At the time I noticed that the horses, large and incongruous in a side alley, were on the theme of Race Course Road. Only when I looked at the photo of the mural later did I realise the humour. The horse and rider are shown not on a racecourse but leaping over vegetables - bags including carrots on the left, and fruit - oranges on the right, which have been knocked onto the ground.
Problem
Which way is the quickest route to Mustafa's department store, to and from Farrer Park MRT, or Little India?
We changed at little India and got off at Farrer Park on the way there. We thought it would be quicker to walk back to Little India MRT station. Why? To avoid the delays of walking around Little India station to change lines, then along the underground exit from Farrer Park, finally the short walk from Farrer Park to the department store (turn left towards the Indian temple).
We were wrong. It's a hot walk back to Little India station. However, it has two advantages, One is that if you keep in the shade of the covered way in front of the shops, you can't see what they are selling. Lots of suitcases on wheels, mobile phone covers, clothes, and a man with a sewing machine outdoors - handy if you want something repaired.
Murals
An added bonus was discovering the murals near the MRT. The first one we found was the amusing mural depicting a worker with tools and rubbish.
Next was a mural of horses. Unusual? Why horses? You are on Racecourse Road. One way to remember the street on your map needed for the little India MRT exit. Racecourse Road has some of the well-known Indian restaurants which we visited int he 1990s before the MRT was built.
The last annoyance was the Little India exit we reached had an escalator up and none down. You might think that the extra walk and exercise does you good. You might find walking or running up and down stairs and stations and back alleys is exhilarating. On the whole, most days, I prefer not to arrive feeling hot, damp and tired.
When you are rushing into a station to catch a train to meet friends or for an appointment, you might not have time to register what's on the nearby mural. This one seems to show a bull with horns riding a bicycle.
When I saw the murals, I had wondered, vaguely, whether the artist had been paid by the owner of the building, or was the owner of the building, or like Banksy, had just painted the murals for a joke or a dare or to practise on an empty wall.
I then googled murals in Little India and discovered that the source of the artwork was artists at the nearby LaSalle art college. The source of the funding was the heritage department.
Useful Websites
visitsingapore.com
http://www.lasalle.edu.sg/praxis-press/cattleland-art-walk-little-india/
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my other posts on Little India and Indian restaurants. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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