Farhanah's Reflection

Honestly, my initial thoughts of this assignment was that it might not be useful as I have been to Little India since I was a child. I felt that I would not benefit much because I would have been to every part of Little India and experienced the “culture” of Little India.

Before the trail, I viewed Little India as a place for anyone who intends to find anything that has got to do with the Indian tradition. Literally, a little version of India.  This is because I often go to Little India to buy saris and Punjabis for occasions and also to get the best Thosai in Singapore. Furthermore, when i was in primary school, that was the perspective given to me by my own teacher when I went to Little India as a school trip. I now see that my initial thought of Little India is very superficial and on the surface. I never really took notice of the details within Little India. The different sites my group and I visited were never a topic of discussion when i was studying in school. As an educator, i feel that this trail is beneficial as it got me thinking about how others like me, view Little India. Do students understand the significance of Little India other than the saris, good food and henna? Do students realise the cultural and historical heritage left at Little India? 

The trail opened my eyes to other parts of Little India which I have never been to and never considered as part of Little India. I have always thought of the cultural aspect of Little India but not the historical significance of it.

Let me first reflect on the cultural heritage of Little India. I felt that Little India is dominantly selling “everything Indian” but I was intrigued that many of the shops were also owned by the Chinese or Malays. My group and I stopped by a shop to buy a drink halfway through the trail and to our surprise, it was a Chinese aunty who owns the shop (selling Indian spices)! This adds on to the trail whereby we visited not only the Indian temples but we also visited Chinese temples, a mosque and even a church. The proximity of these religious sites is very close but this did not exacerbate any tension on either of the different religious groups. I am impressed that even though there is a mix of ethnic and religious groups in an area dominant to the Indians, the Indian culture at Little India is not hampered. In general, Little India is still associated with the Indians and the Indian culture. I believe this is because of the numerous shops selling traditional Indian commodities and also the different ethnic groups assimilate well with the Indian culture. As a result, the Indian cultural heritage at Little India is well preserved. 

I have never taken note of the historical heritage of Little India. Only after after my group and I have done our background research on the places to visit, did I realise that some buildings in Little India has withstood through the times of the war and that even the names given to the streets at Little India holds historical meaning. I felt that the historical heritage of Little India is not known and not given enough recognition. In my opinion, this may be because the historical monuments are hidden within the depths of the shop houses. As a result, Singaporeans and foreigners alike may not truly appreciate the historical significance of the area. For example, the Shree Lakshmi Narayan Temple is hidden behind rows of shophouses and only a narrow lane leads to the temple. Furthermore, the building showed no bearings of historical significance other than the small information board provided by the National Heritage Centre. Also, the street names were very interesting but it never occurred to me why the streets were named in that manner. My grandfather stays at Race Course Road for the longest of time but it never occurred to me why the street is named in such a manner. I did not consider the historical significance of the name up till the trail. To add on, it is very difficult to picture how the street used to be like with horse races and the Europeans cheering for their favourite jockeys. It is not a common sight in present times and i feel that this is also the reason why the historical significance of Little India is not well known. 

This tells me that the historical heritage of Little India is left to the details. It may not be as publicised as other historical sites like the Singapore river where there are large monuments signifying historical achievements and commemorations of the war. However, if we look into the details of the area, there are many places that carry the historical heritage of the area. One just has to look behind the shops and take note of the information boards and street names around. Overall, I agree that the historical heritage of the area is well kept but in an undertone. I am glad that there are still signs and legacies left for the future generations to be able to picture how far Singapore has developed over the years. For example how Chinese temples, Leong San See temple, in the past were where the Chinese would go to for medical treatment and it was the temples that helped raised funds to start schools for the children of Singapore. Such significant history should be told to students so that they can visualise the progress of Singapore. I feel this is what i should do as an educator as i feel somewhat cheated for not being exposed to such information when I was younger and curious to find out more about Singapore's past. 

The trail was beneficial after all(;