Sunday, December 20, 2009

A Place in Memory @ Bidadari Garden

Hint: It's for the dead.

This is a place ironically named in remembrance to the eerie yet beautiful Bidadari (which means "fairy" in Malay) cemetery, which i am afraid is no longer in existence. A great pity, no doubt.

It wasn't more than 10 years that i had the opportunity to be stationed at one bus stop opposite the Christian section of this cemetery for more than twelve hours; main purpose was to collate the statistics of vehicles along the stretch of Upper Senagoon Road.

Back then, the Christian cemetery was a place of tranquility and beauty with human-size statues, crosses dotting the big area of gravestones.

In the morning, the area was usually covered with a thin layer of mist that added to its mystery and secrecy. At night, a commonly held belief that cemteries are scary and full of horror still hold pretty strong.

When the government earmarked this area for urban development back in 1996, they decided to build this garden as a reminder for Singapore's past. I mentioned "ironically" in the beginning of this post since i don't think many people know this garden.

The garden is divided into three areas; Christian, Muslim and Hindu, in accordance to the specific religious burials allowed for the cemetery then.

Besides the memorial plaques and numerous gravestones of famous occupants like Lim Boon Keng and former Health Minister Ahmad Ibrahim, this garden also bears an iron-wrought gate (first picture) dated 1908 for its entrance.

Although it is not worth the travelling, this miniature Bidadari Garden does provide an informative aspect of Singapore's history regarding the handling of death. If you are interested, SPCA is located merely a few hundred meters away.

For the daredevils or paranormal enthusiasts, the gates to the garden remain unlocked at night.  

Location: Beside Mount Vernon Columbarium.

2 comments:

  1. Wowwwwww...This garden looks so beautiful. Would love to visit the place. It is so fascinating.

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  2. eh......... it's abit unkempt and i wun term it as beautiful (have seen better ones). It's an interesting visit if you happen to be there. =)

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