremation ground. This cluster of shophouses, dated back to 1920’s, was conserved in 1982 and later turned into this bustling shopping haven.

There were rows and rows of shops full of touristy stuff . That was where we did our henna. Yes, we know. Beautiful! But sadly it was over-priced and the henna did not last long.

Hastings Road

Hastings Road was named after Warren Hastings.His lasting contributions included his admiration of Hindu sacred literature and its legal codes. He advocated that Britain govern India in accordance to Indian traditions and customs to win the support of the Indians. He had thus laid the administrative foundation for a new traditional order in Bengal.We shall not lament about the torturous weather again. We started wondering if it ever rained in Little India.

Abdul Gafoor Mosque

We did not enter because they were having their Friday prayers so kind Aini went in to take a photo for us.

The mosque is located at 41 Dunlop Street (s) 209369. It was built in 1859 by Abdul Gafoor.
It is of brick with beautiful coloured glass cupola which are supported by pillars of the Roman/Saracenstyle. Its elaborate ornamental touches are not found in modern Mosques of Singapore which lack the old world charm of Abdul Gafoor Mosque. The Indian community usually goes to the mosque for worship.

Church of the True Light

The church was built in 1951/52 by Ms. Apple, who came to Singapore to set up a mission for the Heng Hua and Hock Chew Chinese clans. Currently, the Indian and Chinese communities come to the church for worship.

Chinese Villa

Yes, as seen above, 37, Kerbau Road is the ChineseVilla. The one which we spent hours looking for.

The Chinese Villa At No. 37 on Kerbau Road sits the House of Tan Teng Niah, one of Little India’s last surviving Chinese villas. Mr Tan was one of the Chinese businessmen who have made a fortune in Little India. He was the owner of a confectionary business and other few businesses like sweet-making factories along Serangoon Road and a rubber smokehouse on Kerbau Road. Built in 1900, this restored eight-room villa was built for Tan Teng Niah’s wife. Initially , we thought it would be a magnificient architecture.We wonder why the Chinese Villa do not sell Chinese goods but only cloth.

Shree Lakshimi Narayan Temple

The temple, established in 1969 reflects the Sanatan Dharm and Vedic Hindu tradition and the values and culture of Sanatan Dharm. It was built by Indian pioneers who came to work and live here. The temple was declared open on Thursday 24th April 1969. It is a place of faith, devotion, worship, love, peace and harmony.

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple

The temple is dedicated to the Goddess Kali, the ferocious incarnation of Lord Siva’s wife, Meenachi, Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple is thought to be the first temple in Singapore to venerate her. It was believed that the temple was built as early as 1855 by Tamil labourers who worked at the lime kilns that lined Kampong Kapor in the mid-to late 19th century.When war broke out in Singapore in 1942,the temple served as a refuge as well as a place for worship. Miraculously, the temple and all its statues emerged from the war unscathed.

We saw some women lay their mats and were peddling their goods outside the temple. The gates were closed so we did not enter the temple.

Bought some snacks along the way .. Dragged our heavy feets back to Little India.

Pit-stop

We could not take the heat any longer and somewhere along the way, 7-eleven came to the rescue. We sprinted in, enjoyed the air con and bought cool drinks to quench our thirst!

After the cooling drinks,we walked back from Farrer Park Mrt station towards Little India station to discover the other astonishing architectures.

Leong San See Temple

Leong San See Temple means the Dragon Mountain Temple in Cantonese. The Taoist temple was established by Chuan Wu, an abbot from Anping District in Fujian. He came to Singapore with a mission. Bearing only a statue of Kwan Yin, the Goddess of mercy, and an urn, he set about establishing a lodge for treating the sick. By 1926, the humble lodge that consisted of only a few huts had grown into an elaborate temple, known to the locals as Leong San See. The temple was built on funds donated mostly by Tan Boon Liat, a prominent local merchant and philanthropist. The new temple housed a statue of Confucius that soon attracted a large local Chinese following. Many parents bring their children to pray for intelligence and filial piety.

Sakya Muni Buddha Gaya Temple

The temple was founded by Vutthisara, a Thai monk, in 1927 and is also known as the "Temple of 1000 Lights". The statue of a seated Buddha measuring 15m high could be found in the temple.

Reena and Ong Hui showing their prowess.

Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple

History of Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple

The temple was built in 1885 for Vaishnavite by Mr. Arynachala Pillay, Mr. Cootaperumal Pillay, Mr. Ramasamy Pillay, Mr. Appasamy Pillay, Mr. Chockalingam Pillay and Mr. Ramasamy Jamidar. The temple which underwent a facelift in the early 1950s, was originally known as the Narasinga Perumal Kovil. The temple was renamed Srinivasa Perumal Temple when its main deity was changed from the Sri Narasimha to the Sri Srinivasa Perumal.

Here's a peacock butt for you, specially from Hana.

Kerbau Road

We were at Kerbau Road then. There was nothing much interesting there though.

We were looking for the Chinese Villa but failed so we decided to carry on and went on to search for Abdul Gafoor mosque but we ended up at another mosque. We could not believe it took so little time for us to reach Farrer Park station.The weather was so terrible that we decided that we should be more efficient. Miss Reena, whipped out her pink umbrellation and surveyed the map. She planned our route and so swiftly we were on our way to the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple.

Buffalo Road

A bit of history...

In the past, buffalo rearing was a common activity in the area. Along with cows, buffaloes were reared for the dairy trade as well as for pulling bullock-carts.We didn’t see any buffalos there but the weather was really really hot.

Tekka Mall

Tekka Mall = Food. For us.

The nice aroma of food made our stomachs grumble and we had a hard time deciding what we wanted to eat. The most famous Nasi Bryani is there! The hawkers and drink stall sellers were very enthusiastic to serve us. But we don’t blame them because it is a competitive business after all. The array of food that was displayed in the stall and the aroma tempted us and so we decided to eat the Indian Rojak!

Tekka Market

We walked by the Tekka Market and colourful and bright fruits attracted our attention.

Information on the Tekka Market

The Tekka market was first built in 1915. In Hokkien, Tekka means bamboo clumps which once grew abundantly on the banks of Rochor Canal. Then, the market was also known as the Kandang Kerbau market especially among the Malays. The Kandang Kerbau Woman’s and Children’s hospital now known as KK, started in 1850’s. The term Kandang Kerbau, which means buffalo pens was given to the hospital when it was built in 1860 on land which was occupied by buffalos.

The Beginning

Start of mission: 11.30am.

Weather: Intolerably hot.

Investigators: Ong Hui, Rina, Hana, Aini


Miss Reena was our tour guide for the day. The rest of us were looking forward to the trip because the first stop Tekka Mall means food, food, food for us! Here's us, minus aini!