Buffalo Road

                                  Buffalo Road Sign

The area had mostly developed in the late 1800s, when the cattle rearing trade that thrived from the watering holes that the swamps in the area had provided. Buffalo Road was originally one of the oldest arterial roads in Serangoon Road.

This road was also known as Kampong Kerbau Race Course in Hokkien. The name originated from a village, called Kampong Kerbau, which once stood there. A Chinese transliteration of the Malay name “Kampong Kerbau” means “where buffaloes are kept”. As such the road was named Buffalo Road as it was retiary a place where buffaloes were kept.

In early Little India, cattle trade played a significant role. Cattle produce was not the only commercial value these animals had. They occupy a vital place in the history of transportation in pre-war Singapore. Horses were not widely used to transport goods, nor had motor-driven trucks made any impact till the late 1920s. Hence, the bullock cart was the main transportation vehicle for commerce till the inter-war years.

                                           Milk Man 

Buffalo Road was specifically where both Bengali and Tamil Hindu milkmen brought their cows and goats from door to door to provide milk for the residents. From this milk, the Indians made an ethnic delicacy, “thairu”. It was a common sight to see Indian women along Serangoon Road traveling from house to house to sell their fresh ‘thairu’.

There were also many fortune-tellers found along Buffalo Road. In parrot-astrology, a parakeet picks a card from a stack of 27 lucky fortune cards (an Indian astrological system). Each try used to cost a dollar. These parrots were trained to select fortune cards with pictures of deities and lucky messages, and entertain customers by dancing and being friendly with them. In return, they were fed with fruits, nuts, and chilies to develop their intelligence. Customers consult on a variety of matters such as marriage, money, business and work, as well as visit on special occasions like festivals and birthdays. In the early days, parrot astrologers were also commonly seen making house calls, besides being along the corridors of shophouses, temple grounds and streets, particularly during the festive seasons. Today, although there a few of them left, everyone can still find one standing along Serangoon Road with only a small table, parrots, some charts and a notebook.

                              Snake Charmer from Poona

Snake Charmers were also once part of the street scene of pre-war Little India. These brave men would spread a canvas where there were open grounds and entice the snakes to emerge from their baskets with their musical flutes. Usually, a larger crowd would gather to watch these performing serpents. Most of them would come from a village called Poona in Bombay. There were many other colours, fragrances and sounds of Serangoon Road that made it “Little India”. From the flower and garland stalls to the spice and textile shops of the famous philanthropist, P Govindasamy Pillai, Serangoon Road was, has been and still is, the place Indians from all over Singapore come to meet their “Indian needs”. Especially during Thaipusam, Deepavali and other prayer and festival days, Serangoon Road comes alive.

References

 http://heritagetrails.sg/content/976/Buffalo_Road.html