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Celebrating Deepavali @ Little India
Deepavali also means "Festival of Lights".
It is the most important Hindu festival on the Hindu calendar. In Singapore, Deepavali is usually held in late October to early November. To the devotees of this magnificent Hindu festival, Deepavali "convert darkness to light and the victory of good over evil". In Singapore, 55% of the Indians are Hindus.
This year Deepavali will be celebrated on November 13. You can visit Little India, an area located along Serangoon Road and there will be great festivities, sales promotions, food galore and plenty of both local and overseas visitors
|||||Where to feel the heartbeat of Deepavali
 Situated along Serangoon and Tekka Roads, there are endless rows of shops and shop houses, restaurants, affordable hotels, textile and jewellery shops – all reflecting the Indian lifestyle, spices and awesome gourmet. The ever popular 24 hours Mustafa Shopping Centre is also located in this area. On a normal weekend, the human and vehicle traffic flow along this area can almost come to a standstill. This area has become the home to the thousands of Indians who either have migrated to Singapore or are professionally engaged as part of the Singapore white and blue collar workforce.
Little India – the heartbeat of the thousands of Indians and Hindus in Singapore – is the right place to feel the vibrant warmth of Deepavali.
During this festive season, the streets of Little India will be grandly decorated and there are bright shiny curved arches to create a colourful festive atmosphere. It is also a good shopping place for the tourists. There will be a wide variety of merchandise on display from the dazzling bazaar stalls. The visitors can also enjoy a wide range of Indian snacks and north-south cuisine. There are plenty of cultural shows and activities too such as the India Cultural Relic & Crafts Show, street parades, Deepavali New Year's Eve concert.
So if you are free, you may go to Little India, find a coffee shop to sit down and then order a cup of fragrant India tarik (tea with milk foam). While you relax and appreciate the festival atmosphere of the crowd on the busy streets, you can also view the dazzling shops and stalls next to the hustle and bustle of the busy streets.
|||||Wear bright new clothes
In celebrate Deepavali, wearing new clothes are essential. The men can wear Jippa while the women will wear brightly colored silk sari or Punjabi style clothes. The young girls will generally wear Pavadai. Like the Chinese, the Indians also avoid wearing black clothes on Deepavali day because they view black as an unlucky color.
An authentic Deepavali tradition is the drawing of pretty paintings on your hands with the use of Indian herbal pigments (Henna). Such herbal pigments are also suitable for dyeing painted skin, hair, nails, and even leather and wool.
|||||The legend of Deepavali
Traditionally Deepavali is the day where the Hindus celebrate justice defeats evil and light conquer over darkness. There are different opinions about the origin of Deepavali. The most widely circulated story was how Narakasura became the monarch of a country by doing everything possible to win the favor of God. He became a tyrant and forced his subjects to live in dire straits.
As a result of wide spread hardship, Narakasura’s subjects went to seek comfort and help from Madura Kingdom rulers - Krishna (later known as Lord Sri Krishna). Eventually Lord Sri Krishna managed to slain the evil tyrant King Narakasura. Coincidentally, Lord Sri Krishna’s victory over the evil Narakasura took place on a new moon night where the whole city was in darkness. To celebrate Lord Sri Krishna victorious return, the people lit oil lamps to celebrate the victory. So even up to today, the Indians still retain this traditional of lighting up oil lamps to commemorate the victory over the evil forces.
|||||Traffic tips: Road closures in Little India during Deepavali
The Deepavali festivities are sponsored by the Little India Shopkeepers & Heritage Association. The duration is from November 13 to November 16, 2012.
To ensure that the festival activities are being run smoothly and safely, the following roads will be at closed from 13th to 16th November and during this period, these sectors will remain closed from 8am to 8 pm: Serangoon Road, Campbell Lane and Hashtings Road and Clive Street.
The traffic police will be on duty to regulate traffic and assist motorists as well as pedestrians. The traffic police also remind the public not to park their vehicles around the surrounding roads. Illegally parked vehicles will be towed away.
