🧵 View Thread
🧵 Thread (18 tweets)
So... I went there, and had a pretty good time, but I was actually mostly disappointed and underwhelmed. I found it to be a very sanitized, tepid listing of facts and I didn't really learn very much. Simply wandering around Little India was more interesting. But hey, let's thread https://t.co/jm2zGFUO1a
I liked the toilet signage 😂 I think the bulk of the value I actually got from this experience was just being immersed in the pictures and iconography https://t.co/9pjvB8GrbG
at the start of the exhibit is a collection of items they found while excavating the site of the heritage centre – which is a taste of what's to come – a bunch of old items hanging around and not much story or context to help you make any sense of it. (wow visa, harsh) true tho https://t.co/cz3ZxSiOEx
This reminds me of what @darrenwan described as "detached periodisation, as if imperialism was just wallpaper". "convicts were sent" – by who *exactly*? how? why? how has that shaped our identity? shh, enjoy the pics (they do get into *some* details later, but you get the vibe) https://t.co/ZLoN11h2Eh
migration patterns! a ship! a harbor! old pictures! there's a bunch of data points and you feel like you're learning something hey, I recognize that picture on the far right... https://t.co/GC1k4ntvLx
those are the low-caste convicts who built so much of Singapore, housed in a forgotten prison that no longer exists. hey, do you think we're going to hear anything at all about caste in a museum about Indian heritage? 🤔 https://t.co/7V0Tw5WDwp
Singapore began receiving Indian convicts from British India from 1825–1873. These convlcts literally built 1800s SG – roads, bridges and monumental buildings that still exist today. They were housed in a prison where SMU now stands – of which there is no trace, no memorial https://t.co/ouoOmt8EOF
Subhas Chandra Bose flashes on-screen momentarily. He advocated for armed struggle and visited Singapore as part of his quest to establish anti-colonial (ie anti-British) forces in SE Asia. He set up a provisional Indian government in SG during WW2 😮 (just found out via Google) https://t.co/EYKay3YSHa
(my gut instinct is that there are a bunch of thoughtful historians who worked on this project who *wanted* to include all sorts of interesting, compelling details and stories, but were probably forced to keep things vague and sanitized by their bosses. just a guess)
(also, I went to the museum pretty late and had just under 2 hours to go through all of it – so there's a chance that I'm getting a little frustrated over nothing, and that I missed some of the details I was looking for... I shall probably go again and look more closely)
a Mask of the Face of Glory – Kirtimukha – a common symbol in kovils, with some Shiva-related backstory. This one was possibly made in the 1800s during the Majapahit period – you can find them in temples. Adding some pics from Java, Siemreap and Chiangmai https://t.co/PmhByPhnmx https://t.co/8uGcAbyC2M
contact between South India and the Srivijaya empire in SEA dates back to ~ 100 CE. The Indian influence on Southeast Asia itself has many, many lifetimes worth of story and history to explore and uncover. We still live in it https://t.co/hoEOTrriYR
The transmission of the meme of Buddha from India to China (and worldwide!) is itself something that's probably endlessly fascinating and I'm sure there are some interesting books on the subject (Korean painting in 4th pic) https://t.co/1mlM248b0b https://t.co/ns3dx3f7lC
was amused by these 12th/13th century Chola-era bronze sculptures of Shiva & Parvati because of the height difference between me and my wife 😂 I'm curious about the guilds of artisans that made these, what their lives were like ~300 years before Da Vinci https://t.co/7K6DEgNq4i https://t.co/nIwNrtHHZL
Pala-era bronze statue of Vishnu riding his mount Garuda. Garuda is a big deal in Indonesia – it's their national emblem and airline, which is interesting to juxtapose against the fact that it's a majority Muslim nation (87.2%) https://t.co/z4GQCddyC1 https://t.co/nVOnzI332q
Getting a bit bored, tbh. Interesting factoids: - Kings in Kedah and Cambodia donated to temples in Tamil Nadu - early (900–1400) Chinese texts have many references to the Chola Kingdom - Hinduism in Vietnam was a thing; around 50,000+ adherents still https://t.co/IJyzx4O1aX https://t.co/P8gLl1zrqA
Couple of other factoids, found in footnotes: - The Ceylon Tamil Association in Singapore traces its roots back to the 1850s - Indians in Singapore "began" worshiping mother goddesses such as Mariamman, Durga in the 1930s. Feels like there's a hidden story here... 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔 https://t.co/UMBZSc1q9X
via @IndiaHistorypic: Subhas Chandra Bose Speaking At Cathay Theatre, Singapore This should be ~1943 From his speech in Burma: "We should have but one desire today- the desire to die so that India may live." https://t.co/BGQoToQX0N https://t.co/ctW7u84PK1
