Khaw Boon Wan once said he now reads books via Kindle. I have never been to his house. I won’t be surprised if he does not have a large library of physical books or magazines. Everything the former Transport Minister needs to read for pleasure, knowledge or work is online evidently – on phone, tablet, laptop or PC. But I urge him to spend some time visiting as many bookstores as he can because they are vanishing pretty fast. The intellectual vibrancy of a great global city is measured by, among other things, the number of places where a curious mind is constantly surprised and nourished by the nuggets found through the sheer pleasure of browsing.
Two news stories in recent weeks seem to be tolling the death knell of an important part of our growing up memories.
Just a while back, we learnt that an institution of Tanjong Katong Road was closing down. Katong News Agency, which opened in 1955, is closing down after 67 years in business. I quote Tabla!: “People familiar with Tanjong Katong will remember how the shop at 350 Tanjong Katong Road was once popular with parents and students for its extensive range of school textbooks, assessment books, novels, magazines and stationery.
“The iconic shop had catered to generations of students from nearby schools, including Tanjong Katong Girls School, Tanjong Katong Technical School, Dunman High School and Chung Cheng High School (Main), in the 1960s to 1990s.
“Business plunged when three of the schools moved out of Tanjong Katong Road in the late 1990s.”
I would add to that: Students from Katong Convent would surely also remember the store, as would Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong who studied in Tanjong Katong Secondary School (the new co-ed school) and nearby Haig Road Primary School.
Earlier this month, we learnt that Knowledge Book Store, a secondhand bookstore in Bras Basah Complex, is closing by month’s end. And Singaporeans learnt about it through a TikTok video, and not any of our outrageously over-funded mainstream media.
Mothership reported:
“The news was met with disappointment, and a lively discussion ensued in the video’s comments section, with many commenters suggesting ways to preserve the business, such as bringing it online.
“Many of those who commented also sought to find out the exact reasons for the third-floor bookstore’s closure, as it has been an institution in Bras Basah serving the needs of many students who go there to buy used cheap textbooks.”
Sad.
Nothing can replace the journey and pleasure of discovery when browsing through bookstores or spending time in a place like Borders, MPH, Popular – or any of the magazine agencies which are also now disappearing.
I dedicate this column to two sets of experiences which have helped shape my early years.
I spent an inordinate amount of my time at Saints secondhand bookstores – from the Dhoby Ghaut area to the outskirts – as well as the store at the junction of Porchester Avenue and Kensington Park Road, where many books, newspapers and magazines (culled from ANZUK soldiers’ temporary homes in Serangoon Garden) were disposed of at giveaway prices. I was introduced to world politics, Western culture and tons of subjects at low cost.
Then when I was working as a journalist, I went to the extent of ordering air-flown copies of the London Sunday Times from a number of news agency store selling overseas newspapers just to be one-up and also to enjoy the six or seven magazines that came with the edition. Each time I was at each outlet, I would browse through vast arrays of magazines, whether at Siglap Centre, the Arcade, Tanglin Shopping Mall or Holland Village. The first three have long gone. The one last standing is the iconic Thambi Magazine Store, a family run business with over 80 years of history.
CNA ran a beautiful article on the store. It quoted Periathambi Senthilmurugan, aka Sam, the owner of the three-generation enterprise, as saying: “All my life is magazines, magazines, magazines. There was an article that said: Move aside Kino, look at Thambi. But I’ve not been to Kino. I’ve not been to Borders. I just concentrate on what I do. That’s what keeps me going.”
Well, Border’s came and went. Kino(kuniya) is still around. Evernew, the other iconic second hand bookstore in Bras Basa Complex, survives, standing directly opposite the TISG office on North Bridge Road.
Kino, Evernew and Thambi – for how long? So, maybe, don’t just do what Khaw Boon Wan does. The late DPM S Rajaratnam, a voracious reader, used to frequent the now defunct MPH bookstore along Stamford Road. Do the Raja. Browse. Don’t just Kindle.
Tan Bah Bah is a former senior leader writer with The Straits Times. He was also managing editor of a magazine publishing company.