Singapore Expats

Wd40 wrote:
Yeah, I wonder why Ecureilx, brought up the caste system. May be because I mentioned Tamils, Malayalees and Gujarati communities.

Ecureilx, caste system and communities are different things. I thought atleast you should know it better. India is like a continent like Europe and each state is like a European country. Its like Tamils are Germans and Malayalees are French. What has this got to do with the caste system?

if you strongly believe there is no informal caste /ranking system in Middle east, within the Indian community, I can say 'the other side isn't as green as you think so', or you are from the 'superior class' so you are detached from reality

anyway, we / I have drifted too far

PS, you dont live in Simsville right?

ecureilx wrote:PS, you dont live in Simsville right?

sorry I didn't get the simsville reference, what is that about?

Mi Amigo wrote:Well indeed, that was why I wasn't sure whether (despite what they had written earlier) this person actually meant the last part about all us 'pigs' leaving. I'm still not sure, given the irony deficit amongst most Singaporeans.

I'm pretty sure that's not written by a local. If it is, it's one who has spent long enough in the West to have insight and perspective, and think and write incorporating a westerner's perspective.

That's why to my mind the analysis is from a Westerner in SG . The final para is just deep irony, as it's 180 degrees different from what precedes it. I mean can you imagine a SGn really saying 'So what if we become the next Batam'? [actually, hang on]

rajagainstthemachine wrote:sorry I didn't get the simsville reference, what is that about?

it is a condo dominated by Indians, the type of Indians who are 'different from local Indians', and the few Non Indian residents get to experience Indian customs and celebrations, more like strongly encoraged to, but ... the Indians will avoid anything or any celebration that is non-Indian ...

kids only go to Indian International Schools (they can afford it) and mixing with locals kids is a strict no-no, lest Singlish and all bad local habits creep into the culture !!!

heck, I saw in some forums the guys asking where they can stay clear of mixing with locals and the reply was almost always Simsville !!!

the mini mart there stocks all Indian stuff ...

imagine the kind of India that WD40 talks about ... which makes Indians comfortable ..

no, little India is not authentic enough !!! and Little India is localized!!

some called it an Indian Invasion!!! a-la PRC invasion years ago!!!

I know a couple of residents, one rented his unit and moved out and another decided not to renew his lease there.

maybe things have mellowed down since I heard a few Expats there started moving back to mother land !!

ecureilx wrote:

rajagainstthemachine wrote:sorry I didn't get the simsville reference, what is that about?

it is a condo dominated by Indians, the type of Indians who are 'upper class', and the few Non Indian residents get to experience Indian customs and celebrations, more like strongly encoraged to, but ... the Indians will avoid anything or any celebration that is non-Indian ...

kids only go to Indian International Schools (they can afford it) and mixing with locals kids is a strict no-no, lest Singlish and all bad local habits creep into the culture

imagine the kind of India that WD40 talks about ... which makes Indians comfortable ..

no, little India is not authentic enough !!! and Little India is localized!!

some called it an Indian Invasion!!! a-la PRC invasion years ago!!!

I know a couple of residents, one rented his unit and moved out and another decided not to renew his lease there.

maybe things have mellowed down since I heard a few Expats there started moving back to mother land !!

So, apparently, raja is too pedestrian for it.

nakatago wrote:So, apparently, raja is too pedestrian for it.

Re: Simsville, I thought Ecu was kidding, re: a computer game/imagined place inhabited solely by Indians... but no... it seems such a place really exists...

http://condo.singaporeexpats.com/condo/1726/SIMSVILLE

Ok I understand now. I don't mind Little India at all, many Indians are shocked when I tell them I live there. oooooh that disgusting place? how do you manage to live there? with all these dark moustached folk and these workers?
it's some how demeaning to many Indians, that they treat it on the same level as the Dharavi slum.

rajagainstthemachine wrote:it's some how demeaning to many Indians, that they treat it on the same level as the Dharavi slum.

Extreme wealth disparity + new money > snobbery

rajagainstthemachine wrote:Ok I understand now. I don't mind Little India at all, many Indians are shocked when I tell them I live there. oooooh that disgusting place? how do you manage to live there? with all these dark moustached folk and these workers?.

now you understand!!!

JR8 wrote:

rajagainstthemachine wrote:it's some how demeaning to many Indians, that they treat it on the same level as the Dharavi slum.

Extreme wealth disparity + new money > snobbery

I think you mean wealth disparity + new money = snobbery

ecureilx wrote:

rajagainstthemachine wrote:Ok I understand now. I don't mind Little India at all, many Indians are shocked when I tell them I live there. oooooh that disgusting place? how do you manage to live there? with all these dark moustached folk and these workers?.

now you understand!!!

And understanding is half the battle!

--No; wait...

ecureilx wrote:

rajagainstthemachine wrote:Ok I understand now. I don't mind Little India at all, many Indians are shocked when I tell them I live there. oooooh that disgusting place? how do you manage to live there? with all these dark moustached folk and these workers?.

now you understand!!!

now you understand why I don't live in such places

Noone said there is no caste system or other nonsensical practices abroad. People, even educated ones can be narrow minded . Even in the west so lets not talk about singapore or UAE.

The point was that you brought in caste system into a conversation where it was not needed.

As if you needed to mention the one and only thing u know about india.

ecureilx wrote:

Wd40 wrote:
Yeah, I wonder why Ecureilx, brought up the caste system. May be because I mentioned Tamils, Malayalees and Gujarati communities.

Ecureilx, caste system and communities are different things. I thought atleast you should know it better. India is like a continent like Europe and each state is like a European country. Its like Tamils are Germans and Malayalees are French. What has this got to do with the caste system?

if you strongly believe there is no informal caste /ranking system in Middle east, within the Indian community, I can say 'the other side isn't as green as you think so', or you are from the 'superior class' so you are detached from reality

anyway, we / I have drifted too far

PS, you dont live in Simsville right?

Yeah, also Ecureilx, is mixing up lots of things
1)Caste system is not about North Indians/South Indians divide that he seems to suggest. Caste system exists within all communities. There are high caste and low caste even within Tamils and so among the North Indians.
2)The Simsville/Melville park kind of crowd are more of the North Indian types and recent arrivals from India who dont want to mingle with the locals/south indians. Its very similar to how locals dont want to identify themselves with the PRCs. Same Logic. Except that locals consider themselves superior to PRCs and the recent arrivals from India consider themselves superior to the local Indians.

This is not caste system. You can call it a social class system if you like, which is not limited to India. Its everywhere.