As the name suggests, it is easy to infer that the Indian culture is brought about by India. India itself is the site of a civilization as ancient as any in the world. City states arose in North India, along the Indus River, at about the same time as the early civilizations of the Tigris-Euphrates at Sumer and other locations. Over the centuries, India was invaded by many different colonies, all of whom left their imprint and culture into today’s Indian society. In the religious context, Hinduism could be said to be the most “followed” religion among the Indians, even for today. Hinduism is formed by an array of local gods, goddesses, and heroes. Gradually these gods were given a coherent framework, in which the individual deities were seen as manifestations of a greater unity. Nonetheless, they remain a major feature of Hinduism, as it is of Indian culture in general.
Trip to Little India
For this visit, our group has decided to take the MRT down from Pasir Ris station to Little India station. After we came out of the station and proceeded on to Serangoon Road, the distinct smell of Indian perfume was already lingering in the air. Around us was filled with undulating music punctuated by car horns and bicycle bells, women drifting along in vivid saris and the pungent nose-tickling aroma of spices. At first, we all felt irritated with the endless rubbing of shoulders with other visitors and also, the perfume was too overpowering for us.
From the above picture that we've taken, it is easy to tell that this is a haven for the Indians. There are rows and rows of shops selling from fresh groceries to saris and even luxury gold items. This is the place where they can find all their shopping needs. For us, we stop by one of the shops to purchase some local Indian chips for a price of $2 only! After that, we began walking down the streets, visiting shop by shop. However, the hot sun forced us to cut our journey short and head for lunch. Even though the streets were really packed, it is a breeze to find good Indian food along the way.There are a wide selection of North Indian and South Indian fares to select from. Some are so famous that we've even seen it appear in magazines before. After scouting for about 15 minutes, we settled on a restaurant called Khansama Tandoori Restaurant. The dishes we ordered ranged from seekh kebab to mutton curry to garlic naan (garlic bread). And the best part of this restaurant is? The prices are cheap! For example, the mutton curry that we ordered cost a mere $6.50 while the garlic naan costs $3 only. Its easy to say that this restaurant is probably the one of the few in Singapore which offers good food at really low prices.
After a hearty meal, we have no problems to continue to explore the place. We love to stop and watch the henna works of the artist . It's such a beautiful paint of artwork on the limbs without the pain from tattoo. One of us even got it for a price of $5! After that, we decided to visit the famous 24 hours shopping centre in Little India called Mustafa. The setting of the shopping centre is very much different from what you can find in Orchard Road or Tampines Mall. They have many different shops that sells electronic gadgets, clothings, sports equipments as well as home equipments. In there, it is actually possible to bargain with some shopkeepers over the prices of the goods. As it was all our first time visiting Mustafa, we were taken aback when we realised there were so much stuffs to buy from there. Unfortunately, we didn't bring enough money.
When nightfalls, the place lighted up with colours so unique that one will certainly feel enchanted. As the weather turns cooler, it is easy to spot groups of men having a small picnic on the empty field. Unfortunately for us, we didn't get to visit the famous The Sri Veerama Kaliamman Temple as it was getting late. At about 9pm, our group has decided to call it a day and head back for a rest.
A tip for all of you : dress casually to Little India!
No comments:
Post a Comment