The Past
Serangoon Road in the 1890s
Article from NLB Infopedia
(http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_24_2005-01-10.html)
Little India was not planned as a designated area for Indian community unlike
Chinatown and Kampong Glam that had been set aside for the Chinese and Malay community respectively.
However, it was the life around Serangoon Road that had led to the Indian community growing around it.
Serangoon Road was described in an 1828 map of Singapore as "The Road Leading across the Island".
It was built to serve as a link between the settlements in town and the Serangoon harbour, an important northeast
harbour on the Johor Straits. The harbour provided access to the once lucrative lumbering and quarrying business in
Pulau Ubin and Johor.
During the 1820s, the area became an industrial area for brick kiln business and cattle farming which were run by
mostly Indians. By 1826, thousands of Indians had come to Serangoon Road to work as construction workers and farmers.
The majority of the Indians who came were either South Indian Muslims or middle caste Hindus. The first recorded brick
kiln business in Singapore was said to have been established by an Indian, Narayana Pillai, who had come to Singapore in 1819.
Cattle farmers were attracted to the area due to the presence of abundant water and grassland that made it suitable for cattle
farming.
Subsequently, the kiln business and cattle farming was discontinued in the 1860s and in 1936 respectively by the government.
Despite the closure of these industries, most of the Indians who came to work at Serangoon Road continued to reside there.
By 1880, the Indian population had grown to a large number making the area recognisable as an enclave for the Indian community
in Singapore.
Author
Heirwin Mohd Nasir
INSTRUCTIONS
Meeting Point:
1. Travelling from NIE.
Car Park 4 (Behind the Library), departure by chartered bus.
2. Meeting us directly at site
Outside the Food Court at Sheng Shiong.
Meeting time (for those taking the chartered bus from NIE):
2.30pm
Estimated Time of Arrival: 3.30pm
Estimated Time of Dispersal: 5pm from Tekka Mall
DO bring:
1. A water bottle
2. Umbrella/Cap/Shades
3. Writing materials
4. $10 for spending...
And a positive attitude!
DON'T:
1. wear sleeveless tops (NO spags, NO tank tops)
2. wear shorts/ skirts which are way above the knee
And try to avoid wearing heels :p
Expected Behaviour:
1. Please stay with your assigned group and walk in an orderly fashion.
2. Please try to complete your activities in the time allocated.
3. Please be polite to everyone you meet.
4. Try to keep to a reasonable noise level throughout the trip.
5. Try not to disrupt the business activities of the sites visited.
Contact No. (In Case of Emergency):
To be given on day of field trip.
S I T E . T H R E E
Jothi flower shop has been cathering to the cultural, religious and social needs of the Indian community for many years now. It was opened in
1961 as a small shop in Serangoon Road and eventually expanded into a 5 storey multi-faceted enterprise. Set up by Mr Murugala Ramachandra, the
shop has been continuously refurbishing and re-creating to meet the needs of the future Indian community. It offers a wide range of products which
include prayer items such as incense sticks, flowers, God pictures and statues.
However, despite its expansion in the last 50 years, the main function
of the shop has always beento sell flowers which is evident not only from the name of the shop but the garlands that are sold. As one walks down along
Campbell lane, you will be greeted by a huge array of flowers of different sizes , colours and scent that is used for many different and
important purposes amongst the Hindu Indians in Singapore. Its wide variety of flowers sold as well as its traditional items sold makes it a very
popular place to buy the garlands especially among the Indian womens.
Bright fake bouquet of flowers. It is difficult to find this in any other parts of Singapore.
Bundles of jasmine flowers used by Hindu Indians
Indian Gods Statues for worshipping. Many Hindus have idols in their homes for their own worship.It caters to the Hindu Indians shopping.
Traditional garlands
S I T E . T W O
Little India is a place where you can find the most obscure spices, and food products from India that serve to the needs
of the Indian community.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the many provision shops that dot the landscape.
From warm small family-run businesses that run in Little India’s many lanes, to large air-conditioned supermarkets – the provision shop
is where you can find the clearest evidence of accommodation and adaptation to the needs of the Indian community.
Unlike conventional provision shops found along your HDB walkways, or the chain supermarkets that most Singaporeans are used to,
Little India’s provision shops cater to specific needs of the Indian community.
Fresh curry leaves, ground spices and special grains are all part and parcel of the stocks carried by shopkeepers, who may even
share a tip or two on which spice is more suitable for meat-based curries, and which spice is better for vegetarian ones.
Its not surprising to discover that some of the provision shops in Little India, and one of the vegetable wholesalers is
open until late evening; to cater to the working crowd who may drop by after work for a spot of specialized grocery shopping.
S I T E . F O U R
Komala Vilas, a traditional Indian sweets & savouries shop, has been established since 1947.
Entering the shop, you'll see a colourful array of traditional Indian sweets displayed on the metal racks.
The traditional Indian sweets are usually used for festivals and home festivities such as weddings or birthdays.
However, it is not necessary to have a festival or wedding for these traditional Indian sweets to be enjoyed.
Very often, these sweets are consumed after meals too. Therefore, traditional Indian sweets are often found on restaurant menus as well.
Besides Komala Vilas Sweets & Savouries shop, there are two others at Little India Arcade. This shows how these traditional Indian
sweets are still in demand.
The traditional Indian sweets are hand-made by the workers in the shop, and not mass-produced in factories.
Hence, the traditional way of preparing the sweets as well as the original flavour of the sweets are still retained in this fast-paced
and ever-changing society.
The colourful traditional Indian sweets is also a showcase of how vibrant the Indian community is, just by judging from the variety of
colours used in making the traditional sweets alone.
S I T E . O N E
Background: The original “Little India” was actually in the Chulia Kampong area. The Indians moved to the present day site
at Serangoon Road, due to overpopulation at the first site. The first Indians who moved over were Southern
Indian Muslims (Tamil speaking Chulias). They settled in the area around present day Dunlop Street, then known as Kampong Kapor,
which was an active business hub for Indian merchants and for the Baweanese who worked at the old race course at Farrer Park.
The first mosque on this site was originally Masjid Al-Abrar, built in 1846 to serve the religious needs of the South Indian Muslim
merchants and Baweanese services and horse trainers residing in Kampog Kapor.
In 1881, the Dunlop Street Mosque Endowment or wakaf, was created. One of the two trustees was Shaik Abdul Gaffoor, who was chief
clerk at a legal firm. The wakaf was created for the building of a mosque for the Muslim community in Singapore.
In 1887, Abdul Gaffoor applied to construct shophouses and sheds on the land around the original mosque. More shophouses were added
in 1903. The rental of these buildings generated income which then went towards building the new mosque, which commenced in 1907. This
new mosque was named Masjid Abdul Gaffoor, after the trustee.
Post Field-trip Activity
T A G B O A R D