India Heritage Centre, Little India, Singapore

This post is long overdue. India Heritage Centre in Singapore was inaugurated in May 2015 and we were fortunate to visit India Heritage Centre in Singapore's little India in June 2015. I should have written about it long back, but for various reason it got delayed. Finally, managed some time to put together the photos and our experience visiting IHC to draft this post.

The visit to IHC begins with a 10 minute video, which is played alternatively in English and Tamil Languages, depicting history of Tamil migration to Singapore and the details of early day life. Below screen grab from that video shows various traditional dresses that were in use.

Once familiarizing ourselves with the historical importance, we move on to watch various exhibits that depict the rich cultural exchange that took place along with economic migration. The great Chettinad door, Idols of various Hindu deities, exhibits depicting early life of Tamils in Srilanka are on display


Above: Shiva Parvathi & Ravana
Below: Few Gods from Indonesia


Exhibits depicting dress and lifestyles-Police man, milk man, South Indian dancing and more

 

Above: A masjid
Below: Suitcases and other travel accessories used by early Tamil Migrants



Above: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose- Netaji commanded lots of respect in his days as he attempted to build and run an army to outthrow British Rulers. Captain Lakshmi Sahgal, who was an officer in Netaji's Indian National Army and lived till 2012 also a respected personality in Indian history (more on her at Wikipedia)

Above right: Kasina sara, or a gold necklace that appears as if it is made with coins.
Below: More gold ornaments in traditional design


Below: A wall is dedicated to various people of Tamil/Indian origin who made significant contributions to Singapore's development.

IHC has narrow stairs connecting multiple floors- the walls are beautifully painted

Above: Myself, Nivedith and Hrish posing with traditional head gears
Below: Bloggers in-front of India Heritage Centre

Above: View if Little India from the window of India Heritage Centre
Below: India Heritage Centre night view, clicked during my Jan 2016 visit

India Heritage Centre has an interactive app on Google Play store, downloading which you can have easy access to details of the exhibits, navigation within the centre, 3D views of the exhibits and more.

 An information kiosk works in multiple Indian languages, helps you learn a few key phrases 

India Heritage Centre is a must visit for every Indian visiting Singapore. Singapore follows 3 language policy, so all exhibits are detailed in English and Tamil. I am happy to be one of the first few to visit this and finally managing to blog about it too

Key information about India Heritage Centre, Singapore:
Official Site: http://indianheritage.org.sg/en
Opening hours: Closed on Mondays, opens at 10 AM on rest of the days, closes at 8 PM on Friday/Saturday, 4 PM on Sunday & Holidays, 7 PM on Tuesday to Thursday.
Entry fee: SGD 4 for visitors, free for locals
Photography permitted without flash.
Guided tours can be organized, check at reception
Approx time to spend: 2 hours
Refreshments: Not inside, but available in adjacent lanes
Address: 5, Campbell Lane, Singapore- anyone in Little India can guide to this place. Take MRT- station Little India, Exit E

Similar: 10 free attractions to visit in Singapore * National Gallery, Singapore * The Banan Leaf Apolo, Little India, Singapore