If in doubt, the public can call 63922246 to the organizers for more information. (■Singapore 360°)
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 About us：
- Address：Serangoon River, NE7 Little India MRT Station
Haw Par Villa
In 1937, a pair of brothers called Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par otherwise known as the developers of Tiger Balm, built and developed Haw Par Villa or popular known as the Tiger Balm Gardens. Haw Par Villa was designed to be a Chinese mythological theme park and back then when smartphones were totally unheard of, the Tiger Balm Garden was a mammoth tourist attraction in Singapore.
Haw Par Villa is located along Pasir Panjang Road. The park was originally a venue for teaching traditional Chinese values. During the 1970s and 1980s, Haw Par Villa went through several high profile management rise and fall. In 1988, the Singapore Tourism Board took over the running of the Tiger Balm Gardens and renamed it as Haw Par Villa Dragon World. The statues were carefully restored while retaining the original presentation. Plays, acrobatic displays and puppet shows were also organised. However the visitors have to pay entrance fees. The high fees became a deterrent for more visitors and eventually the management incurred a loss of S$31.5 million over a period of ten years. In 1994, the Gardens went through a renovation and although it was off to a good start, it again cannot cope with the escalating operating costs. By 1998, entry into the Gardens was free. In March 2001, the Singapore Tourism Board renamed it Tiger Balm Gardens and the entrance fees was dropped. Currently admission into the park is free; and it is open from 0900h to 1900h daily.
The Tiger Balm Gardens has more than 1,000 statues and 150 giant dioramas depicting scenes from Chinese folklore, legends, history and illustrations of various aspects of Confucianism. The attractions include statues of the Laughing Buddha and the Goddess of Mercy, as well as dioramas of scenes from Journey to the West. The most well-known attraction is the Ten Courts of Hell, with gruesome depictions of hell in Chinese mythology, all set in a 60 meter-long trail of a Dragon. Visitors can learn about Chinese history, culture and traditional concepts from the Tiger Balm Gardens or Haw Par Villa.
Haw Par Villa means tigers and leopards hence it is no surprise that there are many statues of these two animals in the park. Additionally, located at United States display, there is a Statue of Liberty, at the Australia, there are Australia kangaroos and at the Japan display, there is a model of Mount Fuji.
There are three Haw Par Villa parks, also known as Tiger Balm Garden, in the world. The first is located in Hong Kong, the second in Singapore while the third is located in the Fujian Province of China. They were all built by the famous pharmacy businessman Aw Boon Haw and the name originated from the names of the two brothers; Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par. The brothers whose original nationality was in the Fujian province of China, were born in Burma, and later creates the popular "Tiger Balm” brand. In 1937, Aw Boon Par built a second Haw Par Villa in Singapore. It was the largest Haw Par Villa.(■Singapore 360°)
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About us：
- Address: 262 Pasir Panjang, Singapore
- Tel: (+65) 68722003
- Opening hours: Daily from 9:00 to 7:00 pm.
- Transport: The Circle Line station, Haw Par Villa MRT Station (CC25), is located next to it
Singapore Flyer
 The Singapore Flyer open to the public since March 1, 2008, attracts thousands of tourists come to visit. The Flyer is 165 metres (Height of a 42-storey building). You will surpirse to the Singapore’s dynamic cityscape on the top of the Flyer from Changi Airport to Sentosa Island, and beyond to parts of Malaysia and Indonesia. It comprises 28 fully air-conditioned and UV-light protected capsules that can comfortably carry up to 28 people each. During 30 minutes of the flight, the visitors would have the chance to capture the beautiful landscape of the overall city. When it cilmbs up to the top of the Flyer, the broadcast inside the capsules would have announced that you are already on the top of the world. It is truly a fantasitic trip.
Taking a tour at the time of sunset is mostly recommended. You can enjoy the marvelous view when everything is coated with golden light. (■Singapore 360°)
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 About Us:
- Address：Singapore Flyer Pte Ltd 30 Raffles Avenue Singapore 039803
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