Living Life at 70

One of my passions in life (the other is social issues) that only my friends know about is cooking. Ask my friends who have come to my home, chatted around my kitchen table and enjoyed, appam, puttu or pancake for breakfast, and roast chicken, pasta, or a variety of curries for dinner.

Food and family around a large table has always been part of Sunday gatherings and festivals at my parents home in Singapore. Now the family is spread out in three different continents. However most members now live in Perth. The family get togethers are always an ocassion for feasting and our experiences of food have extended far beyond the traditional Malayalee food of my mother’s table.

I am reminded of the joy of getting together around a table now that Christmas is here and once again I am in Perth to celebrate the event with my siblings and their families. When we sit down to dinner on Christmas day there are 44 of the immediate family. The family is still growing and the latest addition to it is one month old Zoe.

So for this Christmas dinner I have been assigned to cook the family’s favourite, the mutton curry. There will be the traditional roast turkey, glazed Ham, salads of different cultures, Greek and Lebanese vegetable dishes and dips, rendang, and a variety of desserts whose origins I am not sure of. But they are always a delight.

This morning I did two of my favourite ‘things’ - go to a book shop and then spend the rest of the morning in a café, set in lush, tropical, garden, all very nicely landscaped to give the impression of  nature running wild, drinking a nice tall glass of  cold cappuccino.

I don’t know how long I am going to be able to afford these luxuries.

Even without the economic turmoil currently underway there was enough that should worry me about my old age. This is strange coming from a person whose approach to life is to avoid the unpleasant and if it is possible bury the head in the sand.

Couple of years ago and for many years before that my utility bill was never more than $45-47/-. It leaped to $147/- or so two years ago and the explanation from Singapore Power was that they have changed the meter to a more modern and efficient one. They were not about to check to see if there was another reason for this sudden jump. And now, and now, the markets tumbling, people losing jobs and me with no way of improving my finances, my power bill is going to go up by another 21%- and this when oil prices were falling dramatically.

Do I understand that? No. So I shall be myself again, avoid the unpleasant and enjoy my cappuccino in this beautiful green setting. It is a delight!

Another strange thing happened to me today. I met a young man – no wait for me to finish that – at the book shop who told me that I had a beautiful face – that I think too much and that there were two people who think of me all the time . But I think of only one person. All this from looking at my face! He suggested that I keep an open mind. He would tell me who the two people were if I could give him a bit of my time.

Yes, that’s right he was a fortune teller who was doing his ‘spiel’ Did I fall for it? No! I am usuallyquite easily taken in. But today I didn’t spend time with him. But I did tell him that he made my day and that I shall smile all day long. It doesn’t take much to make me happy.

This is my favourite time of the year. Because it is festival time in Singapore which begins around October and ends in February. And if you have friends who celebrate the various cutural traditions then it is also party time and catching up with friends who one doesn’t see during the rest of the year.

Yes. It is my favourite time of the year. The festival season this year, began with Hari Raya Puasa ( the Malay-Muslim celebration at the end  of their annual fasting month), then there is Deepavali or Divali as the North Indians call it, my own festival, Christmas, followed by the Lunar New Year which usually comes at the end of the season of festivals.

From October to February , streets are decorated and lit, crowds flock and bazzars flurish as people of the various cultures get into the spirit of celebrations. I love it. I love the buzz. I love the lights. I love the crowds. I love the diversity. I love the colours and above all I love the sense of goodwill that  pemeates the air when people get into the celebratory mood.

I wander the streets of Lilltle India during the Deepavali Season, Arab Street or Geylang in the fasting month, Orchad Road during December and China Town during the Lunar New year Celebrations.

I am enchanted by these celebrations. It is the kind of delight that I experienced it best as a child but I am still open to and appreciate as I age.

Last week I turned 72 and October is delightful; no more than delightful - I am amazed - that I am alive, in good health, full of energy and blessed with the love of family and friends.

The on-going confusion about who we are, Singaporean, Chinese or Chinese Singaporean or Singaporean Chinese, Indian, Indian Singaporean…you understand what I am saying don’t you? We have all been there.

Defining our identity, of who we are, is an exciting journey in self reflection. It has been an important issue, individually, nationally, and politically, since the beginning of the 20th century with the more, historically recent, flow of mass transnational migration.

“Who am I” must be a more difficult question for the current generation of young, exposed as they are ,to many cultures

What are your thoughts on the subject?

There is a good ending to the story of lift-up-grading.

A few months later, after complaints and protests to the local MP, another vote was taken. This time one of the ladies decided to make sure that everybody remembered and so she went door –to-door getting signatures - it was not easy, often people were out which meant several visits and she had to deal with rude and unhelpful residents, but she did it and got the necessary signatures. So now we are waiting for the authorities to follow up.