deepavali light-up & pasar malam

[031006] in this boring little red dot, e cat looks forward to Thaipusam (when it will watch devotees carrying kavadis & milk pots to e Tank Road temple from e upper deck of e Superbus), Ramadan (when it will make its annual trip to e Hari Raya bazaar in Geylang Serai) & Deepavali (most colourful). CNY is just red, red & more red, & too much about crass consumerism & extravagance & $$$ (ang pows) & one-upmanship (relatives comparing kids' academic grades & 'branded-ness' of schools, job status & income, size/price of house, etc) & annoying minding-of-others-business (when are you getting married? are you dating a root-mean-square? when are you having kids?).

(N.B. root mean square = RMS = acronym for 'rich man son')

not that Eid & Diwali are 100% free from e $-obsession....this is e little red dot after all, where Bahasa Money, not Melayu, is e true national language that every citizen can speak =P & neither are they 100% free from one-upmanship & annoying relatives ('whom you still have to maaf zahir dan batin', as someone grouses - won't say who cos you aren't supposed to grouse during e blessed month =P)....e cat's Indian & Malay friends will attest to that. but as a Chinese (that has to convince certain people that it is one), e cat can simply enjoy 'at face value' e beautiful colours & not care about all those =)

Little India Deepavali light-up:





pasar malam - a riot of colours:








weekday night, so no crowds =) many stalls had set up electric fans, & stallholders weren't pushy too. interesting how Hindus & Thais offer e same kinda flower garlands (both fresh & artificial) to e deities they worship, & how Thais worship e four-faced Brahma, which many (mistakenly?) think is a Buddhist deity, when it is in fact Brahmin (e cat has been told that this is e reason why e four-faced Brahma is located outdoors in Thai temples, & never in e viharn chapel together with e Buddha statues - is this true? anyone knows?). & so many Thai rituals (e.g. e Royal Ploughing ceremony to predict e coming year's harvests) have Brahmin influence too.

$10 from Tekka market:




price can be bargained down but e old couple running e shop were so nice & patient & e cat felt that it wasn't nice to haggle over a dollar or two. people need to eat too.