The First Years 2 - 1960s

John and I ; the big Kor Kor circa Dec 1965 ; this was taken at the verandah of our house 

    This is the second blog post for the First Years ; the 1960s. The era was quite uncertain for Singapore, we had just broken away from the British as a colony, and the first Chief Minister, Mr. David Marshall, as well as the 2nd Chief Minister, Lim Yew Hock both from the Worker's Party were in charge of the island as part of the Federation of Malaya. Together with Penang, Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak, the 15 state Federation of Malaya was in its infancy.

    I remember we had the airline MSA or Malaysia Singapore Airlines, and we used the ringgit.

In 1965, due to political and social unrest in Singapore, the Tungku Abdul Rahman and Mr. Lee Kwan Yew agreed for a separation ; this was settled on the 9th August 1965 ; a truly historic moment. However, it was a very uncertain time for Singapore. 

On the world's stage, in 1961 John F. Kennedy stared down Fidel Castro's administration and the Russin big bear so much so they had to stall their plans of installing missiles right at the backyard of the United States of America. This had come soon after the humiliating Bay of Pigs attempted invasion by Cuban exiles and the US. 

My father, Geoffrey Abisheganaden, with my brother, John in the garden. The Simcar is in the background. 

In  November 1963,  John F. Kennedy was shot while he was in his open top convertible in Dallas Texas. The Vietnam war was escalating with tens of thousands of US troops airlifted from bases in the US to Thailand, and South Vietnam. Communism was rife in the South East Asian peninsula with Vietnam taking the centre stage. China herself was undergoing the great Cultural Revolution during the '60s. 

It was a tumultuous time ; as a toddler, I was totally in blissful ignorance, coccooned in play, local games, and creating general mayhem for my maids, the gardener, and the kids in the neighbourhood. 

It was a glorious time for me.  

                                                 Playing in my Papa's car ; 

  My mother shielding me from the aggressive monkeys in the Botanic Gardens, circa 1964.