I'll like to know who "How Sun" was, Singapore history-wise, that is.
After all, his name (I assume How Sun was a man) lives on in the Bartley/Upper Paya Lebar roads area. There's a How Sun Road, How Sun Avenue, Lorong How Sun, How Sun Drive, and How Sun Park (did I miss out any?).
So, if I want my grandchildren (none yet) to proclaim, "Ya, this one my grandfather's road," I will have to make a deed poll to change my given name from How San to How Sun.
On the other hand, I could emigrate to a Brisbane suburb in Queensland, Australia. There is already a toponym there named after me: Howsan Street. (When I was a postgraduate student living in Oz, I used the "Howsan Khoo" form of address to avoid being called "Mr San". I also still use "howsan" in, say, my emails.)
What other interesting place names are there here? Plenty, if we take some liberty with the interpretations. So, here's some of my samplers:
There's a ready-made place name for a certain elderly gentleman: Nathan Road. Instead of saying "Nay-den", just say "Nar-dern". QED.
Then there's one that, for the longest time, has been a "provisional" name: Pending Road. I don't know how long this pending status will remain, but a recent news report suggested that a future train station in the area may be called Pending MRT station. Imagine the possibilities: Pending Mall, Pending Apartments, etc.
Dessert lovers will be interested to learn that there's a Kallang Pudding Road. But, as far as I am aware of, no dessert stall here in the Little Red Dot sells this elusive concoction. But then, many years ago, when I was in Bandung, Indonesia, I walked towards a drinks stall and asked for a refreshing bandung drink (Carnation milk and rose syrup). The vendor gave me a piercing look that said "Sudah Gila" (gone mad). It's like the proverbial Hainanese chicken rice -- if you happen to be looking for it in Hainan, China.
How about Bras Basah Road? Have you seen piles of soaking wet brassieres strewn all around the road? And, er, women in a partial state of undress dodging the busy traffic in search of the ones that belonged to them? Ok, I jest. The Malay rendition is "beras basah," literally "wet padi" or ricefield, which the area was a long, long, time ago.
Similarly, Pending is a Malay word. But Kallang Pudding still beats me.
Now I'm getting started! Beach Road. Haha, show me the beach. Shouldn't it now be Old Beach Road? And give the place name to one that's really next to the beach in the new downtown area by the bay.
One Tree Hill? Hah! Mount Faber? Did those guys make a mountain out of a molehill? Meanwhile, our highest geographical feature is a modest Bukit Timah (Bukit means "hill" in Malay). At least Pearl's Hill is now apt; it was once Mount Stamford. Faber Hill, anyone? (Actually, part of the area there is referred to as Mount Faber Hill, but I'm not sure if that's helpful).
Going back in time. do my fellow baby boomers recall that there once was a Pulo Saigon Road (also known as Pulau Saigon Road)? It seems that one spot along the Singapore River near the Havelock/Mohamad Sultan roads vicinity did indeed have a teeny weeny island called Pulo Saigon!).
And, of course, we have our own Coney Island. No need to go to the famous one (no longer an island but a peninsula now) in Brooklyn, New York City. Ours is now better known as Pulau Serangoon.
A bit of tittle-tattle on "island". One of the (ultimately unsuccessful) bidders for the so-called integrated resort on Sentosa island wanted to name a proposed attraction there "Harry's Island". The older journalists in the newsroom guffawed while the newer ones were baffled at our amusement (Hint: Harry is the affectionate name only family members and very close friends call a very powerful man here.)
Some street names have disappeared, like Lorong Puspa in Pasir Panjang (where my late paternal grandparents lived) and Canal Road in Chinatown (where my older siblings grew up in). North Canal Road and South Canal Road still exist.
Did you know that when the authorities started changing the road name signage colour to the green one, Barker Road became Baker Road for a period of time? Pity, those were the days before cellphone cameras, so I never took any pictures. What you now see there is, of course, the correct name, Barker Road. Woof!
Back to Havelock Road. Singapore's most famous magnet for cat burglars, hence the exhortation not to skimp on door locks?
Busybodies' Central? Kay Poh Road.
Okay, these two are corny, but my point is that one can have fun with our place names, while learning more about our rich history. For instance, the area around Telok Ayer Street and South Bridge Road is probably the one unique place where a few mosques, a Chinese clan association, a Hindu temple and a Christian church -- all of them among the oldest in Singapore -- co-mingle.
So, now that the kids are having their long December break, get them to check out street names, let them absorb some of our history in a fun way, and let them dream up wacky interpretations.
Or pose questions like: What is the shortest street name here? The longest? For sure, none here can beat this Welsh one: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllllantysiliogogogoch.
What a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious name, that one!
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