Tamils in Singapore

The recent Tamil Christian pair serving at Mr. Teh Tarik took turns the last couple of days attending church. Yesterday, Good Friday, the chubby; today the chap who communicates chiefly with the blocking of the turning ball with his straight cricket bat. (Tock! clicking of tongue for the point of impact between leather and willow. To which one naturally returns a hoick over mid-wicket for six. What else?) The lads of an age as well as size and feature. Chubby has perhaps a dozen English words; the other hardly a solitary one. Back home they are separated by an hour bus ride, making them near brothers far from home. Both speak only Tamil. Neither has even Hindi, it emerged. Chubby usually gives a bellowing HALLO from the side somewhere out of sight when you are least expecting; Cricketer relying on eye contact. Earlier workers would always be tutored by Mohammad or Ismail for the special treatment of this patron at the cash register. For the past few months Mohammad has done duty at one of the other outlets in the chain. Nevertheless, Cricketer has continued the arrangement off his own bat it seems—three dollars for five, six and even seven dollar high mounted plates. Naturally the presence of the CCTV over the till gives caution. When presenting the change Cricketer gives wary smiles and incomprehensible mumbles, looking left and right for the yakuza/loan shark GM in either the new black Saab or Honda. Unlike the other Indians at Mr. T. T. these lads have no Bahasa. They are Tamils pure and simple (though minority Christians), without a stint on the Peninsular. Recently and seemingly independently, both have taken to trying their hands at rudimentary circus acts with the dough for the pratas. Not a patch either on the standout showman originally at the front window of Tasvee down the road; since returning after marriage back home around the corner at Kampung Cafe. Catholic denomination this pair, both heartened when they were shown this morning's front page of the new Pontiff washing the feet of the poor. Aahh! from Chubby, and calling over Cricketer to share. Unavoidably a moment's impasse resulting when Chubby asks about his friend's position. But it makes no serious mind. The lads work with majority Muslims and nothing they cannot handle. Six/seven hours out of Chennai on what can only be bad roads. Married with a child each and parents to support, twelve hour days without overtime earning around S$1,200 per month, one Sunday free (strictly speaking against recent legislation). They will be surprised if someone translates for them the In-brief of the Hong Kong dock workers in the paper today striking for a pay rise from their base-rate of — could it be believed — S$256 per diem. 

N.B. 2 One should have known better than to place any credence in the S.T. figures. In fact the HK dockers, remaining on strike a week later, earn currently a base-rate of HK$55 per hour - S$8.80. Around $Aust7. Of course the stevedoring companies in Aust. could only dream of such coolie rates.