SINGAPORE, MY COUNTRY
Biography of
M. Bala Subramanion
SINGAPORE, MY COUNTRY
Biography of
M. Bala Subramanion
Nilanjana Sengupta
Published by
WS Professional, an imprint of
World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224
USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601
UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016023453
National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Name(s): Sengupta, Nilanjana.
Title: Singapore, my country : biography of M. Bala Subramanion / Nilanjana Sengupta.
Description: Singapore : WS Professional, [2016]
Identifier(s): OCN 944933415 | ISBN 978-981-31-4129-2 (paperback) |
ISBN 978-981-31-4128-5 (hardcover)
Subject(s): LCSH: M. Bala Subramanion. | Postmasters general--Singapore--Biography. |
East Indians--SingaporeBiography. | Singapore--History.
Classification: LCC HE7241.A6 | DDC 383.492--dc23
Copyright 2016 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the publisher.
For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to photocopy is not required from the publisher.
On the cover, from left:
A typical red pillar post box, introduced by the British in Singapore in 1873.
Masks & Dances, the first set of definitive stamps of Singapore, issued in December 1968.
The Fullerton Building which housed the General Post Office.
Stamp images on the cover are reproduced with permission from the Singapore Philatelic Museum.
Desk Editor: Shreya Gopi
Typeset by Stallion Press
Email:
Printed in Singapore
To my daughter, Ananya,
To whom we bequeath the mixed legacy of migration
Acknowledgements
I remain grateful to Ambassador K Kesavapany, my mentor and friend, a diplomat with a litterateurs heart, for giving me this book. It compelled me to look at my city with new eyes and it was almost like wandering into a secret society contemporary structures seemed marked by holograms all but invisible to others. Where others saw retail chains, I saw mullioned verandas and a glittering cupola; where others saw the citys conduit to commerce, I saw a boxing ring where Chua Lai had sparred with Kid Gabo; where others saw the first Asian Postmaster-General, I saw a man who owed his life and his lost pleasures to Singapores culture of meritocracy.
I would like to thank Professor Edwin Thumboo for permission to use excerpts from his poems in this book.
Nilanjana Sengupta
Singapore, 2016
The publication of this book has been made possible by a generous grant from philanthropist, Mr S M Abdul Jaleel, BBM, PBM.
Proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the Singapore Indian Associations Welfare Fund.
Foreword
As one moves through the tapestry of Bala Subramanions life-story, as narrated by Nilanjana Sengupta, one becomes conscious of the fact that the fabric that is woven here has three distinct strands held together by a common thread. First, of course, there is the story of Bala Subramanion, a man who from modest beginnings reached the very top of his chosen career. For the reader this story is the most interesting and it is also the common thread that holds all three stories together.
It is a heartwarming, personal story, firmly rooted in the history of an evolving Singapore. As one progresses through the book one cannot help but notice the similarities which mark the histories of man and nation. Like Singapore, Bala overcame tremendous odds to rise to the top. He faced adversities with great fortitude. The poignant moments in his life, like when he lost his son, Bala handled with calm and was a tower of strength for his bereaved family.
Encircling Bala and also forming the second strand of narrative in the book, is the story of the Singapore Postal Department and its offspring the Post Office Savings Bank. The book delineates the departments commendable journey from being just a service provider of mail and parcel delivery to becoming a significant partner in the economic and communications boom that has overtaken the country today.
And finally there is the story of the Indian community of Singapore from colonial days to the present. Balas life reflects the many changes that have taken place in the community which in a way moved in tandem with the progress in Balas life. Just to illustrate this point I would like to narrate an anecdote about an experience I had in 1962 when I was a young teacher in Raffles Institution. I was given the task of marking essays submitted for a competition on the theme of Nation Building. One of the students had written about the contribution of the three main races. After discussing the Chinese and Malays, he had this to say of the Indians: Of course we should not forget the Indians. Without them who would sweep our roads and clean our drains. This was how Indians were perceived in the 1960s. From there to the present times when Indians occupy responsible positions in the fields of politics, law, education, judiciary, IT, banking, etc., has been yet another commendable journey. A journey made possible due to the indefatigable efforts at community building of pioneers such as Bala Subramanion as well as the meritocratic system put in place in Singapore by its founding fathers.
One of the most appealing characteristics of the book is that its author, Nilanjana Sengupta, has done deep research to ensure that the biography is well contextualised within the history of Singapore. The Indian Association under the leadership of Ambassador Kesavapany is to be commended for taking the initiative to start this series of biographies of people like Bala who have contributed significantly to Singapores growth and who are today role models for the younger generation. Most importantly, I want to congratulate Bala for allowing his life-story to be written as he saw its deeper significance and I congratulate Nilanjana for providing an interesting narrative of a multifaceted story.
Ambassador Gopinath Pillai
Ambassador-At-Large
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Singapore
Message
When I think of the many people who have helped make Singapore what it is today, perhaps not adequately recognised for their contributions, the following verse from Grays elegy comes to my mind:
Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathomd caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
One such person is the subject matter of this book, Mr M Bala Subramanion. It was only after I became involved in the affairs of the Singapore Indian Association six years ago that I came to know of the full extent of his contributions to the nation and the community. He sought me out like many others to help him rebuild the Association which had unfortunately fallen on hard times. It was with his persistence, incidentally a hallmark of his character, that we were inspired to reposition SIA as a more responsive partner of the community. He is particularly interested in welfare, being a longstanding member of the Associations Welfare Fund. Characteristically, he has decided to pledge the proceeds from the sale of this book to the Fund.
