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Time flies. It was time once again to catch up to celebrate more birthdays. This time mine and Allen Ang’s. So last night we met up at Jypsy at East Coast for dinner.

I have never been here. And it is a lovely location. By the waters with lots of greenery. You can see many ships “sailing” by with indoor and outdoor dining options and convenient car parking.

This restaurant is an offshoot of PS Cafe and here they do Japanese fusion food. The food was decent and reasonably priced. And for a Monday, it was packed.

All of us were there by 7pm and the food came fast. So we were done eating, at least I was, by 745pm. We ended up chatting till 945pm.

It is always nice to catch up with people you have worked with, especially when the work done was volunteer work. But I felt that we didn’t or we now don’t have anything much in common, except to talk about people we know or knew or current events. The conversation was rather disjointed with different topics amongst different groupings of people.

Well I guess that’s inevitable when you no longer have anything in common except for what we did together in the past.

Still I enjoy the idea of meeting them and always look forward to the next one.

My one complaint is that the desserts that doubled as birthday cakes were just too sweet. Is it because Singaporeans have a sweet tooth? Despite so much calls to cut down sugar and salt, our food outlets seem to continue increasing these levels. I really couldn’t touch the desserts.

Another SSO night yesterday. This time a piano concerto composed and performed by Stephen Hough and the famous organ concerto by Saint Saens, who was himself an organist. On paper should have been an enjoyable night.

Sir Stephen Hough is clearly a very accomplished pianist. He has a long list of achievements, been knighted and I read that Economist magazine had rated him as one of the 10 living polymaths.

But despite all this, I simply couldn’t appreciate his performance of his self composed piano concerto. Composed during Covid, it is a single movement piece about 20 minutes long but I found it without a clear theme or melody.

And he played his pieces on a Yamaha CFX piano. To me, it sounded very different from the usual Steinways used in concert halls. The sound was thin and lacked warmth. Another minus.

He followed this performance with 2 encores. A composition of his for the movie Mulan and his variations on a song from Mary Poppins. Both of these elicited an enthusiastic response from the audience.

I was looking forward to the post interval organ concerto but I was disappointed. The performance didn’t connect with me. Was it the way they played, the acoustics of the hall or the tempo adopted by the conductor? I felt the orchestra was not in sync and the playing disjointed.

Pity. I have always liked this piece ever since I heard the the dramatic final movement in the movie Babe. No such luck last night. The performance, and the final movement in particular, made no impression on me.

The highlight of the evening ended up being my bumping into my favorite Mexican Ambassador and his wife. It was so good seeing him and I ended up chatting with him both before and during the interval. This was the one bright spark in an otherwise ordinary evening.

For myself, I do need to start choosing what SSO performances I book tickets for carefully. Have been making a few mistakes.

I have noticed that it is getting increasingly harder to find a common time for 4 people to meet for lunch, especially when two of them seem to enjoy travelling so much. I have tried to get us together since late September without any success to celebrate a birthday.

So I was very surprised that at short notice, it was possible for Francis and I to meet for lunch. Wasn’t sure it was going to happen till it actually happened. Last night, the venue was fixed for Serangoon Road. Then late morning the venue was changed to Ivins at Binjai Park. Finally we landed up here.

Food was Italian and was alright. Nothing to shout about but prices were decent, with their 2 course set lunch at $28.

But it was good catching up, even if it’s for a short while. We have so many things and we know so many people in common that there is no shortage of topics to talk about. At this age, health issues dominate any conversation and since Francis is very into health and various health related treatments and supplements, that took center stage.

I have casually known Francis since Eusoff College days. I remember he approached me to ask about a moot competition I had taken part in the year before. That must have been in 1985. But we only became friends after he joined the firm sometime in 1998. We have been in the same department since and we must have spent countless hours talking and travelling over the years, including 2 football World Cups.

As I was walking to my lunch appointment yesterday afternoon, I bumped into Prof Tan Lee Meng just outside Scotts Square. He was on his way for his lunch at the Marriott.

Prof Tan was one of my favorite teachers and Dean at the law faculty.

He was already a professor when I was a student at the law faculty. He taught shipping and carriage of goods by sea. He was also Master of Raffles Hall.

For some internal political reasons, he was hardly seen at the faculty when I was a student. He spent most of his time at the hall.

