My identity

Here's something I scribbled recently
In his book "Identity and Violence" Amartya Sen says that identity is the root cause of conflict. Human being group themselves into different groups, as per their comfort. For eg. we become a part of a certain school/college/institution or a certain society youth group or as a fan of Liverpool or Manchester United. We start associating ourselves not just with religions or professions or nationalities or food habits, but also dressing styles, behavioural styles, and maybe even zodiac signs.
These choices also constitute our identity.

Every individual wants to set himself apart from the others, wants to be unique and starts associating with groups that he identifies with.

The problem arises when people start staunchly following their beliefs. That is when they see themselves as Levi's and not as Wrangler, and then everything about Wrangler seems wrong. Sometimes Wrangler may sound so wrong, that Levi's goes all out to prove a point against him, and in extreme cases it may lead to violence.

Wrangler may not have been right or wrong, but the fact that he choses to be wrangler and separate himself from Levi's is irritating to Levi's. Levi's forgets that he is a son, a brother, a Hindu, an Indian, an IT professional, a cricket fan and in that instance choses only to be Levi's

According to Amartya Sen extremity of associations leads to violence, eg. Nazism, communism, religious fervour and racial influence.

Did u know bells could make sweet soulful music? I didnt, I only discovered it today, thanks to M.O.B. Music on Bells. I chanced upon this performance of M.O.B. at the Concourse at Esplanade this evening. Oh, and before I forget, I have seen some of the most creative, quirky, and intriguing performances for free at the Esplanade Concourse and Theatres by the Bay in Singapore. Coming back to M.O.B. these guys are brilliant. They play entire symphonies merely with hand-bells. They a number of movie-scores including The Olympic Fire, The Star Wars Theme, Darth-Veda Theme, you got to see it to believe it. The tune that stuck in my mind was "Phantom of the Opera theme", but the icicing was "Pink Panther theme". These guys create magic with their hand-bells. Here are some of their you tube videos. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=m.o.b.+singapore&aq=f

Being vegetarian in singapore

Chaat - Khansama at Science Park Drive serves up some excellent chaats with fresh ingredients and fresh sweet curd, and lovely sweet and spicy mint and tamarind chutneys.


Roti Prata - Mr.Prata at Clementi Ave, Block 320, just outside Clementi MRT dishes out light, crisp non-oily prata's. These are neither roti's nor parathas, the way we know it in need. Roti Prata is thin layers of dough spread one on top of the other and fried and heated on a hot plate - a unique Singapore creation, evolved from a Malaysian version. It comes loaded either with butter or cheese or mushroom or the way u like it, with an accompaniment of a spicy curry.

Mr.Prata is also the place to go to if you are craving for a good home-cooked South Indian meal, interestinng sambar. A good place for a cheap meal, money-wise.


Burgers - Burger King, McDonalds and KFC have no veg burger in Singapore. Burger King agrees to give you their regular burger without the meat patty, with the onion tomato and lettuce, but refuses to either reduce the price or susbtitute the patty with mushrooms. Carl's Jr. does substitute the patty with mushrooms but at an extra cost. McDonalds in India has a variety of veg burgers. I wonder why they ignore the huge Indian vegetarian tourist population in Singapore, that relates to McDonalds as the only familiar food chain from back home.


The only chain that has a veg burger with a veg patty is Mos Burger, called the Croquette Burger, which is the euqivalent of an Aloo Tikki Burger in India. Not bad for fast food. They also have an better spread of drinks, apart from the colas.


If you dont mind shelling out those extra bucks for a good veg burger, then the Melting Pot Cafe at the Holiday Inn Atrium serves a lovely veg burger. Also, the veg strudel is worth paying for, a delicious mix of bell peppers, zuchini, eggplant and dips. Lovely!


Sandwiches - Vegetarain sandwiches at O'Brien's are just ok. Nothing much to talk about. Just sliced veggies in bread. Not worth the price.


Pasta - Pastamania may not exactly be fine dining, but I have had some of the best pastas ever, there. Good spread of vegetarian pastas. I especially like the ones with the thick tomato base. They also serve a fine minestrone soup.


