Aida's Reflection

What was your impression of Singapore history and cultural heritage before going on the trail?

I did Social Studies during my two years in Diploma in Education as such I did have some content knowledge pertaining to Singapore’s history. Basic information such as who founded Singapore, what was life like during the Japanese Occupation, what caused the merger and separation and the factors that made Singapore what it is today (Independence Singapore).

Before embarking on the trail, I knew that Indian migrants settled in Little India as indicated in the Raffles town plan. Other than that it was also a place to get Indian food, clothing, jewelleries and prayers items. I had no clue what the names of the roads meant or what kind of history the place holds.  Furthermore, when my teachers took me to Little India when I was in primary school, the objective of going there was to expose us to the Indian culture. Since I am older, I could interpret the facts better and understand why certain things are built or happen in the past.

How has your experience of the trail changed your perception of Singapore history and her cultural heritage?

It was really an eye opener going to Little India and finding out the history and cultural heritage the place holds. This trail provided me with a lot of information regarding how life was in the past in Little India and also corrected some of my mistaken believes of the area. I have been to Tekka countless of time but never have I taken the time to look at much less notice the information board around the historical buildings. I have always thought that the word ‘Tekka’ originated from the Tamil language but to my surprise the word has its origins from the Hokkien language which means bamboo clumps.

I also found the names of the streets along Little India to be interesting. One example would be Buffaloes Road. From the name we could have interpreted that it was a place where buffaloes were kept. I tend to forget that Buffaloes were used as a mean of transportation in the past. I really wondered what it would be like for people in the past who use animals as a form of transportation. Would they ever have experienced traffic jams like us? Streets names such as Hastings Road and Campbell Lane were names originated during the British colonial era. Hasting Road was named after Lord Hastings and Campbell Lane was named after Sir Coin Campbell, a Scottish field marshall.

Furthermore, I was not aware that Little India was housing a myriad of places of worship to cater to the different religious communities. Usually teachers would emphasis this point during the China Town learning journey as it shows that different communities could live together. I was amazed to see a church (Church of True Light), a mosque (Abdul Gafoor Mosque) and a Chinese temple (Leong San San See Temple) in Little India. It shows that Singapore was a multicultural society even in her early days, where people from different communities could live together in peace and practice cultural tolerance.

Share some insight about Singapore’s past and the way it is represented (symbolically and physically) that you have gained from the trail. Think of the names of the roads, the building in the area you are at. What significant do you think they hold?

The story of Little India revolved around a four-legged animal that the Hindus revered as sacred. Others, who conducted business, found the animal fundamentally essential as a mode of transport or even as a source of their income. But these animals would not have been there if the geographical landscape did not support their needs. Since the area was known as a cattle rearing area, the roads were named as Buffaloes road and Kerbau Road. Most of the roads had their names based on the activities that occurred there.

In addition, in the early 1840s, Little India became a residential area for the Europeans.  Due to the Europeans, Race Course was built as it became a focal point for their community. They would be dressed in their finest clothing and watch their countrymen compete on horses they had trained themselves. As such several roads named in the district today are an insight to this period.

One building that caught my attention was the Little India Arcade. It is located on 48 Serangoon Road where a cluster of neoclassical shop houses were built in 1913. It is now owned by the Hindu Endowment Boards. The conserved building pays tribute in its design to the different geographical origins of Indians who make up the community in Singapore. What got me intrigued was the plaque found at the corner of Hastings Road which refers to the immigrants from Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It was dated 1826-1827. The plaque has an animal head which is believed to represent a buffalo as a reminder of the cattle-related trade activities in the area. The second plaque was located at the junction of Campbell Lane and Serangoon Road dated 1828 which probably refers to the cremation ground belonging to the Hindus people of Madras and Singapore.

What does the presence of religious places of worship for different communities in an area usually associated with one ethnic community in Singapore suggest about life in the past and present?

Just like the present, Singapore have been a multilingual and religious community since the past. Using the example of Little India, not all Indians are Hindus or Tamil speaking.  The Indian community that initially found their roots comprised of a diverse group that spoke different tongues and attended different places of worship. Places of worship such as Abdul Gafoor Mosque, Church of the True Light, Sri Veeramakaliamman and Leong San See Temple were built to cater to the different communities. The presence of religious places of worship for the different communities shows that it was possible for the different communities in the past to live together in peace. Moreover it enabled the different racial groups to share a common space in all aspect of Singapore life and has enabled the different communities to understand and accept one another’s culture.

This has helped Singapore shaped its future as we continued this practice in the present. Just look at the neighbourhood we are living in, the presence of different religious places of worship can be found in most neighbourhoods. This clearly show that Singaporeans can coexist in one place regardless of race, language or religion. I truly hope Singaporeans do not take this for granted and continue to ensure that we are living in a multicultural society where we can practice racial and religious tolerance.

Along the trail, consider how significant, historically, are the sites that have been chosen for conservation.

