Small Change

Penny pinching reaps big rewards for the soul

A 1971 Tamil devotional movie has somehow inspired me to value the power of a single penny

Chantal Sajan
The writer's collection of 5-cent coins and Indian rupees, part of what she collected from her penny-pinching campaign to raise more money and help out with the daily conservation efforts of Abirami Temple in Thirukaddaiyur, in India's Tamil Nadu state.
The writer's collection of 5-cent coins and Indian rupees, part of what she collected from her penny-pinching campaign to raise more money and help out with the daily conservation efforts of Abirami Temple in Thirukaddaiyur, in India's Tamil Nadu state. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO FILE
The former Shaw Organisation-owned Ciros Cinema in Telok Blangah Road, which was later bought over and renamed the Christian Community Chapel. The writer's collection of 5-cent coins and Indian rupees, part of what she collected from her penny-pinchi
The former Shaw Organisation-owned Ciros Cinema in Telok Blangah Road, which was later bought over and renamed the Christian Community Chapel. The writer's collection of 5-cent coins and Indian rupees, part of what she collected from her penny-pinching campaign to raise more money and help out with the daily conservation efforts of Abirami Temple in Thirukaddaiyur, in India's Tamil Nadu state. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO FILE PHOTO: DIOS VINCOY JR FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES
The former Shaw Organisation-owned Ciros Cinema in Telok Blangah Road, which was later bought over and renamed the Christian Community Chapel.
The former Shaw Organisation-owned Ciros Cinema in Telok Blangah Road, which was later bought over and renamed the Christian Community Chapel. PHOTO: DIOS VINCOY JR FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES
Updated
Apr 29, 2018, 08:13 AM
Published
Apr 29, 2018, 05:00 AM
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I can still remember vividly in the early 1970s when our normally sequestered apartment in Prince Charles Crescent was almost rent apart after news that a Tamil devotional movie, replete with CGI effects, was being shown at the then Ciros Cinema in Telok Blangah Road.

The theatre, one of a few small movie halls that played mainly Hindi, Malay and Tamil movies, was owned by Shaw Organisation.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on April 29, 2018, with the headline Penny pinching reaps big rewards for the soul. Subscribe

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