Little India

6AM wake up call!!!! Got up early for breakfast to make my way down to the Little India portion of town. I left the house and made it to downtown by 7:30. I was a little early before a lot of shops opened so I sat down at a coffee shop and ordered a glass of Coffee-0, or black coffee. Most coffee is served with condensed milk and sugar, just a little too sweet for my taste.

I was invited to join a small group enjoying rice prata and coffee for breakfast. It was nice to talk to a new group of people from Little India. The two ladies and older gentleman worked for the Little India Arcade, a shopping center, as building supervisors for the shops. Mr. talked to me about the problems of the world and that talking is the key to solving the issues. We should put away our difference in religion and come to the table as human beings. Talking heart to heart, human to human. Talk about what each side needs and why they need those claims. We also talked about America and Singapore's relations and the Prime Minister and Bush meeting at the White House. We talked for a little over an hour!

The first temple I visited was the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, a Indian Hindu Temple with black statue dedicated to Goddess Kali, the ferocious incarnation of lord Siva's wife, Meenachi,. This is thought to be the first temple in Singapore to venerate her. This temple served as a shelter when war broke out in Singapore in 1942. Devottess, believing in Kali's protection, sought shelter withing the temple walls from tea bombs that rained through out Singapore. Perhaps they were right, the temple all all its statues emerged from the war untouched.

The temple's outside is very ornate with Hindu God's stacked on top of one another. I witnessed Hindu followers making offerrings to their gods at various locations throughout the temple.

Another area of Little India lies on Beatty street where Chinese immigrants built dwellings in the Chinese Baroque style featuring colorful tiles white flower decorations on green facades.

Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple is the popular site of the start and end points of the annual Thaipusam Festival procession. This temple is dedicated to Lord Peruma (Vishnu) the second god of the Hindu triumvirate and the Preserver of the Universe who represents mercy and goodness Every year in January or February, Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple bustles with the celebration of Thaipusam, a Hindu Festival of Thanksgiving. Devotees carry a kavadi, which would be in the form of a simple wood frame or metal frame with spikes and hooks that are pierced through their skin. The kavadi bearers walk from here to Sri Thendayuthapani temple at Tank Road, accompanied by family members carrying milk pots.

In this temple I viewed worshippers playing music with traditional drums and windpipes.

Leong San Buddhist Temple, or Dragon Mountain Temple has elaborate clay sculptures on the roof that originate in the Fujian Province of China. In 1913 a Buddhist monk came to Singapore bearing only a statue of Kwan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, and aun urn. He wanted to establish a lodge for treating the sick. In 1926 the lodge consisted of only a few huts and had grown into an elaborate temple, known to locals as Leong San See. This temple also houses a statue of Confucious which attracts a large local Chinese following. The hubburd inside the temple contrasts with that of the Hindu temples. There is also a large space at the back dedicated to the dead where Buddhists leave food and fake money for their ancestors to use in the afterlife.

Across the road is the famous Temple of 1000 lights, officially known as the Sakya Muni Buddha Gaya Temple. The Buddha is amazingly large with a grotto underneath dedicated to the dieing Buddha. Within the temple houses a piece of bark from the tree where Buddha was sitting when he found enlightenment.

In Little India there is also an Indian Muslim Mosque, or the place of worship for Islam. House of prayer in Islam. A mosque is symbolically very important to Muslims, and is a humble way for man to recreate pure divine presence on earth. More information on the Mosque can be found by clicking Mosque.

All around Little India ladies dawn traditional Indian Dresses. The sari, simple, understated yet supremely elegant is increasingly becoming a fashion statement in urban India. One of the most commonly worn traditional dresses, it is essentially a rectangular cloth measuring about 6 yards, though in Maharashtra, women wear the nine yard sari which is passed through the legs and tucked in at the back. The sari comes in a profusion of colors, textures and designs, determined largely by the region. There are several ways of draping a sari, which is first wound around the waist, before being pleated seven or eight times at the centre and tucked into the waistband. These pleats are called the patli. The remaining sari, called the pallu is then pleated again and draped across the left shoulder to fall gracefully behind. There are regional variations, like in Gujarat, the pallu comes from the back, and drapes across the front over the right shoulder. The sari is worn with a tight-fitting choli or blouse. The style and length of the choli varies according to fashion trends and from region to region

In India, as elsewhere, accessories are an integral part of the ritual of dressing. The world over, Indian women are associated with the 'dot' in the middle of their forehead, called Kum Kum or bindi. Traditionally round, the bindi is now available in various colors, shapes and sizes. A bindi was traditionally a sign of marriage, or in some states, was worn as soon a s a girl reached young adulthood. Today it is for the most part an adornment. Vermilion or sindoor applied at the parting of the hair indicates a married woman.

A traditional Indian woman is rarely seen without jewelry. A mangal-sutra, a necklace made with black and gold beads is considered sacred, and in many areas is always worn by a married woman. Many women wear ornately crafted nose-rings. Gold, silver or colorful glass bangles are another favorite, dating from the tradition of never having your hands bare. Women in Rajasthan wear bangles that go all the way to their shoulders. Indian women generally have their ears pierced, and commonly sport ear-rings.

Men are considerably less traditional when it comes to dressing. They have adapted to a western style of dressing. Some men generally wear kurtas, a knee length shirt-styled tunic, with lungis, dhotis or pyjamas. The lungi is a piece of cloth wrapped around the waist. A dhoti is longer than a lungi, has sari style pleats and is draped through the legs. In some ares men wear a safa or turban on their heads.

I found an Indian Hawker center and tried a spicy chicken dish that I have pictured on yahoo that only cost 3 dollars. I also purchased some Sugar Cane Juice! I found an Indian Dessert shop in the area. Most of the desserts are made from condensed milk with dried fruits and coconut.