Herald Deepavali with free curry, street parade

A photo of the Deepavali bazaar taken last year. The longstanding Deepavali Festival Village, which will have stalls selling traditional decorations and items for Deepavali, will occupy Campbell Lane end to end.
A photo of the Deepavali bazaar taken last year. The longstanding Deepavali Festival Village, which will have stalls selling traditional decorations and items for Deepavali, will occupy Campbell Lane end to end. PHOTO: MEIMUNA

Next month, a side street in Little India will be the sumptuous scene of curry and more curry that will probably find favour with even the most fussy palate.

About 200 types of curries from different cultures will be dished out in Campbell Lane on Sept 14, to herald the coming of Deepavali in October and try for a spot in the Singapore Book of Records.

They will be given free.

Prepared by restaurants and associations, the bowls of curry with bread or rice are one of the many offerings put together by the Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association (Lisha) to celebrate the Festival of Lights.

For starters, a street parade and light-up ceremony in Race Course Road will launch the celebration on Sept 7, more than a month ahead of Deepavali on Oct 27.

The parade will highlight the history of Singapore and the journey of Little India from 1819 till the present, in commemoration of Singapore's Bicentennial, said Lisha in a statement on Thursday.

A vehicle convoy, including bullock carts, one of the earliest modes of transport in Singapore, trishaws and vintage cars, will trundle down Race Course Road as street performers act and dance to bring alive the historical narrative of Little India and Singapore.

A Deepavali Hipster Bazaar selling Indian fusion food will be held from Sept 23 to Oct 26.

Similar to the popular Hari Raya Bazaar held in Geylang Serai in May, the Hipster Bazaar is a new initiative to attract younger visitors to the area, said Lisha.

Lisha's honorary secretary Ruthirapathy Parthasarathy said: "The youngsters may have different ideas, so we hope they can participate and bring in new ideas, new things to the community through this bazaar."

The bazaar will include more than 30 food stalls, and will be held at an open field beside Tekka Lane.

At the same time, there will be the longstanding Deepavali Festival Village, which will have more stalls selling traditional decorations and items for Deepavali. The village will occupy Campbell Lane end to end.

An outdoor concert will be held at a field in Mackenzie Road on Deepavali Eve, Oct 26, with more than 100 artists set to perform, fireworks to light up the sky and a countdown at midnight to usher in the Festival of Lights.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 24, 2019, with the headline Herald Deepavali with free curry, street parade. Subscribe