Deepavali at Little India
I am amazed how much I take the colourful multi-culturalism of Singapore for granted. For the better part of my 20 years living in Singapore, I’ve only seen Little India through the windows of a bus passing through. It was not until several years ago that I visited more of this little-known quarter where the streets are filled with Indian shops, Hindu temples and mosques.
Last Friday, I packed my camera and spent an hour taking photos in Little India, especially since next Thursday is Deepavali, or the festival of lights. I expected the street to be busy and crowded and I was not disappointed. Side alleys were converted into covered lanes where all kinds of spices, flowers, saris and knick-knacks were traded. It was an explosion of colour and music and the scent spices completed the exotic experience.
Street photography has never been my forte, and it stems from the difficulty of isolating objects of interest amongst the crowd. And there’s always the suspicious glance of vendors who keep an eye on any photographer taking an interest in their wares. But perhaps a more honest statement is that I’ve never been very much of a person who could connect to strangers. I have a preference for inanimate objects than live subjects, and it is a great handicap because I felt terribly uncomfortable eliciting smiles, not knowing if the subject approved or not of my photos.