Lunch / Dinner - The only pure vegetarian restaurant I have visited in Singapore is Original Sin at Chip Bee Garden, Holland Village. Every dish I have had there has been impeccable. May not be the place for lovers of Indian masala, who need to flood every dish with salt and pepper. These are lightly spiced, healthy meals with loads of vegetables. The Moussaka which is a cake of layers of cheese, whole lentils, cheese, eggplant. The Absolut pasta comes with an infusion of Absolut vodka, and the Tiramisu is just heavenly. Refreshing Mediterannean healthy recipies. Beautiful ambience. Rates are fine dining.

Kinara North West Frontier at Boat Quay your regular dhaba roti-sabzi. I had a crisp garlic naan with mushroom masala and a very watery jaljeera. Regular north-Indian fare. I would say Kinara at Holland Village has better quality, and tastier gravies than the Boat Quay outlet.

Thai Express has always been a delightful experience. The yellow and green veg curries are made with freshly grated thick coconut milk. This is the perfect meal for the Indian who lovws his spice.

Crystal Jade la Mian Xiao Long Bao - Yes, this Chinese cuisine chain, has a good enough spread of vegetarian dishes, and you can actually order vegetarian here without shrimps or even eggs. I had an absolutely light non-oily Fried Rice with a sprinkling cripy fried honeyed peanuts along with a side dish of sauteed Kai Lan. Mixed with the roasted chillies sauce and the vinegar, this meal actually tasted good and reminded me of the chinese we eat at roadside stalls in India. But thats just the sauces. The food is light, non-oily, non-spicy and goooood. The iced lemon honey and watercress honey were perfect. I spent $15 per person.

Pizzas - Modestos at Vivocity, Level 1, has the thinnest crispiest pizza base, with a generous sprinkling of vegetables and olive oil. Light, non-oily, not overtly-cheesy, non-spicy, fluffy pizzas. Nicccccccce :)

Chingay Parade 2009

The Chingay Parade 2009 set afloat with an array of floats and performers from all over South East Asia and the Far East. Students from polytechnic institutes in Singapore, viz. Nanyang, Republic, Ngee Ann, and others put up a colourful display of brightly lit up pyrotechnic floats adorned with acrobats performing their acts. Performers from all over the region masqueraded the streets with their vibrant art and culture. Tourists and locals thronged the streets with their family and kids, trying to catch a glimpse of the masked capers.

I ran from pillar to post trying to grab the best spot I could to catch the performances. But I must say, that this was something i would never do, if i was by myself back home. Inspite of the rush to get the best spot, not once was I ever pushed or jostled by the crowds. Mobs lined the streets from City Hall to Raffles Avenue, but not one person even acidentally brushed past. Back home, we have no concept of space. For the first time I realise my sense of space and how I can respect it. Singapore does teach me basic courtesy, and I wonder where it comes from. I return home late in the night after the parade, and I feel pretty safe in this city. Not one
person staring at me as if I had committed a crime by staying out late. In fact, I love being taken for as a person, as an individual and not as a woman. The happy-go-lucky Singaporean couldnt care less about your colour, your race, your nationality or your social status.
Anyways, the fireworks were beautiful, and the street party after the parade the most happening ever. The recession-affected streets of Singapore were filled with life and joy, and not for a moment did I feel lonely in this vibrant melting pot.

It was a last minute decision for me to land up at the parade and hence these pictures from my Nokia 6233.

Chinese New Year celebrations in Chinatown

Pictures from the River Hongbao. The river festival for chinese new year. Brightly lit installations on the floating platform at Marina Bay

Here are pictures from Eu Tong Sen Street at Chintown.

At one of the stalls selling Chinese decorative hangings.

Veg meals in Singapore

Chella's vegeterian corner serves an excellent crispy dosa or fluffy idlis with 3 varities of fresh coconut chutneys the fiery kinds. Havent tried their meals yet, but they definitely know their food

Komala Vilas recommended by a lot of bloggers here is a huge spread with 3 veg, dal, sambar rasam, curd curry (mor kuzhambu), salad pickle papad and a decent south indian meal. Meal for 6.50 SGD

But the one that took me closest to home was Masala Hut in a quaint little stretch of Chander Road, off Kerbau Road in Little India. This was the best south indian meal i have to date in Singapore. The sambhar and rasam were completely homely and the leafy vegetable was just like mom's. At 4.50 SGD, this meal is a steal.

