Mr Teh Tarik - 7

We were roaming our old stomping grounds out on the East Coast early this afternoon and decided on a snack at the Al-Azhar Cafe at Geylang Serai - located on the premises which housed the estimable Mr Teh Tarik Cafe at one time, before Mr T.T. shifted across the road to the market. The teh tarik gajah was happily excellent: hot & sweet in the appropriate proportions. The curry puffs weren't bad at all, either, being genuinely that little bit hot.

I must say, it felt good to sit there, awaiting the Chinese New Year in our own way. But I have to confess I found myself viewing my surrounds to some degree through the lens provided by Meira Chand's A Different Sky, specifically relating to her account of the war years and the Japanese Occupation, the section I reached in my reading yesterday. Of course, I was aware of this dark background to our Far Place prior to reading the novel, and I've sometimes thought of locations in which I've found myself as they were in relation to the events of that time, but she does such a good job of conjuring the sense of everyday details of the period that it was difficult not to reminisce about a past in no real way my own. The magic of fiction, eh?

Except that A Different Sky isn't especially magical, to be honest, though very worthy and extremely well researched. As I think I mentioned before, it's a solid read, but there's something predictable about it, something conventional, something limited - at least, that's how I feel at the halfway point. But perhaps Ms Chand will surprise me. 

I was thinking about this in relation to one of her characters. His nickname is Wee Jack and he's the main communist (so far.) And so far it looks like he's going to be the type of the unreasonable fanatic. I'm wondering if she'll do more with him than trade in that stereotype, but I'm not terribly hopeful. It's a pity, I suppose, he didn't discover the joys of teh tarik (well, not yet, he hasn't); it might have inculcated an unexpected tolerance.