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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Waterside condo: The other Little India</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>Jul-31 10:48 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 25) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>36911.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Aug 1, 2010
The other Little India
Active residents' group makes condo a home away from home for residents from India
<!-- by line -->By Deepika Shetty
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(From left) Residents Shivi Graham, Noella Menon, Gita Vishwanathan, Himani Basu, Anjana Chandra, Prabha Rao, Piu Lahiri, Swati Sarawagi and Rinkoo Bhowmik are among members of The Waterside's close-knit Indian community. -- ST PHOTOS: KEVIN LIM
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http://www.straitstimes.com/News/Home/Story/STIStory_560477.html
Mrs Shivi Graham may not have known quite what to expect when she moved from Mumbai to Singapore five years ago but she knew that she wanted a home with a touch of India.
She got just what she wished for at The Waterside, an upmarket condo which has become a magnet for fellow expat families.
At the 16-year-old development, flanked by the East Coast Parkway on one side and Tanjong Rhu on the other, she has found a home away from home in a sunny and spacious apartment by the sea.
'I have never once regretted moving into this place,' said the energetic Mrs Graham, 42, who is a yoga and meditation trainer.
Of the 502 units in the sprawling 732,000 sq ft project, about 250 house Indian families. The numbers aside, the glue that really holds it all together is its active residents' group, which has grown into a vibrant and thriving community.
Even a two-month-old resident, Mrs Swati Sarawagi, 35, felt instantly at home. 'I immediately fell in love with this place. I don't know too many people personally but all I have to do is log on to the e-group and I can have all my questions answered,' said the stay-at-home mum, referring to an online help group for residents.
The active community is what sets this condo apart from other developments that have become enclaves for groups of expatriates.
It started more than 10 years ago, with Deepavali get-togethers that became annual affairs. The connectivity then went beyond the annual festival of lights when people started conversations on an e-group.
Over the years, the notes exchanged on holidays or shopping tips grew into a community effort pushing for several initiatives. One was to get a yellow box junction painted outside the condo gates to facilitate traffic movement. Another moved to abolish fees for the use of the condo's tennis courts.
This informal residents' group, which has a good mix of energetic stay-at-home mums and professionals, also rallied for children's classes in the Hindi language, Bollywood dance classes and Kumon classes held in the condo's function room.
They also count charity drives among their achievements.
Earlier this year, almost 400kg of school supplies were collected by a group of women for Goonj, an Indian non-governmental organisation. The collection provided a village school in the eastern Indian state of Bihar with its first staples and files.
Mrs Rinkoo Bhowmik, who initiated this drive, said the community wanted to do its bit to promote primary education in India.
It is this close-knit sense of community and purpose that keeps freelance journalist and writer Anjana Chandra rooted. A volunteer at various events, including the charity drive, she said: 'No other place offers an experience like this.'
For Mrs Prabha Rao, who has lived at The Waterside for nine years, the experience reminds her of the time she was growing up.
'We were always surrounded by friends and family. The vibrant and closely knit community has been able to do just that here,' she said.
A Singaporean Waterside resident, Mrs Susan Lim, who is in her 40s, said she has been impressed by the strong sense of community among the Indians. 'They celebrate their festivals together and they take pride in their culture. They make the place very lively.'
The community has left its imprint as well on the Econ minimart in the condo. To cater to the community's needs, owner June Teh, 46, now stocks popular Indian brands like Haldiram's and Amul.
The Waterside comprises six tower blocks and has apartments with floor spaces of 2,142 sq ft and 2,400 sq ft. There are now about 50 units listed for rental on websites such as Singapore Expats and Property Guru, with rents ranging from $6,500 to $9,000.
Property agents say they go like hot cakes.
And demand is fuelled not just by Indian expatriates, said Mr Ivan Chee, a senior realty adviser with Knight Frank. 'It is popular with other races as well largely because of the large apartment size. Spacious apartments are becoming increasingly hard to come by.'
