Singapore: Transformation nation
Every holiday season, this ever-changing city's Christian fixtures turn Chinese
Come November and the heart of Singapore’s shopping district, Orchard Road, is lit up. It enchants visitors and pulls them in by offering toys, gifts, gizmos, clothes and fabrics, handicrafts and purses. Tourists continue to gravitate to it, even though there are swankier malls now in the remotest parts of this island-nation, where no destination is more than 40 minutes away by road, and whose airport is itself a veritable bazaar that can compete with the duty-free souk of the Dubai airport.
As the holiday season arrives in Singapore, the big shopping malls along Orchard Road, from CK Tang at one end, next to Lucky Plaza, the meeting point of Filipino domestic workers, across from the aquamarine glass tower Wisma Atria and the imposing Ngee Ann City, and with Plaza Singapura at the other end, get dolled up like children at a fancy-dress party.
Scaffoldings would then come up, but within days they would be taken down, making way for a new set-up, because the lunar new year which the Chinese celebrated was only a few weeks away. And in a blink, you would see the scene transformed, for Singapore is predominantly Chinese.
But there was a crucial difference. What you saw at The Centrepoint were the same characters—the children, the Santa-like larger-than-life character, and the trees. But the elm looked distinctly greener, and the landscape a combination of brown and green. The Santa’s skin turned yellow and he wore distinctly Chinese robes, and two more wise old men appeared alongside, representing Hock Lok Siew, or Fu Lu Shou—the three of them representing happiness, prosperity and longevity, the Chinese blessing. In a gesture of economy, the designers had created their designs for Christmas and reworked them for the Chinese New Year.
The ease with which a Christian display could metamorphose into a Chinese one was remarkable.
I found that magical transformation inspiring, for it underscored two remarkable aspects about Singapore. One is its multiculturalism, where cultures coexisted peacefully. Singapore has three major ethnic groups—Chinese, Malay and Indian. For a multi-ethnic country, it has maintained harmony well.
During a recent visit, as my taxi drove from the airport to a home near River Valley Road, I discovered that I wouldn’t get to see the familiar landscape along the waterfront. Since end-December the island had built a long tunnel—the Marina Coastal Expressway—which slithered below the water, taking me from Tanjong Rhu to Tanjong Pagar, only to emerge surrounded by stately high-rises, including The Treasury building that looks like a stack of coins. Behind me, as we emerged from the tunnel, I saw the Marina Bay Financial Centre, an entire downtown that hadn’t existed a decade ago. A Singapore diplomat had once joked: “We are the world’s most expansionist nation. We keep reclaiming land and become bigger."
The skyline behind me was a testament to that, and to the island’s pragmatism. If nature imposes restraints, Singapore remakes nature. If animals hide during the day because the tropical heat is too much for them, Singapore creates the night safari for visitors. If playing golf during the day is cumbersome, there is night golf. If traffic gets too congested, there are tunnels. And if a quick display is needed to replace the Christmas décor with one for the lunar new year, the landscape turns green, the faces yellow, the snowballs became mandarin oranges, and the dresses red.
Salil Tripathi writes the column Here, There, Everywhere for Mint.
Also Read Salil’s previous Lounge columns
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