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★ Little India
Sunday, November 30


As one of the most prominent ethnic quarters of Singapore, Little India is a centre for the Indian community of Singapore. There are many exciting shops and interesting places to visit in this queer little town.

Mustafa Shopping Centre
The main building in Little India is the Mustafa Building. Here, you can expect to find electronics, PDAs and household items. It operates on a 24 hour basis and offers a variety of over 120,000 products. Did you know that Mustafa Shopping Centre grew from a little outside stall in 1965?



Flower Shops
On Tuesday and Fridays, the Hindu holy days, gods are honoured with simple strands of flowers. In Hindu culture, people are garlanded as a show of respect and welcome. In Little India street you can find vividly coloured flower shops where you can finde garlands and fresh flowers. Flowers are very important in Indian lifes as a symbol of prosperity. The garland are red yellow and white that symbolise love, peace and purity respectively. This shows that the Indians are strong believers of their religion. The last time I went down to Little India for a field trip, the uncle of a flower shop acutally gave me a garland! Come down to Little India to experience their hospitality today.

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple
Built by indentured Bengali labourers in 1881, this temple is dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Kali, the consort of Shiva. Known as the Goddess of Power, the name "Veeramakaliamman" means "Kali the Courageous". On Tuesdays and Fridays, which are holy days, the streets are busy with devotees on their way to pray, worship and make requests to Kali for blessings. Women who are undergoing the monthly cycle are considered "unclean" and are not allowed to enter temple grounds. The temple is covered with many statues of the deities they worship. I am impressed with the workmanship and the vivid colours of these statues.

Food, Glorious Food

Little India is the perfect place for you to explore your tastebuds as there are many restaurants offering different kinds of Indian Cuisine. Vegetarian food can also be found because most Indians are vegetarians(they believe in Hinduism.) Indian cuisines have the characteristics of using strong spices to enhance the flavour of their dishes, so do be prepared. A hit with the locals, try the tasty roti prata (Indian pancake). Catch the prata maker flipping the paper thin dough into the air with his hands, before folding it over and tossing it onto the well-oiled griddle. Personally, I like my prata "kosong"(plain) and with a bit of sugar (:

Posted by: Shirley
**** 4/5 stars,
$ very affordable! you just need to pay for the bus ticket/Mrt fare to embark on a journey to explore the rich culture of Singapore's Indian community.

Photo Credits: Wikimedia, Flickr (1), Flickr (2)





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4:25 PM