Lure of the ‘Little India’ in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Everyday I get down at this Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange station on the Blue Line to switch trains to my office at Clarke Quay.

The station that I’m referring to is the Little India Station that derives its name from the vibrant ethnic district with the same name located at the boundary of the planning areas of Kallang and Rochor.

While I switching to the Purple Line, I will observe the signage at the six exits of the station directing me to - to name a few - Tekka Market, Kandang Kerbau Hospital, Foochow Methodist Church and Shree Lakshminarayan Temple.

This district is obviously different from the other parts of this highly developed city state. The colourful buildings, the myriad of traditional items on sale, the scent of flowers from the roadside Indian florists, the aesthetic temples, eateries serving a myriad of Indian cuisine and its people offer a unique psyche for the district.

Singapore’s founder Sir Stamford Raffles never intended to designate the area for Singapore’s Indian community unlike Little India’s sister precincts of Chinatown and Kampong Gelam that represents the Malays.

Instead, Little India developed its identity organically over the years, establishing itself as a melting pot of diverse communities and cultures all of which have co-existed since the precinct’s early beginnings.

The influences of the other communities too could be felt. As for example the Tekka Market is synonymous with Little India though the name has Chinese origins.

According to the National Heritage Board (NHB) “Tekka”, or “Zhujiao” in Mandarin when translated means “bamboo clumps”, alluding to the bamboo that once grew along Rochor Canal. Then there is the Abdul Gaffor Mosque that was initially built to serve the Indian Muslim merchants in 1859.

The lesser known facts of Little India are available to all visitors through the Little India Heritage Trail, the newest and the 16th heritage trail launched on Tuesday by NHB.

The trail features over 40 heritage sites with 18 heritage markers across four kilometres, detailing the history of the over 200-yearold precinct. It is interesting to note that one of the 18 heritage markers is the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial, built following a visit by the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru in 1950.

Nehru himself laid the foundation stone on June 18, 1950 with the full cost of the memorial borne by the Indian community in Singapore.

For Indians all over the world, Gandhi was a powerful symbol of peace as well as national-cultural pride for his efforts during India’s struggle for independence.

The heritage trail also tells of the prominent Indians then who pushed for the building of the memorial, a conserved building in Singapore.

Aside from the staple heritage trail offerings of heritage markers, the Little India Heritage Trail goes the extra mile with specially curated thematic routes to cater to time-crunched trail-goers. The three thematic routes are “Serangoon in the 1900s” that takes trail-goers on a historical trail to learn about the early communities that settled in the area in the early 20th century.

“Walk of Faiths” – This route features the many different places of worship on the Little India Heritage Trail and provides insights into the different religions and communities that have coexisted in the precinct since the early days.

“Shop Till You Drop” – This route allows trail-goers to enjoy the myriad of retail offerings in Little India while learning more about the traditional businesses in the district.

To encourage greater interest and involvement by youths in our history and heritage, NHB will be working closely with the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre (UPTLC) to adopt the Little India Heritage Trail for a period of three years.

NHB and the Indian Heritage Centre (IHC) will be offering guided tours for the Little Heritage Trail.