My first visit to Singapore was in August 1977 on a business trip. When I came out from the Airport, I was surprised to observe that all Taxi Drivers speak fluent English. I did not have a hotel booking, so I told the driver to take me to a medium hotel. He said, as I am an India, Serangoon road is best for me so that I can enjoy the Indian food. I said ok, without knowing the place. When arrived at Serangoon road, I felt I landed in Madras (now Chennai) as all the people around looked like Tamils and speaking in Tamil only. Finally the Taxi driver dropped me a hotel named “Serangoon Hotel’
just opposite to today’s Mustaffa Shopping Mall. In those days, Mustaff was a small shop just opposite to Komala Vilas Hotel. It was evening time, so I walked around Serangoon road, had dinner at ‘Komala Vilas hotel’. Next day, I phoned my business friend, he arrived to my hotel within 1 hour, and asked me who booked this hotel for you. I told him the Taxi Driver dropped me as I had no prior booking. He asked me to pack up and checked out, took me to a Hotel in Orchid Road, which cost me 10 times more, but he said the hotel I stayed at Serangoon Road is infamous, which I didn’t know. After a couple of days in Singapore I left for Kuala Lumpur. That was the beginning of my first tour, and I had been visiting Singapore very often thereafter.
Indians settled in certain sections of Serangoon area; South Indian Muslims, Bengali Hindus, Tamils and Telegus had their own localities. The Tamil area stretched as far as Potong Pasir. Serangoon area has one of the oldest Mosques, the Abdul Gaffoor Mosque (in Mayo Road) and three of the oldest Hindu Temples: the Veeramakaliamman, the Srinivasa Perumal and the Vadapathirakaliamman. There are also three old Buddhist Temples in Race Course Road.
In the first decades of the 20th century Serangoon area was the centre of Indian migration. The opening of the Naval Base, Seletar and Changi Air Bases brought in an influx of Indians particularly Tamils and Malayalees near these bases.
During the 1930s Serangoon was gradually transformed into a residential and commercial one. Certain areas were transferred to Chinese migrants who redeveloped them. What is known today as Little India became mostly an Indian Hindu commercial area.
Just before the Japanese invasion of Malaya in December 1941 many Indian men sent their wives and children back to India and those who remained behind suffered along with other communities from Japanese bombing and artillery fire and under Japanese Occupation.
After the return of the British in 1945 Serangoon area remained very much an Indian settlement with quaint Indian shops and even with the few male dormitories of the 19th century. The Komala Vilas Hotel is still there and I take my food there whenever I am in Singapore for the Indian food. There are a variety of Indian shops and businesses; these include garland makers, cloth merchants, gold smiths, costume jewelers, provision stores and restaurants. Little India contributes its Indians to enrich our multi -cultural Republic of Singapore. The vast majority of Indians now live in high-rise buildings in a multi-racial environment. The entire Singapore has evolved, but some part of Serangoon Road remained same as in 1977 when I first visited.
As I had no much business in Singapore, first time I moved around to click these photos, also took a Cruise Super Star Virgo sailed through Malaysian Waters visiting some of the Islands and returned to Singapore.
