I have living near Block 109 Clementi on and off since 2009, studying and working at NUS and NTU. I can see same Uncles drinking beer, grown older exchanging hellos and banter whenever i cross them in the kopitiam including an ex cop Indian Uncle with ancestry from Uttar Pradesh speaking in Hindi about Mohd Rafi songs. It warms the cockles of my heart, drawing from the popular metaphor now a days.

The sense of community comes from familiar glances. The Mamak Halal Restaurant with Satya Sai Baba photos in the same neighborhood has a Gujarati fellow who upon hearing my name spontaneously asked me: Aap kya Bramhan ho? or Are you a Brahmin?

We carry residues in to the diaspora.

#makanwithmoni