The Singapore society is one that is multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural. According to dictionary.com, the word ‘culture’ is defined as “the behaviours and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic or age group.” What happens when people from two different cultures meet? When one crosses the comfort zone of one’s own culture into another, misunderstandings and even tension may result.
I was in primary school when the following incident took place. Adam and I were best friends. Being mischievous school boys, we adopted a “game” where the first person to spot a Sikh had to pinch his friend until that friend shouts out the colour of the turban that the Sikh was wearing. Sikhs are followers of the Sikhism religion. The most distinct symbol which identified a Sikh gentleman would be their uncut hair and turbans. Turbans are worn on the head and can come in different shades and colours. This game was coined as “Bhai Simi Sek”. The term “bhai” in Punjabi is innocuous and means “brother”. But in Singapore, this has since taken on racist connotations. “Simi sek” is a hokkien term for what colour.
One day, Adam and I were walking home when he suddenly grabbed my arm and pinched my arm. I let out a yelp but instinctively scanned the surroundings to look for the colour of the turban. Although it was not crowded, I had much difficulty spotting a turban-clad gentleman. It was frustrating as I could feel my bruise swell. Spotting the Sikh, I pointed in his direction and shouted “BLACK” before heaving a sigh of relief as Adam released his grip on my arm.
“Ouch! I’m going to get back at you for this!” I said to Adam who sneered in return.
The laughter was short-lived. We realized we were in deep trouble when the man turned in our direction. Although he had a greying beard, he was a man of stature and his stoic face sent chills running down my spine. As we stood rooted to the ground, the man took huge strides towards us until he stood beside us. Squatting to our heights such that we could feel his warm breath on our faces, he gave each of us a long, cold and piercing stare. If eyes were truly the windows to one’s soul, he would have seen our souls frozen in fear.
Then the unexpected happened. The Sikh gentleman smiled and placed his hands on our heads. “Now boys, that was rude. You shouldn’t play that game any longer,” he gently chided. Following that brief statement, he stood up and walked off, leaving us to ponder over our childish actions.
Looking back, I realized how culturally insensitive I was. Youth is no excuse for cultural naivety, and I was thankful for the kind understanding which the Sikh gentleman showed towards my friend and I. It proved to be an invaluable lesson in being sensitive and respecting other cultures. After all, as the world becomes increasingly connected, we will have to meet people from different cultures. Being culturally aware is thus a necessary skill for a global citizen.
Dear Zhisheng,
ReplyDeleteGreat story telling! I am sure the incident may not have been anywhere close to fun when it happened, but it is these lessons that stay with us for life.
I liked your post as I feel you struck a great balance between factual detail and personal emotions.
Cheers
Rohan
Hi Zhisheng
ReplyDeleteInteresting experience. Great twist in your story too! From the way you described the situation, I thought the Sikh man was about to do something nasty to you guys, after he "froze your souls in fear."
I agree that cultural awareness is an important skill for a global citizen. I also think it is important for people to start learning to be culturally-sensitive from young. If not taught well when young, people might grow up to be not only ignorant but stubborn. Take the teenager in Nicole's blog and the lady in Jolene's blog for examples. Even after being confronted, they still remained insistent that they did nothing wrong. Adults should be the ones to set model examples for the young ones, but sadly we still have alot of indifferent people around.
Dear Zhi Sheng
ReplyDeleteGreat story! I personally have seen my friends playing it and they’ve told me of similar experiences too. They were not so fortunate however as they were scolded and the person was really angry.
I agree that youth is no excuse for cultural naivety. However it is through such experiences that we have seen and heard that we become more aware and sensitive to the other cultures. Therefore, there’s always a first time.
Great story telling. As mentioned by Jasper, I personally thought that you both were in for a scolding.
Zhi Sheng,
ReplyDeleteAgain, I am impressed by the way you could vividly tell a story and make the audience feel like he/she is just at the scene where the incident unfolded. Keep up on that!
Diana
Hello Zhi Sheng!
ReplyDeleteYou two were blessed to have met such a nice gentleman. I really did enjoy reading this post. This is the type of incident that you have experienced before and looking back on it, you just laugh at how silly and immature you were back then. I don’t know if you feel that way too, but that is how I feel. Anyways, now that we are slightly more grown up and mature (hopefully), we know of things or games that are culturally insensitive that we shouldn’t play or say.
If this cultural sensitivity is successfully imparted into the children from a young age, we might indeed become better global citizens. However, sometimes this good advice falls on death ears, it is disheartening.
Your use of descriptive words to help narrate this incident made this a whole bundle of fun to read. Keep it up!
~nicole
We tend to be insensitive to things we do not understand. In this case, the turban, which is a very important part of being Sikh was being made fun of. With the recent wave of terrorism being propagated by fundamentalists, many of whom sport a turban, there has been an appalling rise in the number of hate incidents against Sikhs as well. There is a need for us to acquire greater understanding of other cultures and religions from a young age.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all of your comments. Yes Nicole, you were spot-on when you mentioned about laughing at the silliness of the whole incident every time I reminisce. This incident has indeed shaped my cultural perspective in a real and profound way.
ReplyDeleteLike your other readers have commented, you've done an excellent job of telling this story, Zhisheng. What a fine observation -- one in which you played a major part -- and what a lesson learned.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing it with us.