Had Dimsum lunch in Chinatown at the restaurant we normally go to, and then decided to walk around to relieve the super round stomachs. I was ushered into this nostalgic mood there and then. At this shop there are photo comparisons between the past Singapore and the present one. It suddenly hit me that much of our culture and heritage has been diluted by globalisation, technology and complete ignorance and indifference towards our culture.
Even Chinatown has become so commercialised with so many 3 for $10 stalls and people hawking the same wares at the same price in almost every shop you pass. It's such a pity, really. I think I like the past -- The simple street life like those recreated on TV shows, the rich culture and traditions and further away from home, those Victorian style houses, castles and clothes.
A shift back to now, what a different place it is. What a difficult place to live in, what a sometimes cold and distant landscape. I am guilty of not knowing how to speak my dialect, though I understand my Mum's. I am guilty of not knowing how to cook, sew or do anything very traditional. I didn't even know my Dad's grandma was Peranakan until he told me and showed me this belt of hers dated back to 1918. I eat Indonesian dishes almost every meal and I hardly know their names.
Can you imagine? This generation of ours is going to be the old generation one day. What will we pass on to our next generation? Will we become people who do not know our traditions, dialect, not know how to cook, paint, sew, draw? Will the only things we can pass on to our kids be computer skills, rusty memories and Singlish? Even then our computer skills may become obselete. What a bleak thought.
On a different note, I like that area a lot. Shall roam there one day.
