The Hungry Ghost

Taxi rides can be not only be expensive but at the same time very knowledgeable in Singapore. One such interesting conversation with Mr Halim a month ago gave me ideas to scribble on my blog. Mr Halim enlightened me about the unknown cultures in Singapore. He told me about the Chinese festival which I will share now as explained to me by him . A very sincere thanks Mr Halim. Its people like you who make our lives comfortable here..

The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese.This July ending starts the Ghost month according to the Chinese calendar. As the name suggets the ghosts and the spirits come out during this time from the underworld .The deceased ancestors are supposed to be visiting their loved ones and roam around the land during this month. Spooky huh?

From 31 July 2011 to 28 August 2011 will be the ghost month this year. the doors for the heaven and earth will be open to the world of living.The chinese prepare for the month by ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper for the ancestors.Grand mealswould be served with empty seats for each of the deceased  treating the deceased as if they are still living.

Theres ofcourse history and story behind it which is not very clear to me as the taxi ride was quite a short one.The ghosts are supposed to have thin necks as they havent been fed and haven't been given a proper send off. So food and entertainment is arranged for the ghosts this time of the year to pay tribute to the dead.
The best part is performances , entertainment is held and the first few rows of seats are left empty for the ghosts - the special guests! Music and performances are to entertain the deprived ghosts from the unknown world.Some shops are closed to leave the street empty for the ghosts to wander.

Sounds a little like the Chinese version of Halloween? The children are not allowed to roam about after late hours. Swimming is also avoided for the fear of being drowned by the evil ghosts!Chinese avoid travelling, starting a new venture or anything auspicious during this month.They try to please the unknown ghosts to avoid bad luck.

I am looking forward to this festival of the Chinese and post more pictures soon. Excited and intrigued!

DOODLES - Social networking

Now an active member of Twitter, avid Facebooker!

Kuda Kepang

The Malay Village  is a museum in Geylang, Singapore where they showcases the life of the Malays who used to live in the area before redevelopment in the 1960s.Every Saturday afetr 8 pm the kuda kepang is performed for the audience to watch in the open field.The Kuda Kepang is a very interesting dance from Johor.

The dance had strong links with spirit possession and often dancers went into a trance-like state.

Twenty Eight year-old Wandi is the leader of one of Singapore's oldest kuda kepang groups known as Tedja Timur which was formed in 1948.

Kuda kepang performances are usually dance dramas based on Hindu epics like Ramayana. However with the Islamisation of Malaysia, this dance now generally renders the tale of nine Javanese men who spread the Islamic faith in the interior of Java.

Kuda Kepang is traditional horse trance dance originated from Java, Indonesia performed by Malays of Javanese origin. The dance is accompanied by a gamelan ensemble consisting of drums, gong and angklung (tubular chimes made from bamboo wood). Kuda kepang is performed during wedding celebrations and at cultural events,

Kuda means horse, kepang means weaving from bamboo.The dance had strong links with spirit possession. At times, some kuda kepang dancers would enter a trance-like state. Before the dance begins, helpers will bring pails  of water and whips of different lengths and colours. The bomoh (a Malay medicine man) will burn kemenyan (rock incense)
Music beats starts slow and the dancers sway elegantly to the music. The music then changes to an almost hypnotic rhythm as the kuda kepang dancers began trotting about like wild horses trying to break free. Each time the dancers try to run away, the guardians will whip them. Totally “possessed”, the dancers are unable to feel pain on any part of their bodies.

According to tradition, one of the forbidden items to bring to a kuda kepang performance is red cloth. The dancers are not permitted to see red cloth or they will go wild with frenzy, chasing the bearer of that crimson cloth.
It is said the kuda kepang dancers will have absolutely no recollection of what happened to them during the performance. Some, however, will begin to experience extreme pain, hunger and exhaustion. And they will normally need about three days to recuperate and physically recover to their normal self.

The dancers can perform extraordinary feat such as jumping as high as 6 feet and gobbling down flowers, glass shards and even ripping coconuts with their bare teeth!

Singapore has hidden culture and traditions. I was introduced to this Kadu Kepang by a Taxi uncle , a special thanks to you Mr. Halim.

Belle Du Berry - An Exclusive interview.

Date : 14 May 2011
Venue: Alliance de Singapour
Artists: Belle du Berry and David Lewis
website: www.belleduberry.com

I had the opportunity to not only see and hear these Musical Maestros on this day but also to take a short interview and meet them upclose! Down to earth, humble and modest -thats how I would describe them. A once in a life-time experience to meet such celebrities !

It turned out to be a magical musical night at Alliance de Singapour on 14th of May 2011, when the music artists Belle du Berry and David Lewis gave a melodious hypnotising performance ,the French chanson, American jazz and swing.

Belle du Berry is French ,a lead singer, a song writer and an accordion player.The Charishmatic Belle du Berry has a huge fan following not only in France but also in the U.S and Europe where they perform regularly on their international music tours. David Lewis,originally from Australia is a multi- instrumentalist . David moved to France in his early twenties.

Belle's expressive voice and ethereal quality captivated and mesmerised the audience. The rapport between du Berry and David on stage was electrifying. The pair complimented each other as David played the piano and electric keyboards while Belle sang with her melodious soothing voice. David also played solos on trumpet , with  Denis Henault-Parizel accompanying on bass and guitar and Remy Kaprielan on drums who undeniably set fire on stage!

