Dilip Doshi – Gujaratis of Singapore, Market Street Part 1 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Dilip Doshi recalls how his father Panachand came to Singapore and later established a trading firm at Market Street, the heart of the Gujarati community on the island. He talks about the Gujaratis’ cultural and religious life and their reputation as middlemen in the transregional trade across the Indian Ocean. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/Uj5WuvdOvts Part 2 | https://youtu.be/PuWs6z8RIyw 00:00 Introduction 02:04 My Father Panachand Doshi 11:14 Market Street & the Chettiars 15:53 Gujarati Values & Code of Conduct 21:26 Cultural & Religious Life 25:32 The Gujaratis as Middlemen 35:09 Perthar, Learning Trade from My Father 40:19 The Intraco Story I’m Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian. I’m interested in the history of Singapore and the lives of its people. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city today. We discuss three topics: 1. People and places. 2. Change and continuity. 3. The importance of heritage. As a historian, I try to stay true to the oral history method on a video format and social media platform. I let the interviewee speak, as the ‘voice of the past’ as Paul Thompson put it. No clickbait, no BS, no posturing. The aim is to canvas a wide range of voices on various aspects of Singapore history and heritage – physical, social, cultural, economic. Do like the video, share your memories below and subscribe to the channel for future episodes. Write to lohkahseng@chroniclesresearch.com if you have any of these stories to share: • Old places or kampongs. • Communities – their way of life & culture. • Childhood & schools. • Work or business. Support Chronicles of Old Singapore on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore Follow the channel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551786759344 Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lks992002 Chronicles Research & Education is my research consultancy on the history of Singapore: https://www.chroniclesresearch.com/ Caveat: this is above all a podcast based on personal memory. As has been well-documented in oral history, memory is not always reliable and what is recalled here should not be taken as fact. However, as Alessandro Portelli noted, the subjectivity of oral history is also its great strength, and what is inaccurately remembered may point to how deeply meaningful the past is to people. #singaporehistory #memory #heritage #nostalgia #oralhistory #socialhistory #history #singapore