Monday, May 25, 2009

random studies: singapore (2)


while waiting for a cab, i saw two young, attractive men in office suits, taking off their footwear before entering the gates of the temple. in a few minutes, they exited through the right wing of the main structure, looking so grave, i almost didn't recognize them. i saw them approaching what to me looked like a trash bin. but then they started addressing the thing, furiously spitting out what seemed to me to be really vicious curses, while they violently cast stones, or something hard and unwieldy, against the sides of the tin drum. after a few minutes, they calmed down, wiped off the sweat covering their faces, and went back into the temple perhaps to say a few more prayers. then, they emerged from the gates, stepped into their shoes, and merged with the crowd.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

random studies: singapore

(just for the sake of having something to blog about)


there is a beautiful hindu temple right next to the hotel, just before you reach the park and the bus stop on pearl hill. when i arrived, last sunday, there were so many birds, many, many birds, black ones with yellow beaks, flying around the spires, and crapping at the beautiful gods and goddesses!

***
the jealousy of the older,although also extremely striking, chinese woman was so apparent when she was faced with a much younger version of herself, whose world still looms large and unexplored in front of her. it was a rather disturbing sensation, seeing how the emotion was so plain and open, and almost raw, across the older chinese woman's face. all of a sudden, the lines around her eyes became visible, her deep brown irises dulled. almost from out of nowhere, and rather comically, an awkward bony hand went up to her hair to fluff it out and and pat it into place, fluff it out and then pat it into place again, and again.

***
oh, but the change in light and atmosphere here is so subtle as to be dramatic: within the hour a cool breeze starts to blow from the south; the light softens and spreads out evenly, casting a sheer cream-colored veil of incandescence over people's faces.