SINGAPORE - The Indian Heritage Centre will hold a sweets-themed open house this weekend to commemorate the Indian New Year.
Gifting sweets to relatives and friends is a quintessential way of conveying good wishes during Indian celebrations.
The centre’s general manager, Ms Maria Bhavani Dass, said she felt sweets were the perfect choice to showcase Indian culture in a light-hearted manner, as they symbolise happiness, love and prosperity.
The Indian New Year is regarded as a symbolic fresh start for the community as it marks the day of the universe’s creation. Families gather for meals and visit places of worship to engage in various cultural activities.
It is traditionally celebrated on the first day of the Tamil calendar – generally around April 14 or 15 – and many variations exist across the different Indian sub-ethnic communities. For instance, Tamils celebrate Puthandu, while the Sikh, Malayalee, Telugu and Bengali communities observe Vaisakhi, Vishu, Ugadi and Pohela Baishakh, respectively, at different times of the year.
The open house on Saturday and Sunday will include a candyland-themed art installation titled Mithai BB by Singaporean visual artist Mithra, located at the main staircase of the centre. Drawing inspiration from flora and fauna, it boasts illustrations of Indian sweets and snacks such as laddu, pani puri, jalebi and masala chai.
Visitors can also take pictures at a photo booth with sweet-related props, or tap their creative side through a variety of free crafting activities.
These activities include decorating magnets in the shape of traditional aluminium tea kettles with Indian-inspired motifs, or making a thoranam (hanging decoration) bookmark, which is believed to ward off negative energy.
Another highlight is the Little India Sweet Trail. Visitors will be guided through heritage sites that showcase the unique clothing, flowers and sweets of the area, making for an immersive exploration of the customs and traditions of the festive season. Prior registration is required, with an admission fee of $10 per person.
While admission to the centre is free, selected events are priced and require registration. These include mocktail pairing workshops, cooking demonstrations, storytelling sessions, Tamil language gallery tours and garland-tying activities.
“We have created programmes that will attract families with young kids and contain bite-size information for them to digest easily. I think it’s very important they take away a bit of cultural understanding, especially being in a multicultural country like Singapore,” said Mr Raj Kumar, senior programmer at the centre.
Through this exhibition, Ms Bhavani hopes to showcase the nuances of the Indian diaspora in a way that feels accessible to the broader Singaporean community.
“We truly believe it’s not just by reading that you learn about the Indian New Year or the culture, but by experiencing it. That’s when you learn it even better,” she said.