He was a legendary master at Raffles Hall. He was so well loved by generation of students who stayed there, many of whom still speak fondly of their time there and of him.

He was my favorite lecturer for shipping because he was so clear, entertaining and captivating. He was the only teacher throughout my 4 years there, whose lecture I could sit through the entire hour without once looking at my watch. I remember he lectured without any notes. He was one of the very few first class honours students at the faculty and he was well known for his photographic memory.

He became Dean just when I had joined the faculty in 1987. And what a wonderful Dean he was. He had very close interactions with the staff and students regularly. He recruited many local teachers for the faculty and the students loved him. He always had an open door policy and you could see him and speak to him anytime about anything. Camaraderie amongst the staff, especially the younger ones, was strong during his time as Dean.

I remember he persuaded the university to provide funding for the purchase of a piano which was placed in the moot court and thereafter used regularly for student concerts.

A few years after that he left the faculty to become the deputy vice chancellor of the university. Thereafter became a high court judge. It was always a pleasure appearing before him because he was pleasant, would listen to you and would have read all the papers. Many a time after a hearing, he would call in the lawyers into his chambers and chat with them. Such wonderful days.

I am so glad to have seen him again. Of course he is now rather frail but good to see him still so sharp and bright and looking forward to his lunch.

This photo must have been taken in 1992 or 1993 just outside the law faculty. So many wonderful memories. And so many in this picture have since passed on….

I left India yesterday . I checked out from the hotel at 1130am, arrived at Thiruchy airport by 140pm. Waited for my mother and we both checked in.

In many respects, Thiruchy airport is so much better than Madurai airport. The staff are nicer. There is hardly any queue at either immigration or security. And they have a lounge which you can pay to use. That was nice. And it cost us only 1500Rp for the 2 of us. Very comfortable, new, good food and very clean toilets.

I will use this airport again. The problem is the distance to my mother’s home town from Thiruchy. It takes her 3 hours to go either way. Pity.

Flight departed early and we arrived in Singapore on time.

Another good India trip.

The last temple I visited yesterday was the Pandi temple. I have visited this temple on my way to the airport the last time I was in Madurai.

This time I went there at about 10am with more time on my hands.

Everyone in Madurai knows this temple and they tell me that it is an important temple. But it is a temple very different from all the other temples I have visited.

It is a relatively newer temple. It isn’t a huge complex with magnificent sculptures. It is in the middle of what appears to be a market place and it’s a low rise building. It attracts a lot of people but all local folks and primarily rural people.

When I told my mother on Sunday that I was visiting this temple I was surprised that she even knew this place. She said that the deity is a fierce one and she thought women did not in the past go to the temple.

Anyway I was met at the entrance and I was brought to stand right in front of the main deity of the temple, Pandi Muneeswarar, to receive blessings. There was a queue of people behind me and while I was standing in front of the deity, a young girl behind me started screaming or wailing very loudly. I turned back and she must have been about 8 to 10 years old and she was with her mother.

I was then brought to the other parts of the temple which I didn’t visit the last time.

There was a shrine manned by an old lady who blesses people. I believe the shrine is dedicated to Ganesha.

Then I was shown another section where a lot of small cots where hanging. I was told that people who wanted babies would come to this temple and pray and tie a small cot here. There were so many cots on that structure and I was told that the temple authorities remove them regularly.

Then there was the middle part of the complex where they were sacrifing goats. I actually saw a small black goat which was having it’s legs tied up and a man was standing next to it with huge knife getting ready to behead it. I didn’t want to see the actual beheading and so I looked away and walked. There was quite a bit of blood on the floor in that area and I saw the heads of 8 goats lined up on the floor. I was told that people who prayed for something and had their wish granted would come here to give thanks by sacrificing animals.

Right at the other end of the temple complex was another shrine. This deity, Samaya Karuppar, had all its parts cut up. There was a half torso in the middle and the head and other parts of the body were placed alongside it.

A very different type of a temple from all the others I have visited. But that explains the diversity of people and their beliefs in this country.

Immediately after the visit to Palamuthir Solai and drinking the water from Noopuragangai, I went to Thirupuramkundram. A name I am familiar with because it used in so many Tamil movie devotional songs in the 60s and early 70s.

I have never been here and a good friend had suggested that I visit this.