Culinary delights

Been out of action for sometime, since my laptop has been giving me problems. I'm not really sure what the problem is but this is the 4th time in 2 months that my notebook has crashed. The HP Service Centre in Bangalore kept telling me that the mother board has crashed and that they had replaced the mother board all three times i went to them. But the HP Service Centre in Singapore tells me that they did not find any replacement of motherboard in their India records. Now that is puzzling. This time they say they have replaced the main board. I hope it lasts longer than a month this time.

Anyways, now that my laptop is back, let me tell you about all the new restaurants i have discovered.


Go India at Vivocity is the find of the month. I would say that's the best Indian food, I have eaten so far in Singapore. The lacha parathas were nice, crispy, and as lacha as they come. And the Bharwan Baingan Masala was heavenly. It came with a medium spicy peanut masala with a generous helping of curry leaves. It was delicious. This must be my first satisfying meal in Singapore in the last one month i have been here.


Apart from Go India, Thai Express has been an absolute delight. Thai Express is a chain of restaurants, and has a good variety of vegetarian meals. The vegetarian laksa (Thai noodles) was heavenly. The yellow coconut gravy was thick and spicy and reminded me of those awesome curries back in Kerala. Portions were huge, with generous helpings of a variety of vegetables. Aw, well I still cant use chopsticks so we better not get into details of how I eat. The dessert was a delicious non-oily batter-fried banana fritters with coconut ice-cream. We are fans.

Little India has been disappointing for a second time The Banana Leaf Apollo had none of the Apollo dishes available for dinner. I took with me a couple of Vietnamese friends to taste the Indian curry. And after being told that 3 of the dishes they had asked for were not available,we finally settled for the Murgh Dahiwala with rotis. The Dahiwala was a delicious gravy, and the rotis crisp, so were the garlic naans, though the Simla Mirch Masala stuffed with cottage cheese and corn was a disappointment. It was loaded with added colour, and spicy. Though tasty, I wouldnt really call it a healthy meal with all the extra colour and oil.

Oh but the best meal, for all you Indians out there missing Mom's food, is at the Kopitiam in the basement of Vivocity. Look out for the Indian counter in the non-halal section. They have set rice meals and set chapati meals with 3 vegetables of your choice and a dal. The food is light, non-greasy, subtly spiced, and delicious. Just like home-food. Its a favourite with office-goers from around Vivocity.

Kopitiam (coffee - tea centre) are basically cafe's that have a variety of food counters ranging from chicken, fish, wok, claypot, rice, vegeterian, etc. Kopitiams generally have two-section halal, marked by yellow counters and non-halal marked by green counters. While back in India, green would mean purely vegeterian :) Koptiams can be found all across the city, and are a good stop for a clean, tasty, meal that doesn't burn a hole in your pocket.

A smooth life

Life in Singapore is highly driven by technology. If you live in a condo, you have a key to your apartment with a magnetic strip, which you need to swipe when you enter, the gates, enter the building, and even to access your floor in the elevator. If you have a visitor, the visitor needs to call you from the intercom. Once you have seen the face of the person visiting you, or maybe even spoken to him on the intercom, all you need to do is just push two buttons, one to release the main entrance and the other for him to access the lift. Now thats a very interesting way of doing things. It improves levels of security, and negates the need for a security person at your lobby. But recently, my intercom stopped working, and when the Starhub guy came to change my set top box, he could neither hear, no see me through the intercom. The machine did not release either the gate of the elevator. I dashed off to the lobby, not to miss him, and luckily he was waiting.

Lets take a look at the way we travel. You go to an MRT station, and check out the numerous automated ticket vending machines at the station. The machines give you detailed instructions on how to obtain a ticket. Let's say you are a visitor to Singapore, and need to travel only a short distance. You punch in an amount of SGD 5 in the machine and get a travel card. You swipe this card to enter the platform, take the escalators to go upto your train and when you have completed your journey and swiped the card again to exit at your destianation, the requisite amount of your travel is deducted from your card. You need not worry about what the charges are upto a certain point, or about how to pay for the same. The card has memory chip in it, which records your travel, so in case you do not swipe your card properly at a certain point, your card will not be allowed access at another point. You will then need to approach customer service, who will track the data recorded on your card, and deduct the appropriate amount of your travel. Thats not all, the same card can also be used in the buses. In fact, the level of automation is so high, that there is no need for either bus conductors or ticket checkers. All the roads have very prominent road signs. So, there is absolutely no possibility of getting lost in this city. Unlike in India, you will never feel the need to ask the bus conductor to let you know when you have reached your destination. Or ask whether this bus goes to a certain location. The index available at the bus stop and the maps at the MRT stations will give you all the information you need. I love the levels of automation here, the ease with which services are made available. I wonder, if my father will feel the same, when he visits Singapore. He is an old man with a bad knee, bad eyesight and hard of hearing. Being a newcomer, he may feel lost and overawed to be able to notice the instructions on the wall. He would definitely seek a helping hand through his travels and travails in this city.

