NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATION

On 9 August, 2007 Singapore celebrated its 42nd National Day and I had the pleasure of watching the celebrations very closely. We started at around 2 from NUS. We had earlier tried to have lunch inside NUS, but the canteens were closed (National Day!! obviously it was a holiday). So we went to City Hall and hoped we could get something there. Alighting at City Hall I was surprised to find a big mall there. We searched for an Indian/Vegetarian food stall. Having found one, we had our late lunch there. The roti prata (they spelt it this way) we were given was bathed in oil. Even mess food seems much tastier in front of all this. Well, we got out and I got the first view of 'Durian' or 'The Esplanade'. It is similar to the Sydney Opera House in functionality. It is shaped like a microphone (mic). This one building that the Singaporeans are proud of.

After roaming about for a while, we reached the place where the celebrations were to be held. There was a sea of people lining up for the event. Actually there are tickets sold for the event, but as it is done 2-3 weeks prior to the day, we and many others had none. We lined up on the bridge and the area surrounding the platform. As the usual stadium was under renovation, this year it was held on a floating platform. At 4pm the bikers provided entertainment for the crowd by performing stunts. At around 5pm the paratroopers started their bit. They jumped off a helicopter and sprinkled red color all over the place. They land accurately on the platform though they jump from far off place. As the natural lights grew dimmer, the natural lights took over. The crowd grew excited and the major part of the show began. There were performances (songs and dances) for the people who bought the tickets, we had nothing to do. So we snacked. There were many helicopters flying above our heads at regular intervals so as to keep us awake for the fireworks. If that was not enough they brought a copter at a very low level on the river and this copter splashed water on us. The air from the copter was so fast that the river water flew everywhere and it felt like a shower when it dropped on us. Then the big balls of light (they are called mermaid or something) tied on the motor boats moved from one corner of the river to the other. They looked like floating balls of light. There was laser lights and fountains too. Will see more of them in Sentosa. Then after the singers had sung their lungs out, the dancers had danced their strength out and the crowd swore their tongues out - it started.

The most awaited fireworks. It lasted for just 10 minutes. After having seen Diwali celebrations year after year, I didn't feel that it was worth the wait, but yes it was awesome. Everybody ran for the MRT station as soon as the fireworks went out. The crowd in the train was too much. Policemen had been stationed to guide us along the way and to maintain proper order. We had dinner at the same place we had lunch, only this time we barely managed to get vegetarian food. We had salad with rice, no dal or sambar. It was okay and as I was hungry I liked it. We took the MRT to Buona Vista and then the bus 95. At 11pm on a national holiday we didn't expect the internal shuttle bus to function. So we walked our way back to PGPR. I was too tired to do anything and fell asleep the time I hit the bed.

PRINCE GEORGE'S PARK RESIDENCIES

PGPR is a big big place. With around 3000 rooms it is the place where you can find many people. There are some 30 blocks with each block having around 100 rooms. Each of the blocks has 7 floors. Each floor has 15 rooms.This is called as a cluster. I am in the 15th block on level 3 room 'N'. A word about the locks to the door. The locking system is good for security but if you want to make new friends or even contact others this security system is a big hindrance. We have a transponder which when used can take us only to our floor. You cannot go to other floors. If you want to go to another floor or block, you need to go with a friend who has access to that block or floor. Each floor has a kitchen which is shared by 15 people. With Chinese, Malays, Singaporeans, my kitchen smells like a slaughter house. Anyways the kitchen has a microwave, refrigerator, toaster, electric stove, oven, dining table.

With a cupboard which has a locker, table, chair, bed, mattress, dust bin my room looks nice. The view from the window is cool. I see all this and wonder as to when will we have such infrastructure. When we told some Indians here that they were planning to increasing the number of IITs, they couldn't believe what we said. They cursed the system and remarked that we would rather improve the existing IITs. And then think of increasing the number. I approve. When I was in IITM, I was like this is the best institute one can have, but after I have seen this, I feel like a frog in a pond. Everything is so organized. The buildings are superb. The classrooms are awesome. Shuttle bus, canteens, roads, traffic everything working in harmony. The professors here do not hold even half the power IIT profs hold. A students grade depends on his work and not on his impression on the prof. I hate to admit it but yes, in IIT sometimes your grade depends on how much closer you are to the prof. If you butter him you can sail through a course. The prof takes classes and the academic section takes care of grading assignments and exams. They let the prof have time for his research, not bog him down with grading stuff.

We had a dance bash on 3 Aug here in PGPR. People from 'all over the world' came. That is to say exchange students from many countries were there. Next post - Happy 42nd Birthday Singapore

SINGAPORE

I left Madras on 1 Aug at 2 early morning. The checking and boarding was fine. The ride was not as good as one would have wanted for a first overseas trip still it was fine for me. As the plane took of I looked at the bright lights from Madras going dimmer and dimmer. The cars got smaller and smaller. And as I kept looking out of my window seat, I suddenly realized that I could no longer see the lights, i was among the clouds. It was a great feeling. To look out and see big tufts of cotton floating in air. We were cruising at high speeds but those things kept moving at snails pace. It was heavenly. We were shown some tam movie which from what I heard has been the only one they have been playing from the past 2 months. I put on the radio instead. They provided some snacks at round about 2:45 after which I moved into a delightful slumber. I was excited about every little thing that was going on. I woke up only when the sun shone directly into my eyes. It was round about 8:30 (Singapore time). I heard an announcement saying we were going to land at Changi airport in a few minutes. This was probably the first time I 'wasted' or 'lost' time without my own fault. I quickly pulled my camera out and here are a few snaps ...
I got ready for landing. I just kept clicking while we were landing and you can clearly see the jerk in the pics ...


I got down and finished my check-out. Went to the Changi MRT station and took a train to Buona Vista. Met an Indian Flight Captain in the train. He was supposed to be flying people from Singapore to Bombay that night. Captain Fleury was kind enough to guide me till Outram Park (this is where he was staying) and after a few stops I alighted. I was surprised to see so many Indian faces in the train. Some of them were tams and some bongs. As I found out later, most of the Indian are either tams or bongs. Anyway, at Buona Vista I found a couple of students from India. Went to them and inquired as to how I could reach NUS. They helped me into a cab and I was taken directly to Prince George's Park Residencies, my new hostel for this semester. At 11 or so I was in my room. More about it in the next post.