It is a sentiment shared by Mr Derrick Chia, a senior associate director at Orange Tee. 'We get a good mix of clients here, though I have noticed Indians and Indonesians like the large apartments as they often have visitors,' he said.
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The other Little India
Active residents' group makes condo a home away from home for residents from India
<!-- by line -->By Deepika Shetty
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar -->
<!-- story content : start -->
http://www.straitstimes.com/News/Home/Story/STIStory_560477.html
Mrs Shivi Graham may not have known quite what to expect when she moved from Mumbai to Singapore five years ago but she knew that she wanted a home with a touch of India.
She got just what she wished for at The Waterside, an upmarket condo which has become a magnet for fellow expat families.
At the 16-year-old development, flanked by the East Coast Parkway on one side and Tanjong Rhu on the other, she has found a home away from home in a sunny and spacious apartment by the sea.
'I have never once regretted moving into this place,' said the energetic Mrs Graham, 42, who is a yoga and meditation trainer.
Of the 502 units in the sprawling 732,000 sq ft project, about 250 house Indian families. The numbers aside, the glue that really holds it all together is its active residents' group, which has grown into a vibrant and thriving community.
Even a two-month-old resident, Mrs Swati Sarawagi, 35, felt instantly at home. 'I immediately fell in love with this place. I don't know too many people personally but all I have to do is log on to the e-group and I can have all my questions answered,' said the stay-at-home mum, referring to an online help group for residents.
The active community is what sets this condo apart from other developments that have become enclaves for groups of expatriates.
It started more than 10 years ago, with Deepavali get-togethers that became annual affairs. The connectivity then went beyond the annual festival of lights when people started conversations on an e-group.
Over the years, the notes exchanged on holidays or shopping tips grew into a community effort pushing for several initiatives. One was to get a yellow box junction painted outside the condo gates to facilitate traffic movement. Another moved to abolish fees for the use of the condo's tennis courts.
This informal residents' group, which has a good mix of energetic stay-at-home mums and professionals, also rallied for children's classes in the Hindi language, Bollywood dance classes and Kumon classes held in the condo's function room.
They also count charity drives among their achievements.
Earlier this year, almost 400kg of school supplies were collected by a group of women for Goonj, an Indian non-governmental organisation. The collection provided a village school in the eastern Indian state of Bihar with its first staples and files.
Mrs Rinkoo Bhowmik, who initiated this drive, said the community wanted to do its bit to promote primary education in India.
It is this close-knit sense of community and purpose that keeps freelance journalist and writer Anjana Chandra rooted. A volunteer at various events, including the charity drive, she said: 'No other place offers an experience like this.'
For Mrs Prabha Rao, who has lived at The Waterside for nine years, the experience reminds her of the time she was growing up.
'We were always surrounded by friends and family. The vibrant and closely knit community has been able to do just that here,' she said.
A Singaporean Waterside resident, Mrs Susan Lim, who is in her 40s, said she has been impressed by the strong sense of community among the Indians. 'They celebrate their festivals together and they take pride in their culture. They make the place very lively.'
The community has left its imprint as well on the Econ minimart in the condo. To cater to the community's needs, owner June Teh, 46, now stocks popular Indian brands like Haldiram's and Amul.
The Waterside comprises six tower blocks and has apartments with floor spaces of 2,142 sq ft and 2,400 sq ft. There are now about 50 units listed for rental on websites such as Singapore Expats and Property Guru, with rents ranging from $6,500 to $9,000.
Property agents say they go like hot cakes.
And demand is fuelled not just by Indian expatriates, said Mr Ivan Chee, a senior realty adviser with Knight Frank. 'It is popular with other races as well largely because of the large apartment size. Spacious apartments are becoming increasingly hard to come by.'
It is a sentiment shared by Mr Derrick Chia, a senior associate director at Orange Tee. 'We get a good mix of clients here, though I have noticed Indians and Indonesians like the large apartments as they often have visitors,' he said.
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