Going there ourselves, what we saw was quite unlike the perfect impressions we once harboured. The streets and alleyways of Chinatown are now crowded with shops selling souvenirs and supposedly-Singaporean paraphernalia which mostly catered to tourists. In yet another case of ironic juxtaposition, keychain plush toys of the "minion" character (from the movie Despicable Me) hang alongside traditional amulets, trinkets, and bookmarks with Chinese names on them. We got the impression that the old had to keep up with the newer age fads in order to stay relevant, or even economically viable.
Further down the street, we see a Tin Tin Museum Shop selling merchandise at exorbitant prices (for such an area, anyway). The infiltration of Western influences in this neighbourhood is stark, and perhaps curious because surely tourists from the West would rather see something they would not be able to find at home. Nonetheless, shops like these draw the crowds - and while it seems a calculative lifestyle, it is the Singaporean lifestyle.
In Little India, we see a beautiful, vibrantly coloured, traditional shophouse-style building transformed into little more than a training organisation Avanta Global Pte Ltd, as seen below. The ironic juxtaposition of the old and the new points to the gentrification of the district, and how is has been led to co-exist in post-modern Singapore.
Many early texts written about Singapore while it was still a fledgeling nation, reflected the desire for a common culture; something which a multi-racial and multi-religious population could unite under. And thus the government, intentionally or inadvertently, provided a solution. While focusing on economic growth and domination in the region, high priority was given to education. As the Ministry of Education puts it:
"The wealth of a nation lies in its people - their commitment to country
... their ability
to think, achieve and excel.... teach them in school will shape Singapore in the
next generation."
Is it a safe to speculate that educational and economic success is a big part of our Singapore culture? Turning to our literature texts, we see that this is indeed one of the common themes underlying many of them.
In Goh Poh Seng's If We Dream Too Long, we can see Kwang Meng's envy, and a sort of grudging respect, for those who have both educational and economic success. While he desires to break the cycle of prospect-less employment of being a clerk, he is at the same time unable to assimilate into upper class society, because of his lack of both education and financial ability.
Similarly, in Kuo Pao Kun's The Coffin is Too Big for the Hole, we see that the officer relents at the end in part because of the financial influence the grandson holds: he has the ability to aim the eyes of the media at the funeral, something that would not be possible without significant influence. Moreover, the protagonist's monologue hints that the material value of the coffin holds more meaning to him than his grandfather's remains, highlighting just how monetary value is the dominant way of measuring worth.
In Stella Kon's Emily of Emerald Hill, Emily is revealed to be manipulative woman, even to her own relatives, to ensure that her immediate family's wealth is not lost to someone else.
Indeed, education is a as aspect of modern Singapore culture: a way in which we define ourselves, as is a means of determining financial worth. This is summed up in a ludic fashion in Hedwig Aroozoo's Rhyme in Time, where "[t]he dollar provides all your thrills. The dollar will cure all your ills". This perfectly draws out the importance we place on money, and how it lord over our daily life.
Seeing Little India and Chinatown through this new lens, we see how descriptions like "traditional" are just a part of the selling point, and hold little real meaning. They have been transformed into areas frequented by tourists and shoppers, looking for a more oriental locale for splurging compared to Orchard Road. For the sake of the buck, they have been kept in a sort of limbo: never developed too extensively to retain its traditional look, yet being fully aware that they represent a simulation of tradition. Rather than being an authentic reflection of the past, they are instead a commercialised depiction of the "good old times".
The texts may have been written some time back, but based on our little field trip, it is evident that the recurring themes of economic viability in old Singapore are still relevant in the one we know today.
References
History of Singapore, Your Singapore: http://www.yoursingapore.com/about-singapore/singapore-history.htmlEthnic Integration Policy, Housing Development Board (HDB): http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10321p.nsf/w/BuyResaleFlatEthnicIntegrationPolicy_EIP?OpenDocument
Ministry of Education: http://www.moe.gov.sg/about/
Poon, A.;
Holden, P.; Lim, S. (2009) Writing Singapore: An Historical Anthology of
Singapore Literature. Singapore: NUS Press.
