Page 71 - Stories from our Grandparents

ingapore has changed drastically. If you had seen what Singapore am the youngest member in my family Mdm Sanserany
was like in the past, you would not believe it to be the same I By Eshwer Gunaseelan Born 1948
with five siblings. My mother hailed
Singapore today! During the 1950s and 60s when I lived in the from Malaysia and my father from ITE College East
Skampong, my community was very close-knit. The children would India. After the World War II, they
always play together and the neighbours treated each other like family. decided to settle in Singapore. Since
my father worked for a British firm, we
“We shared food, our joys and our pains. We had a had the privilege of living in one of the company’s quarters. After my birth,
flourishing tradition of “gotong-royong” my father decided to go back to India and never returned. His whereabouts
where everyone would share the load and help whenever were not known and soon, our life was plunged into a state of darkness.
My mother had no clue how to raise her six children as a single parent.
they could. When there were weddings, there was such
grandeur in the celebrations. The whole kampong would With some financial assistance from one of my maternal uncles, we
come to watch, bless and pay their respects to the moved to a rental house in a kampong in Sembawang. My eldest
brother went to work at a very young age to support our family.
newlyweds. We had a lively kampong community Despite all the hardship we faced, there was never a single frown on
which I really miss.” my mother’s face. She was a role model to her children.

When the People Action Party (PAP) formed our first government after She lived the proverb – ‘The hand that rocks the
independence, they built high-rise flats for us to stay and we were told to cradle, rules the world’.
move out of our kampongs and into those flats. Imagine! What a change for
us! To forego our rustic communal life and adapt to new technologies in our In the past, we were happy with what we had and accepted life the
daily lives. The modern amenities had eased our way of life. During the early way it was. Today, people are blessed with a comfortable lifestyle –
years of independence, the PAP focused a lot on Singapore’s future and online shopping and credit card options attract teenagers to shop for
kept encouraging us to have forward thinking and to innovate. During hard products that are far beyond essential needs. Instead of saving for
times, these were the key principles that kept Singapore striving. their child’s future, young parents shower their kids with lavish gifts.
Although Singapore rapidly progressed into a very modern country, I met a five-year-old boy who owns a cell phone so that
our culture and traditional practices persevered and we kept it alive. he can talk to his parents while they are at work.
For example, there was still a sense of kampong spirit when everyone Isn’t that bewildering?
interacted with one another, although we lived in flats.
“No matter what we have and who we are today,
I think I am lucky to have witnessed let us live in harmony with the spirit of generosity

Mdm rahmah Bte our nation’s transformation because and compassion to give back to the society. We
I can truly appreciate what a long way
must learn to respect our parents and thank
Sulaiman Born 1938 we have come. them for their kind deeds. What we are
By Amirah Haziqah
ITE College East today, is only because of their sacrifice and
blessings.”

12 Grandma Stories