The Babe of the week is none other than, beauty rochell Power!!
Hunk of the week
The Hunk of the week is none other than, CaSaNoVa AaA Power!!
Tekka - The Revolution
If you had been going to Tekka (Little India) in the past year you would have noticed a quiet revolution that is going on there. As late as 1-2 years ago, Singaporean Indians shunned Little India, especially on Sundays. Here is the upfront truth. Our local women get a little terrified jostling with our mainland labourer brothers (MLBs) whilst shopping. They have a lot of complaints that MLBs either stare at them lustily, make body contact while passing by or even pass snide remarks or make animal sounds which includes whistling.
And what our local Indian women are dying to tell our MLBs is this: “Just because we are from a cosmopolitan country with relaxed rules of dressing, doesn’t mean we are just as much open and tolerate being treated like
whores.” Says Sheena, an 18 year old who goes to Little India for Yoga lessons each weekend, “I feel as if our Little India has been lost to the MLBs. They totally take over the area and we feel so alienated in our own country!”
Albeit, things are changing, at least for the better. Yes, our locals still hold grievances especially on Sundays. But the whole atmosphere is being normalized by another bunch of people who have made Singapore their home in the past years. Thanks to Expatriate Indians (EIs).
As much as local Indians might quietly complain about EIs or MLBs, or vice versa, one can’t deny that Little India has come to be an enriched waterhole where local Indians and EIs and MLBs alike find their own enclaves to meet their various needs. And it is a win-win situation. Never mind that Local Indians do not mix much with EIs or MLBs, but they shop happily alongside one another.
The revolution you ask? They are the businesses in Little India of course. Enterprising businesses have a lot to gain. Of late there have been many well-designed, beautifully furnished Indian Restaurants sprouting in Little India. Speak of many such as Anjappar, Anandha Bhavan, Sagar Ratna etc just along Syed Alwi Road (next to Mustafa Centre). We were amazed to find out that at 10-11pm the place (along Syed Alwi Road) is as bright and bustling as daylight. Loads of EIs, Local Indians and even workers of other descents and other Singaporean Chinese and Malays can be seen heartily eating at the eating joints or shopping at Mustafa which is open 24 hours.
For once many women are more relaxed going to these areas at such late timings at night Said a Punjabi lady in her 30s, Mdm Sanjeet Kaur, “I feel very much at ease here. Everyone is friendly and there are so many people here minding their own business. Many families come here too, so I have nothing to worry about.”
Even Desker Road just a street away from Syed Alwi Road is bustling with activity. Well not exactly the kind that you have heard of. Once known as a red-light district, though you could still see some heavily made-up lasses stealthily paddling their services, there are still fruit shops open at 11.30pm lelonging away.
Just say which part of India you are from and probably, you can find a Restaurant or coffee shop of your descent somewhere along Serangoon Road. You can even taste a vegetarian Szechwan noodle or rice in Restaurants such
as Sagar Ratna or Anjappar’s. Many of these new age Indian Restaurants serve fusion Indian food these days that you’d be spoilt for choice. Just a gimmick you say? Wait till you find out that they even take your order via a PDA which is automatically transmitted to the kitchen.
And not to mention another quiet hang out along Race Course Road where the popular Muthu’s Curry, Banana Leaf and Gayathri’s are situated along with other less known but equally good ones like Mustard (Serves Punjab & Bengali delights), Jaggi’s and so on. A nice classy environment at Muthu’s, where you
can look on while your Chef prepares your meal is undeniably an icing on the cake. Throw in a nice cool beer to go along with the spicy food in a well-designed interior and that will truly be an ideal way to relax after a hard day’s work.
Is that all you ask? Well many of you who drive, would have explored the back lanes of Little India. Backpacker Inns have subtly sprouted along the back roads on restored shop houses and are highly popular amongst travelers on a shoe-string budget. These backpacker quarters are concentrated at Dunlop Street, an area in the southern echelon of Little India near the Arcade & Tekka Mall. Some of these budget accommodations are neighbours with Australian bars, Indian grocers and restaurants. Along with little pubs accompanying the ground storey of the Inns, they are becoming quite a little commune in the region. Why in Little India one would ask. Says the owner of one of the Hostels, “Some nationalities of travelers and students want to see the country in its most natural state. They want to experience life the way a local would. They want to find food which the locals might eat. They love the rich history and heritage. And we give them just that in the centre of town”.
And add on many other enclaves like the open air Sungei Road flea mart and 2nd hand dealers who trade/export used and repaired goods to third world countries along these back roads, Little India is indisputably, a gem in the region. So, don’t shun the place that is so much a part of our heritage. The next time you make your way into Little India aka Tekka, pay a little more attention and you might just start enjoying your visits..