Although it was still before 8 am, traffic started to build up and the road there was a single lane one, narrow and bumpy. The town buses would stop every few metres and everyone has to wait behind the buses, unless you can overtake… until you are behind the next bus. But I did notice many schools nearby. Each with their own building compound and a small playground. I think these are some of the many private schools now in Tamil Nadu. I also saw many private colleges in that area. Perhaps another reason to explain the traffic congestion.

Pity about India and Tamil Nadu. So much history and monuments and temples which are centuries old, but in a state of disrepair or so difficult to get to because no one bothers to improve the transport system.

Anyway after a long journey, the driver had to park some distance away and I walked up to the temple barefoot for a few hundred metres.

This temple is dedicated to Lord Murugan and is supposed to be his first abode. It is at the foot of a stone hill and the temple and sculptures are carved into the stone. The crowd to visit the temple was slowly building up. I paid to get the express lane but it was just to walk past the deity. Also I noticed so many newly just wedded couples with their families in entourage visiting the temple.

Spent about 10 minutes there and left. Glad I visited this place once but not a place I will come again.

Immediately after the Vishvaroopa dharshan at Alagar temple, my minder took me up to Palamuthir Solai temple which is up the Alagar Hills. This is supposed to be one of the 6 abodes of Lord Murugan.

As it was only 610am then, it was still cool when I was driving up the hill to the temple. The drive was a good 5 to 7 minutes. Again I just cannot imagine how arduous the journey must be for the many people who visit this temple by walking up the hill. I think it must take them about 45 minutes to an hour walking uphill to reach this temple without a car. And most people do not have a car or transport. Such devotion and dedication.

I did a dharshan here and again I was blessed to see the unveiling of the deity, which took place at 615am.

After this visit, my minder took me to another temple which was even further up the hill, called the Kallalagar Temple.

On my last visit I came to Palamuthir Solai but I didn’t go any higher. The climb to reach this temple was a rather steep one. No lifts or any other forms of assistance. You have to climb those steep and uneven steps. As I was climbing up, I was wondering how my parents walked up here.

After performing a dharshan, the highlight of the visit to this temple is the Noopuragangai Holy water.

Apparently there is a stream from up the hill which supplies water to this temple and it is considered holy and medicinal water. People come here to to wash themselves in this water and cleanse themselves and also to drink it. Some of them collect the water in containers to drink it later or to give to others. I drank some of this water. I know my mother and my father have been here to wash and drink this water.

Another new experience.

This morning I visited this famous temple in Madurai, which is at the foothills of the Alagar Hills.

The last time I was in Madurai, I passed by this temple on the way to Palamuthir Solai but didn’t stop here.

This time a close friend suggested that I visit this temple and asked me to attend their early morning dharshan, the Vishvaroopa dharshan. And he was kind enough to make all the arrangements for me as well, for which I am grateful. India is a country where you do need connections to help with things like temple visits etc.

I was told to be there by 530am. I left my hotel at 430am and I was at the temple by 5 am. The dharshan only starts at 6am and so I had to be outside the shrine waiting for the priests to arrive and start their preparations. My minder was nice and found me a chair to sit whilst waiting and a hot lemon tea.

In the wedding hall nearby, a wedding was taking place at 515am. I wonder what time the couple and all their families had to be here to have the ceremony start at that time. And getting here is not easy. I think there are weddings here every 15 minutes. The next one started at 530am.

The priests started arriving from about 545am. It started getting brighter outside and I started hearing Tamil songs from the shops outside which had started to open about then.

At about 545am, the priests started singing the suprabathams. I was asked to stand right in front of the shrine which was then still covered with a curtain. Soon a white cow was brought to stand right in front of the shrine and thereafter came an elephant.

At 6am sharp they opened the curtain and unveiled the deity with lots of chanting and bells. After receiving the blessings from the priests I left.

I was told the deity is only unveiled for 10 minutes after which they will close the curtain till the next dharshan at 8 am.

Grateful for the blessings so early in the morning. We were done at the temple by 615m.

Tonight I organized dinner at the hotel I am staying for my mother, my sister in law and my 2 nieces.

They came by to the hotel at 630pm and we had a good dinner. It was a buffet and I am glad that they ate well. The food was good with a wide variety of both Indian and western dishes. I heard the western desserts were alright but unfortunately the Indian desserts I tried were just too sweet.

The price per pax was Rp1,700 which works out to about $25.