Hanuman moving a mountain.

Image of Hanuman moving a mountain on the side of a van.

So I was riding along Bendeemer Road one day when I saw this van headed in the direction of Little India.

I quickly whipped out my mobile phone to take a picture of it because I was quite pleased by the symbolism of the image/advertisement.

Why?

  • The name of the company that owns this van is Sri Ram Exports Pte Ltd.
  • The image on the van is that of Hanuman moving a mountain (click on the link and read the entire page to understand why Hanuman is moving a mountain).
  • Ultimately, the story of Hanuman moving a mountain is supposed to demonstrate his devotion toward Ram.
  • Whoever commissioned the advertisement wanted to portray the Export company in a similar light i.e. we’ll get your goods to you in good time even if we have to cross oceans to reach you.

That’s quite clever, right?

(On hindsight: yes, it’s clever – so long as my assumptions are correct i.e.

  • For all I know, whoever commissioned the ad could’ve just done so without making any of the connections I mentioned above.
  • Also, my knowledge of Hindu mythology is quite limited so I could’ve got the interpretation wrong.)

“Excuse me, are you… Siew Kum Hong?”

Had a dental appointment today. Marked some scripts while waiting for the dentist to see me.

While marking, random fella comes up to me and asks, “Are you Siew Kum Hong?”

…

Siew Kum Hong

Dude, I wanted to say. Do I look like friggin’ Siew Kum Hong to you?

Or is it – I dunno – ALL BALD MEN LOOK ALIKE TO YOU???

Extremely disgruntled. Will be starting a coalition called BMAFDS (Bald Men Against Follicular Discrimination Society) soon.

On a sidenote, still wondering what it’s like to be gruntled. But think it might be something I’d enjoy.