Kinta Road has its many different moods, sights and sounds. The five foot ways along both sides of the road provides a good shelter for the households from the rain and shine. As for passer-bys, some likes to walk on the street, some likes to walk along the corridors. Sometimes, some walk right into the drain, and some even walk into your house. On hot and humid afternoons, sometimes it can be pretty quiet. Nobody is walking. If you look across the five foot way, you may find some houseflies. Sometimes even the flies are hiding from the heat. But sometimes, there could be activities. You can see and hear the voices of people. These are the street hawkers with their street sounds or food sounds. Street hawking is common in those days as jobs were scarce in the 70s and 80s. You do not need much capital and you do not need a license to be a hawker. Some sells food on foot, some on wheels. Some just go around taking orders.
Eating was already a national pastime. Food is available anytime of the day and night. Some street peddlers comes during the day and some in the evening. Some comes as and when they fancy.
So you hear the mee pok boy "tock tick tock", the Indian rojak man shouting "rojak, rojak". All the different sounds of food. Street peddlers comes in different forms, shapes and designs. The Indian putu mayam man with a big basket on his head selling thin rice vermicelli which are normally eaten with coconut and brown sugar. The kachang puteh and curry puffs uncle and their balancing acts with basket on their heads or shoulders. You can also find peddlers on their push carts selling classic street snacks like, Yong tau foo, tau huay (soya bean curds), tau suan, mee siam, kueh kueh, bubur hitam (black) and bubur terigu (white), ice ball kachang, Bandung drinks, keropok.
I remembered there was the Indian milkman who goes around with his booby cow. The cow wears a cow bell around its neck. Some milk are pre-bottled but if you want it fresh from his cow, he squeeze it right in front of you.
One of our neighbours on our left is a provision shop. They sells general groceries, stationery and household items. So if mother wants some flour, or kerosene, it is easily available next door. But then it became a matter of who runs the errand and a finger pointing game. Being the second youngest in the family has no privileges.
The Indian rojak man always comes in the evening. He will always parked his cart near to our house and then he will do a few things. He pumped up his oil lamp, lift up his sarong to mid length, tickle somewhere down there, shouts, "rojak, rojak". Smile at his first customers and then he will worked on his chopping with his cutting board. I am always mesmerize with the sounds of his "chop, chop, chop". We are a typical Chinese family eating mostly Chinese foods but somehow we all enjoyed eating Indian rojak? Such was the tantalizing influence of this Indian man.
Another loud experience comes from the medicine man. This uncle sells ointment for the common cold, mosquito bites, ants bite, love bites and snakes bites, itchy skin, top and bottoms, Cures all for pains from back, front, left and right. He has two loud blaring speakers installed on the top of his van. The moment he parked his van, he turned on the speakers and the advertising and promotional message like: "无比膏，青草油，止痛止痒，伤风感冒, 蚊子咬, 屁股痒..."goes on and on for infinite time. Even PAP campaign vehicles moves around during election time today. They don't stay put! There was no Public nuisance Act in those days!
Sometimes we have a different kind of loud music coming from a band. This is the funeral orchestral band from the TOH clan association. The association which is diagonally opposite our house was their assembly point. The musicians, normally elderly uncles came smartly dressed in white uniforms and with different instruments but they all played the same boring music monotonous in rhythm "dong dong qiang, dong dong qiang" and it repeats. Some high and low notes and it goes on and on. It has quite a hynoptic effect and puts you to sleep in a while. No wonder they are meant for the dead. Only if they could play better music like today's funeral band. But when young, that's music to the ears.
One of my favorite childhood snacks is the "Ting Ting" malt candies 麦牙糖. The uncle who sells this sweets will hammered a harden molt to cut it into bite sized pieces. And with all these hammering you have the "Ting Ting" sound. These are the lollipops of my time. Nice sweets but I have lost a few teeth eating these sticky sweets.
Sometime, somehow we have music extravaganza in the evening. It started with the loud beating of the drums and bells and the blowing of horns. This will jolt you up in the middle of the night. A silver chariot with two brightly decorated cows will then marched past the street. The Hindus must be celebrating their Deepavali or Thaipusam or some birthdays of their gods or goddess. We are living right in a Indian town named little India and near to the temples of the gods.
Other happenings at Kinta Road were the lion dances and fire crackers during CNY, the routine passing of the rubbish collection trucks, the street and drain cleaners, the inspection of the meters by the government man.
And so these were the sights and sounds of Kinta Road and some vanishing trades... through my eyes and memories.