In the 1970s, slum clearance of the area began. On 7 July 1989, Little India was gazetted a conservation area.  The transitional phase of the district did not bring the once vibrant Indian enclave to an end. Instead, it paved the way for other developments that maintained the place identity. The sites that have been chosen for conservation are mostly the places of worships and shop houses. I agree that these sites are important as it shows how life was in the past. However, I felt that places such as Residence of Tan Teng Niang could have been conserved better. The many shops and areas littered with construction bags did not do the villa justice as it took the focus away from it. As we were walking, my group actually passed the villa as we thought that it was just an ordinary building. I had to tell them to stop and pointed out that it is actually one of the historical site that we had to visit. I was able to point it out as I had research on that particular building the night before. If not for my due diligence I would have passed the building too. The building had so much history and as such I thought it could have been used as a location for a museum to show the interior design of the residence and it could also include Little India’s rich history.

Furthermore, the information board could have displayed some pictures to depict the past. This would be a great help for the younger generation and tourist to imagine how life in the past was. Nevertheless, although the migrant municipal labourers may be gone, and their past dwellings left dilapidated, occupied by non-Indians or converted into shop houses, the concentration of cultural activities can still be found there.

Do you think the sites serve their purpose of educating the general public about the history of Singapore?

To be honest, most of the sites serve their purpose of educating the general public about the history of Singapore with the aid of the information board as well as the museum. However, the information on the boards were very general and there were no pictures. Furthermore, there were no information found on the sites regarding how the roads got its names. Most of the time, we had to search online to figure out the meaning. If you are just looking for general information, then yes it has served its purpose. I personally feel that more can be done to educate the general public about the history of Singapore as many people have misconceptions and stereotypes regarding certain place.

 

At the end of the trail, did you come away with the feeling that you have learnt something or you just carried out a tourist jaunt around an area of no historical significance whatsoever?

At the end of the trail, I really did learn a lot. I did not know that Little India had many heritage sites. It was really amazing learning the histories of the road and buildings. It has taught me to be aware of my surrounding and to question why certain places are built and how it got its name. It allowed me to learn and understand Singapore’s past better with the use of the information boards and artefacts. I was able to learn about how Little India came about, the communities that lived there, the common activities that happened there and the types of shops and places of worship that were there and are still there. 

I have also realised that Singapore’s history is mainly based on dominant narrative and that the ‘selection’ of information of the boards and artefacts were all placed by the government to depict the comfortable narrative that they would want to show the world. It would be nice to have a bottom up approach to include the hidden voices. I guess when it comes to history it is all about selection and how we interpret information.

How could I applied what I had just learnt in future classroom?

I would strongly recommend Little India as a site for Learning Journey. Most of the information that are found in that area are not taught in schools. The area holds rich history that explains Singapore’s past. To get pupils to learn these information I would adopt an inquiry-based fieldwork as they would learn better. Instead of providing the information to the pupils, I would get them to research and apply skills that are taught in class. Pupils learn better when they participate and as such I would narrow down the areas to visit and come up with a particular question for the group to work on. They would have to interpret the facts and imagine what life was like in the past. This will provides pupils with a platform to integrate theory with practice and get pupils the opportunity to display geographical, process and communication skills during the hand-on activities as a group. 

Furthermore, it helps to develops pupils into caring and thinking individuals who are aware of issues and are willing to make responsible decision about them. The humanistic approach strives to develop in pupils a sensitivity to people and their environment and an empathy with people who are in a certain environment. It also encourages pupils to pursue active participation to address issues of social concerns. One example could be asking pupils to interpret what life was like in the past with the presence of different places of worship in one area. This activity actually helps pupils to see the relevance of understanding different racial and religious practices and that there was religious tolerance in the past and it should be preserved in the future and that we should not take it for granted.

One of the challenges that teachers would face when conducting a fieldwork would be having to deal with a lack of time for planning and the conducting of the fieldwork. Since Social Studies takes a lower precedence compared to the other core subjects, the amount of time allocated for it is much less. Furthermore, there is a shortage in the number of teachers who are specifically trained to teach Social Studies in primary school. Most teachers are not sufficiently skilled or experienced at designing fieldwork as such it would be difficult for teachers to apply an inquiry-based fieldwork as formulating key questions would not be easy. The overall effectiveness of the fieldwork is also dependent on the key questions as it frames the fieldwork and gives a focus to the whole project. If the questions formulated by teachers are ambiguous, the activities at each station will appear to be disparate and unrelated.

Another challenge is that it not easy for a teacher to bring a standard class size of 40 pupils out for fieldwork. Even the use of parent volunteer does not reduce the teacher student ratio sufficiently to make the conducting of the fieldwork feasible especially at the primary school level. Also certain sites and activities have a limit to the number of participants that is allowed to be involved at any one time which makes conducting a fieldwork that much tougher task than it needs to be. Take for examples, bringing 40 pupils to view the Hasting roads sign could be dangerous as it would be cramp for 40 pupils to explore the area and there could be incoming vehicles. There will also not be enough manpower to ensure that all the pupils are safe. Teacher has to ensure that the site can accommodate a class size of 40 and also ensure that every pupil is actively involved which is not an easy task.