Singapore is a land of immigrants, mostly seekers of occupation. It's a small city with a sparse population. Manual labour is extremely expensive, since its not easily available, and automation surely does help remove the need for manual labour in quite a few places. Unlike India, which needs a traffic cop at every other crossroad, I am yet to see a traffic policeman here. The streets are monitored by camera's all over the city, and both pedestrians and cars, strictly follow the traffic lights meant for each. If it is possible to do away with the need for law-enforcers, then why do we need so many of them in India? Is it because labour is cheap, or population is huge and job-creation a necessity, is technology unaffordable, or are we just plain disrespectful of the rules?

Being Indian in Little India

Little India was like being back home. What with people walking mindlessly on the streets. My friend almost drove into an elderly couple, standing on the street. Back in India, you would blame the driver, and expect her to swirl around the couple, but how do u do that in a city where streets are meant for cars and pavements for pedestrians. In a disciplined city like Singapore people do not get on to the streets unless the traffic lights say so. This is what makes a smooth drive possible and cars zip here at speeds of 80 - 100/kph. At those speeds, it is not easy to stop your car for anybody standing right in the middle of the road.

In Singapore when you want to cross a street, you should press the push button for pedestrains and wait for the pedestrain light to turn green. This makes it easy both for the drivers and the pedestrians. You do not show your hand to a car speeding at you and expect it to be chivalrous to you. It helps to show a little discipline yourself.

But Little India is truly Indian, it even stinks. If you are a train traveller in Mumbai and pass the Mahim creek everyday, you will never be homesick in Little India. People walk all over the streets, and cars drive all around you. There's cans, food and liquid littered all over the streets. And this may be the only place in Singapore that has garbage cans overflowing on the streets. The people here were mostly tourists, but see the same tourists on Orchard Road, and they behave differently. They walk in a row, stay on the pavement, do not litter the streets, and wait for the traffic lights. I wonder why.

But here's the best part. If you are a vegeterian and lost in Singapore, Little India is the place for you. A meal at Sarvana's cost me around $6.50. Though the meal was of a very low quality, a half-hearted sambhar with sticky low quality rice. But it was a proper Indian vegeterian meal after a long time and I gorged to my heart's conent. I've been told that Komala Vilas serves a good Indian meal.

The Mustafa shopping centre was filled with all kinds of commodities, and this is the place to spot all your Indian brands, even readymade chapatis. Food is one craving that will definitely keep taking me back to Little India. Are you an Indian lost in Singapore? Come to Little India, and feel at home.

Christmas Eve

Christmas is in the air, the food, the clothes, malls, the houses, the offices. It's everywhere I go (remember Bill Nighy in 'Love is all around'?) Minutes from now, the bells will toll ringing in the festivities. Malls are out to woo the Christmas shoppers with discounts ranging from 5% to a whopping 70%. Forget recession, the spirit of Christmas abounds in the malls and at eateries. Though my estate agent says Xmas this year will be a quite affair with just some friends at home. No partying this year for her and her friends. The cabbie, too seems to be affected, "Everybody wants money, the wife wants money, the children want money. It's Christmas time" he said.
Christmas eve is the big day. Most organisations only work half-day on this day. Christmas for me will be spent house-hunting though. Like this broker, who is ready to take me for viewings even on Christmas Day. He says he will be working even on New Year's Day. That doesnt sound very different from my friend Jiksee back in Bombay. She says she will also be working this Christmas.
Money or no money, people dress rich in this city. Or at least they look rich. It's hard to come by people wearing old or faded clothes. Singaporeans dress mostly in cottons because of the hot weather. But these are mostly strappy cottons with very elegant designs. The one prominent colour that blinds me in this city is Black. Every second person on the streets is dressed in black. Excuse' moi, how about adding a little colour to our lives???
Do I think they speak heavily accented English? Well, the feeling is mutual. They think that Im the one speaking with a heavy accent. Me? the convent educated, Mumbai brat, speaks accented English??? Well I guess Im the foreigner here (ang-moh is local for foreigner)
Vegeterian is hard to find. Even the veg biryani comes with a sprinkling of dried shrimp. The vegeterian counter at Takashimaya Mall served me veg noodles with fish. Well, Im no sucker for Indian food, but I wouldnt mind some fried noodles with a little spinach or mushrooms. Newcomers to Singapore or the Far East for that matter, do remember to ask about the ingredients in your vegeterian dish. Well, I must say though, that people here look much more fit and healthier than I am. I guess it helps to not have rice as your main dish, but as an accompaniment. The average Singapore dweller is slim and trim. Look out of your window, at any time of the day or night, and you will find another fitness freak jogging away to glory. Makes me want to burn my fat too. Yes, I would call myself fat in this country.
Coming back to my house-hunting, rentals do not vary according to which part of the city you live in. All areas are posh and all areas are well-quipped and accessible too. Rentals vary according to your choice of no. of rooms, distance from the MRT/bus stop, and facilties such as gym, club house and security.

