Faithful ‘Navalite’ Pledges Loyalty to Nation

 

Faithful ‘Navalite’ Pledges Loyalty to Nation

2021 is a memorable year for ‘Navalites’ as it marks the 50th Anniversary of the British withdrawal from Singapore. It was also momentous as the nation marked its 56th Year of Independence on 9th August. However due to the insidious Covid pandemic, ceremonies to mark the occasion had to be moved to 21st August instead which incidentally coincided with Onam, an auspicious day for the Malayalee community.

For ‘Navalite’ and Keralite Sajeev Kurup and his lovely wife Rema, 21 August was an unforgettable day  as they were unexpectedly invited by a volunteer group, "Families for Life" to recite Singapore’s National Pledge. 



It was a proud moment indeed for Sajeev who recalls, “Singapore's 56th Year of Independence marks a milestone in my life. Taking centre-stage, while facing numerous spectators and knowing that hundreds of thousands are watching the live telecast in the comfort of their homes, we recited the Pledge. Our clenched right fist was placed to the left of our chest and it brought us immense joy, pride, happiness, goose bumps and a great sense of belonging. I will always cherish this moment with great honour”. Elaborating further he said, “Shifting the celebration to a later date was deemed necessary because of the heightened 2 alert of the Covid 19 pandemic but it turned out to be a blessing as 21st August coincided with the Onam, the Malayalam festival.”



Onam falls in the month of Chingam, marked during August-September as per the Gregorian calendar. During this time of the year I always have flashback memories of the celebrations where Naval Basian's from all walks of life and ethnic groups celebrated this fiesta with pomp, happiness and togetherness as if  a public holiday.

Despite mandatory restrictions of five visitors per household, to control the spread of the virus, the Onam tradition was observed with the customary morning rituals of an oil bath, followed by prayers and breakfast delicacies of puttu (steamed rice cake) with bananas and papads. 

There was no cooking or preparations for the Onam sadya (traditional vegetarian meal with 18 to 20 items) this year. It was more appropriate for large gathering of guests, friends and family members. With the Covid restrictions, we decided to take a break from the kitchen.

However, there were restaurants in town which catered for either dine-in or home delivery of food items and we chose the latter to dine in the comfort of our ‘home sweet home.’  We enjoyed the Kerala parboiled rice to the last grain, with mango, lemon and ginger pickles, payasam, papads, banana chips, sambar, dhal and many more items. 


After a hearty meal, the next best thing to realistically do was to ‘walk a mile’ as the saying goes before heading to bed for a siesta. However, our siesta had to be put on hold as my wife and I headed to the Marina Floating Platform to be part of the nation's birthday celebrations which was a lifetime experience for us.

 


PS.  Sajeev’s family was the last to vacate Block 8 during the third quarter of 1985!

Text copyright by Sajeev. Pictures courtesy of Families for Life


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