Festival Light Up

This year’s festival of Eid light up are at two locations – Kampong Glam which is in the city and the other at the heart of Geylang – the hub of the Muslim community. The light up at Geylang was officiated last night where as the one in the city the weekend just before the start of Ramadan. I haven’t seen the lights at Geyland though I did have a chance to go and see the lights at the city and snap my fingers. This year’s lights are really pretty and simple. Kampong Glam, Arab Street, Bussorah Street were lined with colorful decorations of every color. A place of history and culture comes alive this month.

Welcome to my slide show of raya @ the city. The first four pictures are pictures of the start of the lights from the city side. This year they have used fish net like lights and adorned them with Eid greetings from a few languages like Malay, Indonesian, Urdu, Turkish, English & Chinese. That really shows the diversity in the Islamic faith I would think.

Slide 5 has a picture of the ‘ketupat’ just in case any one was wondering what the checkered square thing was adorned on the fish net. ‘Ketupat’ are actually rice cakes – a must for the Eid festival here. It’s made from coconut leaves. The casing is meticulously weaved into a square casing and filled with rice – it’s then steamed till it’s done. This is something I have yet to try to do. Every year it’s my mom and aunt who does this.

On slides 6 & 7 you will see the ‘wau bulan’. Wau bulan as explained in Wikipedia is an intricately designed Malaysian moon-kite (normally with floral motifs) that is traditionally flown by men in the Malaysian state of Kelantan. The greeting on the same light fish net is Salam Aidil Fitri – one of the many greetings we use to wish our friends and our family that is of course in the Malay language.

On slide 8, you will see the Indonesian greeting of Eid – Salam Lebaran. And next to it the symbol of the moon & star. On slide 9 you will see a hat like thing which is called a tudung saji. It is weaved from coconut leaves and used to cover foods. This was popular back in the day though many people still use as it is a symbol of their tradition.

Slides 10 to 13 are the lights of Arab Street. Arab Street has a special place in my heart because this was where my family once had their business. My grandfather built his legacy right here on these streets. And while walking through the place, I am reminded of the many stories I was told.

Slides 14-15 are pictures of the food bazaars that sells a variety of food from local to western right down to the Mediterranean. I didn’t get a chance to sample any of the food because I went there after iftar (the breaking of fast) though there some stalls still open though most of them closed and there people who were just sitting around at the many restaurants there after enjoying a hearty meal.

I walked further right to the end of the street as you will see in slides 16 & 17. I did however make a turn to see snippets of Bussorah St (slides 18-20) from the other side. Slide 21 and 22 are pictures of Arab Street from the other side and as you can see there is a greeting in Chinese too – how cool is that. *smiles*. The remaining slides are pictures of the lights from the road heading to the ECP expressway.

With all its simplicity, I liked the light up this year its pretty and colorful though I am sure the light up at Geylang is on a grander scale. With lights, bazaars and the amount of money that people will be forking out for the celebrations, I can’t help but wonder about that lady with her little girl sitting outside Sultan Mosque begging for money, how the remaining Ramadan will be for them or how Eid will be. During Ramadan, that area is flocked by people who live in poverty. They know that during this month where people are striving to do good deeds, they will give money without any reservation. The people who ask for money here usually old folks – I wonder where their family are, some people on wheelchairs, others with a lot of children, some with their food amputated. It is a heart wrenching sight and at the same time, it makes you reflect – makes you thankful for what you have and in many ways make sure that you don’t go over board in preparation for the coming Eid.

No intention of ending this blog entry on that note, but that is the reality its something that you just cant deny or not think about even if you tried.

Anyways, hope the light up slide show gives the reader a glimpse into the Eid festival celebrations here in Singapore. You can get more information of the raya in the city here …

http://app.stb.gov.sg/asp/new/new03a.asp?id=9043

http://hariraya-thecity.com.sg/