LITTLE India has come a long way in a short time.
In less that two centuries it has gone from uninhabited farmland to one of Singapore's busiest neighbourhoods supporting a large population living in the high-density accommadtions that define the Lion City.
Back in Singapore's early days, not long after Sir Stamford Raffles proclaimed the Asian island would become the region's most important trading post, the area became home to farmers who used the land to raise beef.
It wasn't long before some of the Indian migrants arriving in the new settlement radiated to the area to work on the farms.
The government quickly saw these Indian workers could support more industry in the area, so opened brick kilns and lime pits which in turn attracted more of the folks arriving from the Subcontinent.
While Sir Stamford decided that other parts of Singapore would support the migrants that were flocking to the island nation in the early 1800s - think Chinatown and Kampong Glam - Little India grew organically because it was the place this cultural group decided to live and work.
Today the beef farms are long gone, and in their place is a network of narrow streets that support Singapore's Indian community with shops and markets, restaurants and cafes, flower sellers and jewellers.
