A nonfiction work about learning Kristang to bring comfort to an ailing grandmother, and how it led to an exploration of Eurasian culture.
Published: 28 Sep 2020
By: Melissa De Silva
Time taken : ~10mins
When Melissa’s grandmother is unable to speak due to illness, she discovers that speaking the few Kristang words she knows seems to revive her. In order to bring her comfort and a few laughs, Melissa sets out to learn more Kristang. This takes her on an unexpected journey to discover aspects of her Eurasian culture like food, festivals, music and song.
Contributed by:
Melissa De Silva is the author of ‘Others’ is Not a Race, winner of the Singapore Literature Prize 2018 (Creative Nonfiction), about Eurasians in Singapore. Her fiction has been published in Best New Singaporean Short Stories Vol. 3, Singapore Quarterly Literary Review and LONTAR: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction. Melissa has worked as a journalist and book editor and is Singapore’s Education Ambassador for online global creative writing platform for teens, Write the World.
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