Singapore, Jul 2 (PTI) Singapore’s Hindi-speaking community of about 100,000 celebrated the 200th Birth Anniversary of Swami Dayanand Saraswati through the launch of a new Heritage Gallery and Mural at the 96-year-old premises of Arya Samaj here on Sunday.
A Chinese Singaporean mural artist’s work on the Hindi-speaking community on the walls of the Arya Samaj was launched on Sunday as the main part of the 200th Birth Anniversary of Swami Dayanand Saraswati.
Spanning 36m x 8m, across two buildings, the paintings of early migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar as sepoys during the colonial raj is the largest in Singapore’s Little India precinct.
Artist Yip Yew Chong braved heavy rains, having to repaint the washed-down paint, has helped establish the roots of the community in the Gangetic heartland by incorporating a scene from temple life along the ghats (riverfront steps) in the ancient city of Varanasi at the banks of the river Ganga.
“I aim to make my art as visually relatable and authentic as possible to the public, as I hope my art will contribute to the culture and identity of the communities expressed in my art,” said Yip, a former accountant turned mural artist with over 80+ painted in Singapore and overseas.
“I aim to tell stories through my art - stories of my life, people and places,” he said as the mural was launched at the Arya Samaj by community leaders representing some 100,000 Hindi-speaking residents and expatriates.
Yip is confident in painting murals that showcase non-Chinese cultures. “That’s because Singapore is a multicultural country and I live, go to school, serve in the army, and work alongside many other races. I enjoy diverse cultures. Thus, in many of my murals in both Singapore and abroad, I have painted familiar scenes and elements of non-Chinese cultures.
“The audience is just everyone, regardless of race, language, religion and nationality,” he told PTI.
“The temple will further strengthen its heritage status through the heritage gallery that includes archival and contemporary images, documentary films, and a stunning mural, the largest in Singapore's Little India,” said Associate Professor Rajesh Rai, Head of South Asian Studies Programme at the National University of Singapore and descendent of an early migrant family from Uttar Pradesh.
A community leader and veteran lawyer Sat Pal Khattar launched the heritage gallery, which documents the story of Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Arya Samaj, founded in 1927 in Singapore. Also featured in the mural is the DAV Hindi School at the Samaj and the community that has shaped the history of these organisations.