What my visit to a public library in Singapore made me realise
Singapore, with its aseptic cleanliness and efficient governance, not to mention museums with breathtaking collections, grand temples, sights and sounds of localities such as Chinatown and Little India symbolising its cosmopolitanism, has been written about in great abundance.
I had also written about it for Dawn when I went there as a travel writer in 1992. But there is something new to discover about every place, as I found out recently.
A few months ago, I was on a visit to Singapore to enjoy the company of my chirpy, three-year-old grandchildren.
They live in Clementi, which is on the west coast of the island and is as clean and tidy as the rest of the city-state.
I am given a room with a view. I can see three cranes working incessantly on top of under-construction skyscrapers.
The tall buildings in Clementi are almost all residential. My host’s condominium is on the sixth floor of a chain of five 20-storey buildings called Blue Horizon Condominiums, which has 600 apartments.
The well designed and efficiently-built structures are very well maintained. There are swimming pools – one for adults and two for kids of different age groups – as well as a basketball court.
Amongst the facilities is a reading room, which remains open till 11pm, where residents read newspapers and work on their laptops.
What I find most useful is the shuttle service. Comfortable coaches take you to the nearest shopping centres, including one which houses a Mass Rapid Transport station.
The showrooms, shops and the restaurants are no different from the ones we see everywhere in the world. But what’s most fascinating are the public libraries.
I have seen public libraries in many parts of the world but the one in Clementi is the most colourful and spacious library I have ever seen. Even the lighting arrangement is bright and mood-uplifting.