The ravishing looking Belle started the evening with her songs invisible et perfumes, Faux Amis etc.She continued with the tracks from her album "QUIZZ" They ended their performance by singing "Intoxicated man" by Serge Gainsbourg . With the energy exuding from the stage, it was overall an overpowering performance!

A Special thanks to Belle and David for being generous enough to give me the opportunity to interview them.
And also to Ms. Leelin Tan , my colleague who accompanied me to the music concert and shot the interview.

My Best Friends..

May 8th was celebrated by the world as the Mother's Day.Not that I have ever celebrated that day before.. Its just commercialized these days, not of emotional importance anymore.

But anyway, I would take that as an opportunity to say "Thank you" to my mother.Thank you, for various reasons. For making me the person I am today. For all the love and blessings bestowed upon me even when I deserved it the least. For loving me when I needed it the most..

The memories of childhood cannot be erased easily. Its the simplest things in life that gives pleasure.. And my mother introduced us( brother and I) to such an important pleasurable thing - BOOKS
While I was 6 years old ,thats when I started reading my first comics.(Come to think of it, at the age of 6 was when my life started. Until then I was just an eating, pooping, sleeping baby!) While my mom went to work, we were left  to spend time with our 'friends' - the books.

One learns from childhood. We learnt about everything through these books.

TINTIN:
Those were the days. Reading these comics (which I found out recently is of French Origin) was more than pleasure. The characters, Captain Haddock and Snowy ( this comic inspired us to name our doggie who is no more with us) .
I just love Captain Haddocks dialogues. His curses -" Blistering barnacles,Billions of bilious blue blistering barnacles in a thundering typhoon, Baboons" etc etc..I adore Tintin's wit, humor and his adventures

ASTERIX & OBELIX:
 Another French comic by origin. Gaul is the village they live in. And Gaul is nothin but France in the olden era! All good things in life are French ( hahahah). I loved these characters. Asterix the smart one Obelix the dumb one. The Gauls are always at war with the Romans. And the magic potion made by the druid Getafix always saves the day. The magic potion gives the gauls
superhuman strength. Its an amazing read as the comic book has several entertaining characters like the village singer Cacophonix etc..

Bob & Bobbette:
Can you believe it?Another French origin comics..! The characters Bob , Bobette , Aunt Agatha and Professor Barbaras and their adventures is the main plot of the comic book. I love Bobbettes ragged doll Molly too!. I haven't managed to read all the series yet. So its still in my "to read" list.





ARCHIE:
Who hasn't read this one?? Revolves around 5 friends- Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie living in a town called Riverdale..there are other amusing entertaining characters too like Moose , Dilton..Its a perfect book for teenagers... Brings back the memories of good old days. sigh.






TINKLE:

The Indian Comic book! The stories are mainly for small kids which helps in building moral values. Also the characters like Suppandi, Shikari Shambu, Tantri the Mantri are so very entertaining.Words are not enough to say how wonderful these books are and how much they mean to me

my collection -Not for Sale.:) 

I never got around to thank my mother for introducing us to our childhood friends. To this day, with the advent of the internet the habit of reading has cultivated to become an obsession.
 Books keep me company at lonely times.. They are to me nothing less than best friends.. And I owe it all to you mom..

My First Documentary Movie

Finally an idea that took 4 months to materialize..

Singapore- Land of diversified cultures. Chinese being the largest ethnic group inhabiting the country.

This is the San Qing Gong temple.The Chinese have 3 main religions- buddism confusianism and taoism. This is a taoist temple..The Taoist trinity, San Qing (Three Pure Gods), is worshipped in Taoist halls. The San Qing Gong Temple is named after the three highest deities called the Three Pure Ones .They are Yu Qing (Jade Pure), Shang Qing (Upper Pure) and Tai Qing (Great Pure) Although the traditions and culture is alien to me I find it very fascinating. The chinese inscriptions in gold, the exquisite architecture of the temple is all so overwhelming.So many gods. So many idols.God of weatlth, god of luck, god of health and so on..Chinese Names that cannot be pronounced- at least not by me!

This temple is only 8 years old and unfortunately I have no history to share. Nevertheless, words cannot explain what I felt ,when I entered the temple.. The colours of flowers and paintwork in Red and Gold are breathtaking.The temple is filled with the incense aroma.

I was welcomed warmly into the temple by the caretaker. He even blessed me with sweets that were kept as offerings to the God. As much as he would like to give me the details about the temple the language barrier made it impossible

When visiting a Chinese Buddhist temple if you are alert and tuned in you can experience what is termed in Chinese as “ling” a type of magic or presence. I felt it too.. A feeling of serenity , tranquility and peacefulness.A charged energy created by prayer ,sincere chanting and meditation of the monks.In the courtyard of the temple a chimney-like structure made of bricks, located outside the temple is used for burning joss paper to the gods, ancestors or spirits. .Joss Paper, also known as ghost or spirit money. Joss paper is also burned in traditional Chinese funerals.

Walking into the glorious hall, with elaborately decorated pillars, a traditional roof and numerous statues of deities on the altars made me aware that theres so much more to be learnt and understood about the chinese. About their mystifying culture and traditions..

I made friends with Mr. Oh, who has invited me to come back to the temple again this friday... to attend a ceremony which he promises will be spectacular....

An amateur effort ...