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Saturday January 28, 2006

Modernity closing in on Brickfields

Brickfields has undergone many changes since its early days as a land of clay pits where cows used to graze and the railways was a playground for the children of the neighbourhood. BAVANI M. discovers its appeal as a modern hub with a touch of nostalgic charm.

REMINISCING her childhood days growing up in Brickfields, Sarkunavathy Arumugam can almost hear the sharp siren from the Lever Brothers (now Unilever) factory announcing the start of lunch hour.

“My mother always kept track of time by the sound of the siren.

Sarkunavathy ... walked all the way to Bukit Nanas Convent from Brickfields
“We knew that once the siren sounds she would be looking out for us to come back home for lunch,” she recalled, adding that her mother would usually punish latecomers.

Her family used to lived at the railway quarters across the road from the factory and had grown used to the company’s twice-a-day siren – the first at 1pm and the next one, signalling time to go home, at 5pm.

“The siren had been part of our lives since the Lever Brothers started operations in the late 1940s,” said Sarkunavathy, 58.

The retired civil servant distinctly remembers playing a game called kavunda kavindi, which is similar to rounders, as well as playing marbles near the railway tracks.

“My brother also used to play a game using cigarette boxes. They would stack the boxes up and try to topple the stack by shooting them with rubber bands.

They used to collect as many cigarette boxes as possible and were even willing trade the boxes with one another if they had doubles,” she said.

Sarkunavathy also remembers going to school in the ’60s with her sisters Susiela and Kaulsalya.

“Susiela and I studied in Bukit Nanas Convent during the period when the nuns were in charge. I remember walking to school from Brickfields all the way to CBN,” she said.

Kaulsalya, 49, who went to school in St Theresa Convent, said it was different back then because there was not much traffic and the city was a lot more greener and serene.

“There were no such as things as snatch thefts and car accidents were rare,” she added.

According to Kaulsalya, Brickfields got its name from the word “brick”.

“The area was the centre for brick making in the early days when the whole area was a clay pit with cows grazing everywhere, “Brickfields produced the best bricks as good quality bricks is made from clay,” she said.

The Lutheran Church in Jalan Berhala dwarfed by tall apartment buildings that have come up around it.
S.K.K. Naidu, who is the president of the 80-year-old Sri Sakthi Vinayagar Temple in Brickfields and a long-time resident of the area, said many aspects about Brickfields made it appealing to people.

“Despite its close proximity to Bangsar, there’s a vast difference between the two neighbourhoods.

There’s a lot of history to Brickfields as it is one of the pioneer settlements in Kuala Lumpur.

“Just take a walk and see the old structures that have withstood the test of time here,” Naidu said.

Indeed, the whole stretch of Jalan Tun Sambanthan (formerly Jalan Brickfields) is interspersed with old colonial structures.

Right at one end of the road you have the century-old Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), which has become an integral landmark in Brickfields.

Further down is the charming Vivekananda Ashram that was built in the early 19th century.

“The charming 100 quarters in Jalan Rozario are still there although modern buildings have cropped up all round,” Naidu said.

Brickfields is also tagged a “Divine Location” as many famous religious structures, some almost 100 years old, are concentrated in the area, particularly Jalan Berhala.

The aptly-named road houses the Buddhist Maha Vihara Temple, the Arulmegu Sree Veera Hanuman Temple, the Sri Sakthi Vinayagar Temple, the Lutheran Church and even the 50-yearold Three Teachings Chinese Temple.

The area is also popular for its banana leaf delights and thosai (Indian pancake).

“I love coming here for breakfast every Sunday,” said Shamini Murugan.

The young secretary makes it a practice to visit different restaurants with her boyfriend every time she comes to Brickfields.

“I have tried most of the smaller restaurants here and some of the upmarket ones like Gem and Kshipra.

Brickfields is also fast developing into a modern transportation hub.

Apart from KL Sentral, the area now boasts hotels, condominiums, and office complexes, lending it a new image - an image of the future!

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