68,102 views

Little India: Deepavali Festival Market & Street Light Up

Rating:

By Veron Ang

Little India is literally one of the most colourful areas of Singapore. With Deepavali (or Diwali) just around the corner, the place is more vibrant than ever, decked out in the full colours of this major Hindu festival.

Personally, I love Little India, as evident from the way I pepper this blog with frequent food reviews of several eateries in Little India. The fact that Little India is refreshingly different from other places in Singapore means that each time I drop by, it makes me feel like a tourist!

Over the past few weeks, visitors to Little India have soaked in the festive spirit of Deepavali. They can shop at the bustling Deepavali festival market or admire the beautiful street light up.

The Deepavali festival village is a month-long bazaar set up for the occasion, featuring many stalls peddling Indian wares and snacks.

Indian snacks

These bright pink Indian snacks are good examples of the colourful Indian cuisine. The silver foil garnish is entirely edible!

Indian snacks

Delicious and tasty Indian titbits!

Indian milk snack

I’m not quite sure of the name but this yummy treat is my favourite Indian snack. It is made from milk and tastes sweet and creamy. You can find this in many Indian coffee shops. I have tried a number of Indian snacks and this milk snack is my favourite by far.

Statue of Vishnu, a Hindu god

Statue of vishnu, the blue-skinned Hindu god with four arms.

Model bicycles

Cute miniature bicycles made with movable parts.

Wood carved elephants

Wood carved elephants and an assortment of other animals.

Deepavali Festival Village at Little India

Here’s a stall that sells Indian clothes, one of the many at the bazaar and throughout Little India.

Colourful Indian bangles

Shiny Indian bangles in a multitude of colours! I love these!

Pretty trinket boxes
Photo by espion

These small containers come in various shapes and colours for all your trinkets. I actually bought a couple of these from Bangkok. Bangles too.

Colourful lights in the shape of flowers

Come to think of it, a lot of things sold in Bangkok can also be found in Little India, such as these strings of lights in the shapes of flowers.

Colourful lights in the shape of flowers

Aren’t these pretty?

Colourful light in the shape of a rose

Here’s one shaped like a rose with delicate green leaves, just like the ring that I had on my index finger.

Peacock feathers

Peacocks are considered sacred creatures in India. Their brightly-coloured feathers are sold in various places in Little India. But I have no idea what these feathers are used for. Does anyone know?

Balloon artist

They even had a balloon artist on hand to make cute balloon animals for kids! Interestingly, he spoke with an American accent.

Garlands

After walking through the bazaar, we took a walk along the streets of Little India.

Kerbau Road

Street signs like this always attract my attention. I like that they are topped by pink flowers that resemble water lilies. Pretty!

Deepavali Street Light Up
Photo by espion

Besides the bazaar, the streets are also decorated for Deepavali in the form of colourful arches that light up at night. This is, after all, the festival of lights.

Deepavali Street Light Up

The prevailing colour seems to be purple!

Deepavali Street Light Up
Photo by espion

How magnificent! Be sure to catch it while you can. The street light up would be on until November 18.

Deepavali Street Light Up

If you have yet to explore the rich culture of Little India, this would be a good time! Have a thosai or two while you’re at it. Keep a lookout for the fortune-telling bird too!

also in Little India

Khansama Tandoori Restaurant - Packed with Spices Khansama Tandoori Restaurant – Packed with Spices
Lagnaa - Bare Foot Dining Lagnaa – Bare Foot Dining
Ananda Bhavan Restaurant - Wholesome Thosai Ananda Bhavan Restaurant – Wholesome Thosai
Sri Vijaya Restaurant - Just Plain Yummy! Sri Vijaya Restaurant – Just Plain Yummy!
Sri Kamala Vilas Restaurant - Chicken Masala Shiokness! Sri Kamala Vilas Restaurant – Chicken Masala Shiokness!

Tags: Deepavali, Little India

Subscribe to new posts

About the Editor

Veron Ang is the Founder and Chief Editor of Sparklette, a Singapore restaurants guide, lifestyle and travel blog. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science from the National University of Singapore and runs a web design firm at Sparklette Studio. To get in touch, head on over to the contact page or follow @Sparklette and @VeronSG on Twitter.

Sparklette: Halloween Edition

Happy Deepavali (Diwali)!

