Page 94 - Stories from our Grandparents

uring her childhood days, Mdm Kupama had a few
memorable takeaways from her school as well as family
life. One of the many unforgettable experiences was when
Dher mother gave birth to her younger sibling. This was
due to the reason that she was the only one around by her mum’s
side when Mdm Kupama’s mother was about to give birth.
Being the sixth child out of ten, this event was memorable for Mdm
Kupama as her younger sibling, the seventh child, was about to be
brought into the world then and she was able to witness the entire
procedure. Born in post-war Singapore, Mdm Kupama was living
through some of the after effects of the Second World War. Besides
that, she lived growing up days in a government cottage house which
was offered to people who worked for the government.
In the early years of independence, Mdm Kupama was allowed the
right to education and hence, she was at least able to complete her
primary education. Having heard stories about World War 2 from her
late mother, Mdm Anggamal, who went through that tough period,
Mdm Kupama reflects on them and says that we should never take
whatever we have now in the present days for granted.
She added that our ancestors fought extremely hard and
even skipped meals just in order to let us enjoy the fruits
they reaped and that we do not face the same torture
as them. When asked if she has any advice for the next
generation, the first of few things that came to her mind was
to be grateful and have a growth and positive mind-set.
“Understanding that the world is becoming even more
competitive and stressful, Mdm Kupama said that as long
as the strong drive of achieving more and contributing
back to the society is deeply instilled in our new
generation, Singapore will be brought to greater heights.”
Mdm Kupama
Born xxxx
By Janani Ramachandran
36 Grandma Stories
Millennia Institute
uring the Japanese Mdm Tan Ah Tang
occupation, Mrs Lee was Born 1930
about 10 years old. It was By Lee Jie Xuan
Dsaid that during the period Millennia Institute
of time, news of the atrocities
committed by the Japanese soldiers had created fear within her family.
She mentioned that the people who worried the most were women as it
was believed that most of the atrocities committed were against women.
“In Hokkien, Mrs Lee told me that during the time, she lived in
Hougang, Singapore, there was a big “Longkang” where people
were gathered from other places of Singapore and shot.”
However, she stated that there were not many atrocities committed by the
Japanese soldiers in the area. This was because of the fact that there was
a Japanese civilian living in the area (after the interview, I went to do some
research and found out that there were in fact Japanese people living in the
Hougang area as early as around 1862, and that today, there is a Japanese
Cemetery Park in Hougang that contains the remains of the Japanese
who lived in Singapore, from civilians to soldiers who were executed after
being found guilty of war crimes during the occupation) and according to
Mrs Lee, the Japanese civilians managed to convince the invading soldiers
that the people living in the area were friendly. “Life was as usual” she said,
mentioning her experience hiding in air raid shelters as they were afraid of
the bombs being dropped.
When asked if she had witnessed any atrocities
committed by the Japanese soldiers, she said that
most of the time spent during that period was in her
house where she hid, and that she heard that “people
were force fed water before the Japanese soldiers
jumped on their stomachs”. Lastly, she mentioned
a Japanese officer who received complaints by
the Japanese living in the area, regarding his men
harassing the local women in the area. He managed
to keep all the soldiers in the base.
Grandma Stories 37