Sembawang: A Novel

by Kamaladevi Aravindan, Anitha Devi Pillai

Singapore, 1960 Sembawang is home away from home for a tightly-knit community of bachelors and families who work at Her Majesty's Naval Base. Behind closed doors, a matriarch controls her daughters-in-law's movements. A bachelor from Kerala pines by his window for his forbidden lover. A maid from a rubber estate across the border aches to hold her young son once more. An inter-racial love between a conservative Tamil woman and a worldly Chinese man wreaks havoc in the life of an innocent bystander. The idyllic village life is shaken when two midwives are viciously attacked at the maternity clinic, and again when one of their own beloved residents meets with an unnatural death. As catastrophes strike, the village comes together as one. A dramatic, sweeping saga of Sembawang families across five decades.

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2020

Reviews

[Sriram Nagarajan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book #15 for the year
I watched an interview by this author (Mdm. Kamaladevi Aravindan) in Vasantham TV (Tamil channel here in Singapore). She was interviewed as a part of the SG60 celebrations, I really loved the way she narrated the tale of the migrant labourers who started with nothing but built their lives and ultimately the nation. I happened to notice the book written by her at the local library and picked it up. This book is an invaluable literary memoir of Singapore and Malaysia’s history- spanning across the Japanese occupation, World War II, British granting independence up until Singapore separating from Malaysia and the modern changes to the society that accompanied this transition. The story is set in Kechil Sembawang - a neighbourhood in the northern part of Singapore, famous for its Naval base and natural hot springs. The immigrant Tamil and Malayalee families have made this area their home, so much that it was called “Kochu Keralam (little Kerala)”. These immigrants work in naval base, teach in schools or run shops and businesses in the neighbourhood. The protagonist of the story - Kaliammal and her husband Munusamy work as rubber tappers in Malaya, Kaali being tired of her husbands drinking habit and the drudgery of life in the estate, elopes with another man Chandran to Singapore, leaving behind her son Raasu. Reality hits her when she starts her life in Singapore and she realises that Chandran only coveted her youth and never loved her truly. He deserts her ultimately and she is left on her own to eke out her living. She does all odd jobs and lands up at a Malayalee household as the helper. Years later
, reunites with her former husband whom she meets at the temple celebration in Johor (border between Singapore and Malaysia) and he later moves with her to Singapore. How they confront the harsh truths and get on with their lives together forms the rest of the story. The story is told in the backdrop of the evolving social structure of Singapore in the accompanying historical events. The story is spun around many characters who are very relatable- the draconian house owner Sethulakshmi amma, her daughter Prasanna who gets cheated in a loveless wedding, innocent Muthuletchumi who ends her life due to bearing a child out of wedlock, Manju’s mom who is the go in between, Parukutty Amma who runs the household with the discipline of a military camp with her three daughters in law, Chithamparam aka clerk Thambi - the educated, well read man and the union leader who goes on to become to MP of the area, Meenatchi Paati was is tortured by her suspicious husband but takes care of him when he becomes bed ridden due to heart attack, Margaret and Mathai - a Syrian Christian couple who make a fortune but Mathai ultimately being murdered by his own brothers back home in Kerala, Unnithan ayya- who starts a small shop to manufacture the masalas and goes on to build the House brand of Masalas which continues to be a popular brand today in Singapore, Vellayan- a ex con/ rapist who turns a new leaf by joining a butcher shop and ultimately starts a rehab house for ex convicts, Sangayya aka Siam Thatha who is captured by Japanese, manages to escape their clutches in the deep forests of Thailand, falls in love with a Thai woman, marries her but moves back to Singapore with his baby daughter after his wife’s death.. The Holy Tree Bala subramanya swami temple (today located in Canberra area) becomes the pivotal meeting point for these characters and the spiritual support it provides for their life problems. The book also talks about many of the social issues that existed at that period such as rampant unemployment, high crime rates, lack of amenities and basic infrastructure and the exploitation of the labour force. There are also a lot of Singaporean Tamil/Malay/ English slang terms used throughout the book which makes it more realistic and delight to read - Marketing (not the B school subject, but the weekly grocery run), Thongal (means to hang in Tamil but means corner/neighbourhood here), aluru (drains), Kaili (lungi), Kangani (labour supervisor), nerai (plot of land), kittangi (warehouse with houses above), vangsa kadai (provision shop), kithakadu (rubber plantation) etc.. There is also dry wit and humour interspersed throughout the book which melds very nicely into the plot. This well researched book is a great reminder of Singapore’s resilience, determination and the lives of the ordinary people who built this nation with an extraordinary spirit.

[Nandini Sivakumar]

An excellent read indeed! The ‘Sembawang’ novel very beautifully encapsulates everything from the history of Sembawang, to the lives of Indian women living during that period of time. I really admire the writer’s ability to weave a narrative with excellent characterisation, while documenting the important events, at the same time. The extensive research done for this is so evident while reading. While there are other novels with narratives related to how Indians were brought to malaysia as coolies, the sufferings they had undergone etc, I must say this novel does have its own uniqueness amidst those. It definitely has told the untold of Sembawang. Especially, for me as a person who has been living in Sembawang all my live, it has indeed enlightened me a lot about the legacy of the place that I have been living in. My most favourite part of this novel is definitely the aspect of female empowerment. I loved the rawness of the female characters. I believe this is something that goes unsaid in many history based narratives. All in all, I definitely enjoyed reading the book. I couldn’t even keep it down as I was reading!