Thanks to my colleague Guo Jun, wifey and I were honoured to be
audience of the premiere screening of ‘7 Letters’, an anthology of 7 short
films, features 7 of Singapore’s most acclaimed directors Boo Junfeng, Eric
Khoo, K Rajagopal, Jack Neo, Tan Pin Pin, Royston Tan, and Kelvin Tong. The
films revolve around the theme of “Home” and what “Home” means to each director
as they interpret it in their individual stories. 7 letters is the first film to open at the
newly refurbished Capitol Theatre. It was to be our virgin steps into the
building too.
(you can read more about the individual films here: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/7-letters-most-visual-gift-030152258.html)
I love that immediately after you walk in from the main entrance
of the building, you find yourself in a huge, high ceiling atrium that is well
lit and ventilated. Atas restaurants and cafes are the only retail choices. Amidst
the bright LED lights and fanciful deco stands the beautiful entrance of the
theatre – with a porch, neon signboard and interior lit by warm yellow hue – reminds
me of the many theatre entrances we came across in London.
We were ushered to the top tier and were pleasantly surprised by
the architecture of the theatre. Majestic white horses lined both high walls
and a well carved dome with cove lighting capped the roof. Though the Capitol
Theatre is operated by Golden Village, this theatre was set up more like one befitting
of musicals and plays, much to our awe and comfort.
The last film titled "GPS" directed by Kelvin Tong, is a heart
wrenching story depicting a modern day family travelling to the cemetery to pay
respects during the Qing Ming festival. This story resonated most with me as I
could relate closely to my personal experiences...
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My paternal relatives usually pay our annual Qing Ming respects
in late March or early April. We will drive up to Grandma’s house at Rengam and
have a hearty breakfast together – mom would contribute home-made cake/bread/yam
cake whilst my youngest uncle will bring big bao. He would also pack roast pork
or duck that will be offered to our ancestors later. After breakfast and armed
with huge straw hats and umbrellas (hmm why have we never needed mosquito
repellent?), we will embark on a 15-20 minutes’ walk to the top of the hill
where the graves serenely lie. Qing Ming is a more enjoyable occasion if more
cousins come along, as there will be more laughter and conversations and the
chores can be better shared.
The cemetery is relatively untouched and isn't a well maintained one – the entrance is a narrow
sandy road shared by pedestrians and cars and motorcycles. There is no tarmac
to walk on, no amenities nor information counter. My younger Uncle will pay a
token to the ‘caretaker’ of the cemetery (who sits in a makeshift shelter by
the way) as a formality. From there, it is about 5-8 mins of walking along the aisle of the tombs, negotiating the path littered with stones, gravel and semi-decayed branches, to our first
stop – the graves of our paternal great grandparents.
This is no columbarium; it is a cemetery of graves that has stood and weathered many decades. There are no conspicuous landmarks or locality map that leads us
or shows us the exact location. “Walk straight to that tree”, as the grandma directed
in Kelvin Tong’s film “GPS”, is a similar instruction we take heed. There
aren’t many trees anyway – however I am not able to describe
the tree too – I can only point it out to you when I am physically standing
there haha. For myself, I confirm the location with the bearing of the
satellite tower to my right. Triple confirm it with the names scribed onto the
tombstones. Hello, my great grandparents.
My great grandparents originated from shui kou (水口) village, He Shan (鹤山) city,
Guangdong Province, China. They moved to Malaya permanently and settled down in
Rengam in 1938. Great grandfather passed away at 58 years old and his partner at 52.
The rituals we would perform (the same for every grave) are:
i)
Light candles for 土地公 aka the Earth
God – to thank him for taking good care of the land, literally
ii)
Lay out the food and wine for ancestors
iii)
Light big candles x 2 and place them in the pit.
iv)
Light joss sticks. Place x3 in the pit and the remaining
sparingly around the perimeter of the grave
v)
Burn offerings
vi)
Wait for offerings to completely burn (a symbolic representation
that ancestors have ‘received’ the gifts and are ‘done with the food’)
vii)
Pay respects and say our prayers
viii)
Pour the wine onto the ground
ix)
Pack up and done
The above rituals may not be most traditional and done correctly
and admittedly, have watered down over the decades. I recall that the offerings
used to be more generous in size, like big structural bungalows (never seen the
usual suspects e.g. Mercedes cars and maids in pony-tail, though). There was a
bigger variety of food and also more types and colours of papers to be burnt. Well,
I can give two easy explanations for the apparent simplicity it has become now
– one is that sincerity counts more and the other, technology has since advanced
to internet and soft-copies, hahaha...
After paying respects to my great grandparents, we would
continue to my paternal grandfather’s grave. Again, there are no map or
directional signs. I only know it is a downhill walk, past the road, downhill
again and slightly to the left? Need to follow my uncle for this… Once we reach
my grandfather’s tomb, one will immediately notice its black polished tombstone
(is it marble?) and tiled flooring. The tomb looks slightly classier as
compared to its neighbours, probably because my grandfather was a well-to-do
businessman.
/performs rituals as above
I have vague memory of my grandfather as he passed on when I was
3+ years old. Testimonials from my parents and uncles confirmed that he was a
very stern and strict disciplinarian with a high sense of responsibility. Born
in 1921, my grandfather is the eldest of 6 siblings. Not only did he take the
role of provider after both parents had passed away, he coached his children in
their studies. Auntie WP boasted that all of them topped their level at least
once in their primary school. My grandfather had astute foresight as well –
recognising that a convenience store in a small town draws in limited profits, he made a daring switch to agriculture. He laboured for several years in his acres of rubber plantation
before his venture finally bore fruit. Owing to grandfather’s toil and hardwork, my dad
and his siblings benefited from the better quality of life and opportunities
for higher education. Alas, grandfather was a heavy smoker and succumbed to
lung cancer at 67 years old.
After we finish paying respects to grandfather, the rest of us will head uphill to my uncle’s grave whilst my mom will detour to pay respects to my maternal grandparents. My deceased uncle passed away at a very, very young age (can’t remember exactly… younger than 5?) and interestingly at his grave, the usual offerings of roast chicken and wine are substituted with colourful biscuits and titbits.
When all is done, we double up home before the midday sun strikes. Cold drinks and sweet juicy watermelon are very welcomed as we take turns to shower. All of us will then enjoy a satiable lunch at a comfortable restaurant, catching up, sharing stories and laughter.
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I appreciate Chinese traditions like Qing Ming festival thus Kelvin Tong’s film struck a chord in me. In addition to respecting religious customs, his film serves as a reminder to appreciate the presence of our family members amidst our busy schedule… every week a family goes through a repeat of appointments – parents need to work while children attend school and swimming/CCA lessons and meet friends – when we finally gather, even if it’s a half-day affair of visiting the cemetery, do cherish the time together!
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Ending this post with a picture with Royston Tan, the man behind 7 letters! On the left is Boo Junfeng. Good thing we were dressed appropriately for the event...
Ending this post with a picture with Royston Tan, the man behind 7 letters! On the left is Boo Junfeng. Good thing we were dressed appropriately for the event...
