Little India, Singapore

{{SG neighbourhood |imagemap= |englishname=Little India |tamilname=லிட்டில் இந்தியா |chinesename=小印度 |poj= |pengim= |pinyin=Xiǎo Yìndù |malayname=Little India }} [[File:Singapore Little India.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Shophouses in Little India.]] [[File:Deepavali, Little India, Singapore, Oct 06.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Little India celebrating [[Deepavali]].]] [[File:Crowded busy street of Little India.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Busy Sunday street.]]''''' '''Little India''' is an [[Culture of Singapore|ethnic neighbourhood]] found in [[Singapore]] that has [[Tamil people|Tamil]] [[Tamil culture|cultural elements]]. Little India lies to east of the [[Singapore River]]—across from [[Chinatown, Singapore|Chinatown]], located west of the river—and north of [[Kampong Glam]]. Both areas are part of the [[Districts and places in Singapore#Urban planning areas|urban planning area]] of [[Rochor]]. Little India is more commonly known as Tekka in the local Tamil community. Little India is distinct from the [[Chulia Kampong]] area, which, under the [[Raffles Plan of Singapore]], was originally a division of [[History of Singapore#Early growth (1819 - 1826)|colonial Singapore]] where [[Tamil people|Tamil]] [[immigrant]]s would reside under the British policy of ethnic [[Racial segregation|segregation]]. However, as Chulia Kampong became more crowded and competition for land escalated, many ethnic [[Tamil people|Tamils]] moved into what is now known as Little India. (The Chulia Kampong district no longer exists as a distinct area.) The Little India area is reported to have developed around a former settlement for [[Tamil people|Tamil]] [[convict]]s. Its location along the [[Serangoon River]] originally made it attractive for raising cattle, and trade in livestock was once prominent in the area. Eventually, other economic activity developed, and by the turn of the 20th century, the area began to look like a [[Tamil people|Tamil]] ethnic neighbourhood. Although ethnic [[Tamil people|Tamils]] no longer tend to stay solely segregated in one place as previously arranged under the modern [[People's Action Party]] (PAP) policy of racial harmony, for the sake of cultural heritage, many of the ethnically [[Tamil people|Tamils]] [[commerce|commercial]] or [[cottage industry]] usages are concentrated in Little India, although [[Tamil people|Tamil]]-dominant commercial zones are also found in [[HDB]] estates. This neighbourhood has the patronage of people of all races who wish to eat or buy something specific to [[Tamil people|Tamils]] culture, such as [[curry]] or Tamil [[clothing]]. One of the more prominent examples of cross-cultural patronage besides those regarding food is that many [[Chinese race|Chinese]] parents go to shops in Little India to grind [[rice]] to make [[congee]] for [[infant]]s. In such cases, the shops have machinery primarily meant to grind [[spices]] into [[Powder (substance)|powder]] for use in [[Tamil cuisine]]. Little India resembles India in many respects, including road construction and sanitation, differing sharply from the rest of Singapore's pristine districts. [[File:Veeramakaliamman Temple.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Veeramakaliamman Temple, [[Little India]].]] [[Serangoon Road]] is the main commercial thoroughfare in Little India. It intersects [[Rochor Canal Road]] and Bukit Timah Sungei Road. Along Serangoon Road is the Tekka Centre, the Tekka Mall, the Little India Arcade, Serangoon Plaza, and the [[Mustafa Centre]] (on a side-road). Farrer Park Fields is located in the district. Several Hindu temples, mosques, and other place of worship include Foochow Methodist Church, Kampong Kapor Methodist Church, [[Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple]], Angullia Mosque, [[Sri Vadapathira Kaliamman Temple]], Jalan Mosque, and the Central [[Sikh]] Gurdwara. The [[Abdul Gafoor Mosque]], built in 1859 and named after a [[Tamil people|Tamil]] [[lawyer]]'s [[law clerk|clerk]], features [[Arabian]]- and [[Renaissance]]-style architecture. Its prayer hall, decorated with Moorish arch-work, displays a tableau featuring the history of the Islamic religion. The [[Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple]], along Serangoon Road, features a high [[gopuram]] (tower), and was built in 1855. The [[Buddhist]] Sakyamuni Buddha Gaya Temple, also along Serangoon Road, originally established by Thai monk Vuthisasara in 1927. Leong San See Temple is dedicated to [[Kuan Yin|Guanyin, the Chinese Boddhisattva of Mercy]]. Little India's Petain Road, named after French Marshal [[Philippe Pétain]] (who was later convicted of [[collaboration]] with [[Nazi Germany]]), was built in 1916 on a drained [[swamp]], and features examples of Singaporean Chinese architecture. The area is served by the following [[Singapore MRT|MRT]] stations: [[Little India MRT Station|Little India]],and [[Farrer Park MRT Station|Farrer Park]] [[File:Little India, Singapore, panorama, Aug 06.jpg|thumb|center|600px|Panoramic view of Little India. Taken from Farrer Park View Housing Estate.]] [[File:Panoramic View of Serangoon Road, Little India, Singapore.jpg|thumb|center|600px|Panoramic view of Little India. Taken from Serangoon Road.]] {{commons|Singapore#Little India}} ==External links== *[http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/home/getting_around/tours_in_singapore/walking_tours/little_india.html Uniquely Singapore website] {{Places in Singapore}} {{coord missing|Singapore}}