Once nicely forested with lovely greens. Now, it is just green metal hoardings. Once undisturbed. Now, uprooted. There are so many changes that the cemetery now looks like a construction site. Standing tall is the pair of metal gates along Lorong Halwa that greets the living.
The metal road was non-existent before 1966 (1), and this meant that mourners had to handle rough and undulating grounds. The ground would turn soggy after a heavy downpour.
I'm pretty much a newbie at the cemetery and had visited it only a handful of times. There are also more than 100,000 graves to visit. There were maps showing where we were (Something that was absent in the past). Sadly, the size of Bukit Brown is diminishing. Hugging the perimeter of the cemetery is Lornie Road. The cemetery was sliced into half when Lornie Road was aligned in 1965. Then, more than 200 graves were exhumed and interred at Chua Chu Kang Cemetery. (2) The government has once again exhumed and is still exhuming about 3,000 graves to build a new road.
So time is the essence and to make the trip more meaningful, I joined up with Bukit Brown expert, Mr Raymond Goh on a two-hour heritage trail of the cemetery.
You can immediately see how dedicated Raymond is. He knows many of the graves like the palm of his hands. Not only that, he put out anecdotes on who these people were and also, shared about living members of the Bukit Brown internees who have approached him to look for the graves of their loved ones. Many graves have been lost in time and taken over by the encroaching forest.
It was not the usual walk in the park. At every stop, Raymond would throw in a story or two. He talked about the green stones that were used for these carvings and how good its quality is. He had also shared that many of these carvings were done in China.
But now, these artisans are hard to come by, even when you cast your net as wide as China.
Some of these carvings were also customised to Singapore's context, such as the Sikh guard. I wonder if someone drew these on a piece of paper before sending it out to these Chinese artisans, or were they carved locally? My guess is that these should be Chinese artisans who have made Singapore their temporary homes. Thus they would have seen these fearsome guards.
Stone carvings also included popular Chinese stories. These are truly work of art. Carvings that were meant to last a long time, if not for eternity.
Near the end of our visit, we came across a grave that was all exquisite - full marble. The whiteness of the marble made the entire grave look pure and heavenly.
The two hours spent at Bukit Brown was really an eye opener. I'd only seen about 30-50 graves and was bowled over by the place. it will take a few more visits to see the other beautiful pieces of art but other than the mosquitoes, humidity and thick undergrowth in some parts of the cemetery, the visit really felt like a walk through an art gallery!
1. The Straits Times. (March 21, 1966). Kampong's appeal for road, lights fulfilled. P.4
2. The Straits Times. (March 26, 1965). Notice. P19.
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