Travel is the loveliest part of living in Singapore. The MRT can zip across from one end of the city to another in less than an hour in one direction. Interchange stations allow you to change the directions without much ado. For example, the Dhoby Ghaut MRT is one level below the second basement of the Plaza Singapura Mall. Which the MRT drops you right into the basement of your shopping mall. Thats not all, you can even change to the North South Line or North East Line from the East West line, all below the basement of a mall. Absolutely, no need to go all the way to Dadar and then take the Central Line. It all happens under one shopping roof. One Ez-Link card gives me access to both the bus and the trains. The buses take you to all the nooks and corners of Singapore, all across the city. Travel was never such a joy.

Welcome to Singapore

My first day in singapore and the air didnt feel alien at all. It was the same humid sulty weather of Bombay. The ride from the airport to the city was like a drive through Nariman Point with tall towers, though the roads were cleaner and much wider. Day one and I was stuffed with the delicious and sumptious meal of Singapore Airlines (I am a fan now). Hence dinner was at Starbucks, just a Bananarama muffin, spinach and cheese quiche, both of which were huge in quantity and a coffee.

Day two and I got onto the net looking for real estate brokers. Lunchtime and I was hungry. So I hit the roads and went walking around the place. We had landed up at friend's condo in River Valley Park. Cars went zipping past, though the streets were sparsely populated with very few pedestrians. People on the streets mostly wear shorts. The tinier the better. I felt overdressed with my denim pants. But they dress very elegant. Theres a lot of skin show, but done tastefully. People going to work wear the latest designs, and are always "in". Men have mostly spiked hair, gelled and in place, while women have silky smooth straightened hair, again gelled with not a strand jutting out. Footwear is always neat and attractive, and the elegance is maintained by one and all without exception.

Travel is mostly by the MRT trains or SBS buses. Both are airconditioned, smooth, comfortable and extremely convenient. Public transport is the way to go in Singapore. It is definitely a far cry from the much crowded trains in Bombay. People respect your space, and very rarely does a hand brush past you, even accidentally.

Sat night orchard road was all lit up for xmas.people singing and dancing on the streets. Playing music on exotic chinese instruments.Floats, tableaus, and people in crazy costumes right from Alexander's army to little Indian girls playing Dandiya on a tamilian song. Well, Christmas is a time for forgiveness I suppose. It was a carnival atmosphere and this is the weekend before Xmas. Im waiting to see the street on Xmas nite.
People thronged the malls for their xmas shopping. Long queues outside Gucci left me flummoxed.

Singapore is a foodie's haven. Though the vegeterian is left short of options. Vegeterian here, means vegetables with fish. Indian options are few and far.
The one place we all agreed upon was Spize The Makan Place at River Valley Road. The Nasi Goreng here was delicious, and we even found the perfect sambhar with the Veg Biryani here complete with appalams, the South Indian pappad. Another vegeterian speciality of Singapore is Prata, which is a very light, thin, flaky roti, served with all kinds of combos - cheese mushroom prata, garlic butter prata, even cinnamon honey prata. A regular meal with a fruit juice would cost you around 7 - 9 SGD

The Toast Box at Food Republic on Orchard Road, was quite interesting. They served traditional Hong Kong toast with a variety of beverages. The Otah Toast had an interesting spread on a thick toast, which went very well with the Tea, very similar to our chai.