blue or green

The Peranakan Museum

Older Child and I have a running gag: I see blue, OC sees green; OC sees blue, I see green. Having said this, perception can be subjective, so we end up agreeing to disagree.

A friend from High School is visiting and she wanted to visit the newly opened Peranakan Museum. This was our favourite museum when the children were growing up; it has been closed for 4 years for renovation works and finally reopened a week or so ago. We jumped at the opportunity to join her.

The facade of the former Tao Nan school is painted such a delicious shade of blue (of course, OC would say green).

In showcasing over 800 objects across three floors, each of the nine galleries shed light onto the different facets of Peranakan culture. All are thought-provoking, and will get you pondering: What is Peranakan even?

Time Out, Singapore

In Singapore today, the term “Peranakan” generally refers to a person of mixed Chinese and Malay/Indonesian heritage.

Singapore Infopedia

My mother’s parents claim this heritage. Both her parents spoke Malay as well as their Chinese dialects, my grandmother dressed in traditional sarong kabaya, and served Peranakan food as a staple. My mother’s cooking still has strong Peranakan influences, although she neither speaks the language nor wears a sarong. I’m afraid all is quite lost when it comes to my siblings and I.

It was fascinating to walk through the museum and see objects which I recall seeing in my grandparent’s home, and even a sarong which looked very much like one my grandmother wore on special occasions.

from left: 1) Older Child & Loving Husband with other eager visitors, 2) artists sketching the lovely building,

So what do you say: is the building painted Blue or Green?

💙 💚 💙 💚

This post is my contribution to One Word Sunday: Blue hosted by Debbie at Travel with Intent