Comment using Facebook

Responses Leave a comment

Miccheng
90 comments

Wow… its a stark contrast to the plain Christmas decor of Orchard Road. :D
Reply
Posted November 4, 2007 at 10:13 pm
viswali
5 comments

Hey nice pics! I am yet to visit Little India but hope to do so within these couple of days before Deepavali :) I think the peacock feathers are used mostly for decoration. I have also heard that they keep lizards away! Not so sure how true that is :)
Reply
Posted November 5, 2007 at 8:36 am
jill
1 comment

the festival looks so rich and colourful. I wish I can go with my friend who works as a Poulsbo florist, he plans on visiting this Christmas.
Reply
Posted November 5, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Veron
3439 comments

Miccheng: Plain or otherwise, you got me excited about those Christmas trees already!
viswali: Peacock feathers can keep lizards away? Now I’ve heard everything :P Oh, I may be popping by Little India again over the next few days too!
jill: I think it would be an eye-opener for him!
Reply
Posted November 5, 2007 at 8:22 pm
wenxiu
4 comments

i think the white, milky candy is called burfi. it comes in a couple of flavours like pistachios and coconut as well right? i love it too! =D
Reply
Posted November 6, 2007 at 11:43 pm
e|iz
2 comments

Hi Veron, what camera are you using? The pictures are very clear and the effect is really vibrant.
Reply
Posted November 8, 2007 at 3:35 am
Veron
3439 comments

wenxiu: The milk snack seems to be just pure milk and nothing else. I think there’s another Indian snack with pistachios or coconut like you said. In any case, they are all yummy (and oh-so-sinful)!
e|iz: I have my faithful companion to thank. It’s the Minolta DiMage X50. She’s been with me for almost 3 years! Bear in mind that all photos you see here have been processed using Photoshop, which is why they appear vibrant.
Reply
Posted November 8, 2007 at 6:43 pm
e|iz
2 comments

WOW! Your photoshop skills are really superb as you are able to make photos look so alive. Mind telling me what tools you used in photoshop to edit the pictures? Thanks in advance!
Reply
Posted November 9, 2007 at 1:42 am
walter
72 comments

Beautifully taken photographs of Little India, with the bustle and colour of Little India wonderfully captured. Very nicely done and truly brings out the flavour and character of that unique ethnic neighbourhood.
Reply
Posted November 10, 2007 at 8:48 am
Jocelyn
1 comment

Hellooo there. Love your entries and ur a really good photographer! keep up with the good work ;)
Btw, what camera are u using? care to share?
Reply
Posted November 10, 2007 at 1:19 pm
Kevin
3 comments

Good work with the pics, thanks for sharing the festivities at Little India, Singapore…
Reply
Posted November 12, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Valerie
14 comments

I like all your pictures taken….esp the ones taken in Tokyo and THIS!! It really make me wish I can be there….
Reply
Posted November 15, 2007 at 12:24 am
Bhupal
1 comment

hai can anybody the date when was DIWALI in 1984.
like the date and the month that the occarance of DIWALI in 1984.
Thanks in Advance
Reply
Posted December 12, 2007 at 5:57 pm
panha
1 comment

cool i never known little india is that cool
Reply
Posted September 15, 2008 at 8:34 am
eunice
10 comments

wow I love all the colourful photos here!! =D Just knew that you have a no. of posts about Little India, nice!
Reply
Posted September 17, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Putera Razs
1 comment

I must comedown to Tekka (Seranggon )
to see myself the colourful lite and the prop
and eat my favourite masala thosai plus tea ginger
come come and join me ………..
Reply
Posted September 20, 2008 at 5:19 pm
rakesh kumar
1 comment

Happy Deepawali
Reply
Posted October 24, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Pio
1 comment

Wauw so nice pictures from the deepavali festival!!
Reply
Posted October 26, 2008 at 3:00 pm
maxitron
1 comment

That yummy Indian sweet is called the Peda / Pera. (depending on how one pronounces it)
Reply
Posted October 27, 2008 at 8:38 am
Nal
1 comment

I really miss the vibrant colourful deepavali celebrations in singapore. I now live in california, it gets dead by 7PM in the night here. :)
Reply
Posted October 29, 2008 at 8:12 am