The Singapore Snaps team were delighted to welcome the photography club students of Fairfield Methodist Secondary School to join us for 3 sessions of their photography club program with the initiation of their insightful teacher-in-charge, Mr Larry Loh.

Kicking off the program in the first week, participating students started off getting to know a little more about the value of old photographs and how to handle them with care. The project orientation session with the students on was held in the cozy activity room at Geylang East Library. The students’ knowledge on photography was wide, but it was one of the first time they had come into close contact with photographs created from the analog era. Some students had even brought their personal family photographs from home to share with the group.

Following which, we accompanied the students straight into the neighbouring blocks across the road from the library to begin the door-to-door photo collection. For many of the students it was their first time in a door-to-door community involvement program like this, but all of them certainly had the courage and tenacity. Most of them started out shy whilst a number of the students were very forth coming with introducing the project to the residents.

Gracie, Outreach Officer for Singapore Snaps with two students from FMSS Photography Club on our first day.

On the second session, the students continued going door-to-door speaking to the community. From the feedback session that we had with the students, disappointment from being unable to receive a single photograph from any resident was common:

“I felt pretty disappointed as we did not have a single contribution and most of the neighbours turned us down. (On what can be improved) Our communication skills. We need to improve on our mandarin (our mother tongue) and other dialects” – Hagen Li

The students recognised the value of being multilingual so they can communicate with more people in Singapore because of the diverse cultures here. Comfortable with a single language used amongst their families and friends, the students quickly realised the value of dialects in understanding people from the earlier generations.

But some of the students took the rejection in a very positive light. C.S Chan a student wrote:

“Through the collection of old photos and speaking to strangers publicly, I realised that photos are more than just memories. They are precious milestones (of individuals) in their golden years. Many were reluctant to offer (their photographs)… Perhaps that is how priceless the photos are to them.”

Chan also drew the connection between photography and biography in his reflection.

“One’s photography is another’s biography.”

Audrey, another student from the photography club gave us new insight to our project:

“I learned that stories are meant to be shared and the power of voicing our inner thoughts… This experience allowed me to treasure the community even more especially when there are so many stories waiting to be shared by them! Their fascinating stories bring Singapore’s past alive, so that us, the next generation could appreciate its beauty and see through its growth.”

One of the written reflections from the students of the FMSS Photography Club.

We were extremely heartened to receive handwritten reflections like these from the students. They were very honest and we were glad that this community involvement from the students were beyond simply achieving the project’s goals. The students took home with them new insights about the local community, and of themselves. The younger generation’s interest and participation are necessary and important for us because the observation and writing of history is a continuous task for us to gain insight of the present.

Singapore Snaps would like to thank the students of the Photography Club from Fairfield Methodist Secondary School and teacher-in-charge Mr Larry Loh. They had travelled far to join us and we have learned as much from them as they had during their journey with us.

All photo credits in this post are Chan Wen, Hagen Li and Larry Loh.

Written and edited by Samantha Tio

Top picture: Young boys in a sampan at the heart of Geylang River. Photo credit: National Archives of Singapore. Source: Lee Kee Hwee

Durian shop in the 1980s. Photo credit: National Archives of Singapore

Possibly the most exotic eats you would ever find in Singapore are concentrated in Geylang – from the semi-outdoor durian shops touting an array of durian varieties enough to satisfy an connoisseur to other mojo-boosting dishes such as frog porridge and turtle soup. Aside from outlandish dishes, you can also find the best of Singapore’s hawker classics: wonton mee, beef kway teow, nasi padang, tze char (home-style chinese dishes), nasi biryani, traditional desserts and dim sum served 24-hours, round the clock. It is not surprising as well, away from all the humidity and grease of the hawker establishments in Geylang there are also several air-conditioned, barrister level, hipster joints that have been mushrooming all over Singapore over the past years.

Food and gluttonous thoughts aside, vice is also rampant in Geylang. Regularly found on the newspapers are news of police raids for contraband cigarettes, illegal gambling, drug trafficking and unlicensed street walking. Surely, in a city with a squeaky clean image like Singapore’s there is somewhere you would find the underbelly of our straight-laced society. “Cleaning up” always seems to be the order of the day, but lost is the very soul (though darkened) of Geylang, just like the Bugis Street in its former days, to our values-promulgating state, should the prostitutes, pimps and drug dealers all ran away.

So how would a family-friendly project like Singapore Snaps find its fit in Geylang?

The neighbourhood of Geyalang Serai had kampong squatters located side by side HDB Flats before the 1990s. Photo credit: National Archives of Singapore

Along the northern side of the MRT train tracks that connects Kallang, Aljunied and Paya Lebar, nestles a charming neighbourhood. You can find the regular civic amenities such as the Geylang East Library, where the SG Snaps booth was based, Geylang East Swimming Complex and Geylang Polyclinic, as well multiple schools in the area. The public library, though the lowest in human traffic compared to the ones at Toa Payoh and Redhill, where our collection booths were previously based, is endearingly quaint. We really like the “Green Reading Space” on the second floor where visitors can lie on a synthetic turf in air-conditioned comfort under a glittery LED-lit ceiling. Not forgetting the conducive activity room on first floor where there is a painted life-size mural of famous fairy tales. This dainty neighbourhood is a huge contrast to its other half across the train tracks, as day to night. The SG Snaps team was so fascinated with these almost schizophrenic characteristics of Geylang that we had to look at the kind of photographs that we would find there.

On the origins of the district’s name, one could never be too clear. There are writings that say that the name “Geylang” is a mutation of the Malay word “kilang” which means “mill” or “factory”. This could refer to the mills of the coconut plantations in the area, which were operated by some of the Orang Laut who resettled from the mouth of the Singapore River to live along the banks of the Geylang River in the 1840s. In a map of Singapore from 1849, there were also mentions of a small island named “Pulo Gelang”, which disappeared with the land-fills and reclamation of the Kallang Basin.

Singaporeans are also familiar with the famous Malay folk song that begins with the line “Gelang si paku Gelang”. Its lyrics sounds like it is referring to the area of Geylang. However, it is a traditional Malay song in the Malay literary format called “Pantun”, and “Gelang” in the song actually refers to the creepers or wild plants growing in Singapore. For the longest of times, I had always been singing “Geylang sepatu (shoes) Geylang”, thinking that the song was talking about shoes bought from the district.

Sundries shop in a long Geylang Road in the 1980s. Photo credit: National Archives of Singapore

Geylang is also rich in history. Following the Orang Lauts are the new migrants from the late 19th Century. While speaking with a contributor from the neighbourhood, we discovered that Geylang supported many new factories and micro-businesses of the immigrant population during the early 20th Century. She told us how she had grown up in one of the shophouses, where her family operated a motor repair shop at the ground level. Many industries were found in Geylang and its population grew from the influx of immigrants that overflowed from the city center during that era. This influx also results in the present distinct shophouses found along Geylang that were used by clan associations as points of contact for new migrants. These clan associations helped to integrate the newcomers into the local custom and culture.

A child growing up in a shophouse along Geylang Road where the living quarters were at the second floor and the workshops were on the ground level. Photo credit: Gaan Ho Mui

Today, Geylang continues to be a reflection of our rapid demographic changes in Singapore. Geylang now plays host to many foreign workers and new migrants not minding the area’s reputation, but seeking affordability in rental prices and accessibility to the city center.

Written by Samantha Tio
Edited by Tan Wei Keong