Batik Baron
(Sarkasi Said: Little India, Singapore)
This is a rather blurry image of the man himself, but his work appears surprisingly crisp, this image depicts the ‘Baron of Batik’, Mr Sarkasi Said. Ying’s parents drove us to Arab Street – this is the name of a street, but really it encompasses all the surrounding lesser streets under a single name. Singapore feels a bit like a theme park in that respect since it has an Arab Street, a Little India, a Chinatown and I’m sure there’s more, perhaps a Malay Town or something. From Arab Street they took us directly to the Malay Heritage Centre to introduce us to Mr Said, an old friend. He was there, as we’d hoped, and he was setting up his painting equipment for the day to work on a silk canvas he had already begun (which you can see here). We all spoke for some time after our introductions and explanations that we were holidaying from China.
It happens sometimes that I see or meet someone for whom I have immediate respect and almost reverence, even though I don’t know them. Mr Said is one of these people; he spoke vividly of time spent in China, his relating of events peppered with exclamations of “Oh my goodness!” with his eyes laughing, even if his face displayed less than a smile. I liked him instantly and Ying and I tarried there for at least half an hour, watching him work, discussing China, art, his paintings and Singapore. I learned later that he held (or holds) a world record from 2003 for painting the world’s longest Batik, over 100m long when he had already reached the age of 62. Meeting Mr Said and hearing him speak to us about his paintings was a real highlight of Singapore for me – he was truly inspiring.
The Heritage Centre includes a studio where Mr Said can work on his paintings in relative peace and quiet, apart from the incessant bites of mosquitoes. Because we were standing still, they were ferocious. The centre sits next to a Mosque with all the trappings of tourism round about it. Given more time and cooler weather, we would have explored more of the area, but my feet still ache from all the walking we did and Ying and I, despite being home in China for two days, are still fighting off the fatigue of our holiday!
