Little India : Deepavali Bazaar 2016 屠妖节2016年货市集

Deepavali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, falls on 30th October (Sunday) this year. With two overseas Chinese friends, we dropped by Little India to soak in the festivities and admire the colourful decorations. The streets of Little India was decorated with bright colours. There are giant structures of 20 m-tall peacocks on Serangoon Road for us to take photos with.

I brought my guests to the Indian Heritage Centre and we found a bustling street full of stalls selling Indian ethnic clothes, henna, costume jewellery, ornamental decorations, festive cookies, traditional sweets and delicacies in front of the building.

My foreign guests were ecstatic and had a fun time exploring the stalls and buying Indian costume jewellery. They tried on a couple of beautiful sarees but found them too revealing, their families might forbid them to wear it in China. They paid for henna tattoos to be painted on their right hand. It was an enjoyable experience for them.

One Indian stallholder could speak Mandarin and he told the ladies the story behind Deepavali which commemorates the victory of light over darkness and good over evil.

We picked up a few Indian vocabulary from him..... just for the fun of it. haha....

We were offered food samplings at a few food stalls. Some of the Indian snacks were so tasty, my guests bought quite a lot to bring home as souvenirs for relatives and friends.

Finally I had to stopped them from shopping as it was time for lunch, also I was worried they would have to pay extra for excess luggage at the airport. haha.....


为了庆祝十月三十日的屠妖节, 小印度大街小巷到处都张灯结彩，热闹非凡。

带了两位外国朋友到小印度逛逛, 感受一下印度风情和屠妖节的气息, 顺便走一趟屠妖节年货市集。市集里售卖的年货有五彩缤纷的节日装饰品、鲜花、传统服装、首饰、零食、手部彩绘、灯饰、及糕点摊位等等，应有尽有。朋友们试穿斑斓夺目的印度传统服装, 她们还在手上画 Henna印度彩绘。这一趟小印度游让她们大开眼界, 尽兴而归！

逛了夜市，朋友们买了一些纪念品和食物当手信, 我们就打道回府。

Indian Heritage Centre 印度传统文化馆

We went on a tour of the newly opened Indian Heritage Centre organised by Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations. Assembling at the association building before two buses brought 80 of us to Little India.

A docent led us through the 4-storey museum which is divided into 5 themes, housing more than 440 artefacts.

我和几位宗亲们参加由新加坡宗乡会馆联合总会主办的"新加坡文化之旅 - 印度传统文化馆", 探索印度文化。上午大家在宗乡总会集合，分乘2辆巴土，前往小印度。

新落成的印度传统文化馆外观设计结合传统与现代印度元素，馆内有五个展区, 另外还有活动区及屋顶花园。

a replica of the luggage brought onboard a ship heading to Singapore

在前往新加坡的船上, 印度移民所带的行李

The Indian Heritage Centre opened on 8 May 2015. We were introduced to the pioneers in Singapore’s Indian community which has been here since 1819. We learnt about their contributions to the making of Singapore over the years.

印度传统文化馆于今年5月8日开幕。五个展区包括新加坡印度社群的历史文化、宗教起源以及南亚和东南亚印裔族群的社会发展及贡献。展出文物超过440件, 许多文物由本地和海外印度族群捐赠。

博物馆讲解员为我们介绍几位南亚先驱人物。印度社区从1819年在新加坡落户, 多年来为建国做出了贡献。

Some interesting artefacts include wood carvings, stone statues, the bronze bust of Indian nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi, ornaments meant for the Hindu deities etc.

The final gallery showcases the contributions of notable pioneers in Singapore from the late 1950s to 1980s. They include former President S R Nathan and Mr S Rajaratnam, who drafted our national pledge.

一些有趣的文物包括木雕，石刻像，印度民族主义领袖甘地的半身铜像，装饰印度庙宇神像的金饰饰品等 。

最后一个的展区展示我国新加坡显著印裔人士的贡献, 其中包括前总统纳丹, 草拟公民信约的已故副总理拉惹勒南等。

There were free samplings of Indian food at a street carnival outside the museum. I tried some Indian sweets, kacang puteh and vegetarian briyani.

Around 12 noon, we proceeded to an Indian restaurant for a briyani rice buffet lunch.

当天印度传统文化馆外还有街头嘉年华会, 可以尝尝免费的印度糕点。活动结束后, 我们到附近的印度餐厅品尝美食，体验印度族群的饮食文化。
午餐后，我们乘巴士返回宗乡总会。

Admission to the Indian Heritage Centre is free for all Singaporeans.
印度传统文化馆门票 :  所有新加坡人免费。

Deepavali 2014 Dinner @Mountbatten

My husband and I were invited to a Deepavali dinner organised by Mountbatten Indian Activity Executive Committee on Sunday.

We enjoyed the Indian dance and music by the talented young performers.

Indian vegetarian food was served but there was a special Butter Chicken dish for the meat-lovers.

There was a Best Dressed Male and Best Dressed Female competition. My husband was the second runner-up. He won a S$20 supermarket gift voucher. hahaha......

屠妖节晚宴2014
印度社群屠妖节晚宴我丈夫和我受邀出席。 我们品尝印度美食, 观赏精彩的印度歌舞表演, 年轻的舞者跳得真棒!

Be Spotted In A Mughal Court - PH

PhotoHunt theme : Spotted

guests enjoying themselves 

I was given a sneak peek of the upcoming blockbuster exhibition called Treasury of the World at the Asian Civilisations Museum on Thursday night. This is its first time in Asia after visiting prestigious museums like the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

an exhilarating dance

Guests got to dress up in Mughal costumes and try a henna tattoo. We were entertained by traditional ethnic Indian dancers who also taught several guests some Indian dance movements. :D

ECL spotted learning Indian dance from the performers

I'm very fascinated with Indian culture and am looking forward to this exhibition where a stunning collection of more than 400 exquisite jewelled works of art - from household items to ornate necklaces and ceremonial swords - from the glorious era of Mughal-ruled India will be displayed.


You can also learn about life in the Mughal court, from leisure pursuits to food and weaponry of the royal family. Gain a fascinating insight to the diverse techniques in the jewelled arts used by the artisans and craftsmen during this period.

Treasury of the World (12 February - 27 June 2010)
Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals
Asian Civilisations Museum

5 pairs of tickets to the Treasury of the World exhibition up for grabs!

Question : Where will the Treasury of the World exhibition be held?


Please email your answer together with your name, identification number and contact number to me. Contest ends 7th February 2010.







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