“People who can read and write will learn from the stories you have... Hopefully this will never happen again.”

This was what kitchen helper TS Mallika, 56, told writer Prabhu Silvam and photojournalist Zakaria Zainal in her interview for the duo’s new book Riot Recollections, which contains 30 stories from people who witnessed the Little India Riot on Dec. 8, 2013.

Silvam recounted the day he met Mallika at a back alley in Race Course Road during the book’s launch.

"We saw her sitting down in the alley... just looking into space," the 25-year-old poet-writer said. "Just an hour before we had approached she had just received a call from India. Her niece had just passed away... it felt very emotional for me personally because here was a person who (had) just lost a loved one, but she was willing to open up (to me)."

The book launch was held at a North Indian restaurant in Chander Road close to the junction between Race Course Road and Hampshire Road, where a year before, sparked by the death of Indian migrant worker Sakthivel Kumaravelu, South Asian workers went on a rampage that left 39 injured, including police officers.

The duo had immediately began to interview people the following week after the riots. “Most people were wary to speak about it, obviously, because (it was a) very sensitive issue,” Silvam told Mothership.sg. “But those who spoke up... they spoke up with utmost honesty."

The book was inspired partly by Zakaria’s previous experiences with interviewing the Gurkhas for his previous books. The 29-year-old had met Gurkhas who witnessed the 1969 race riots and the Maria Hertogh riots.

“When we think of really key historical events, something as big as this, we only remember the key players,” Zakaria said at the book launch. “I was asking myself -- what about other people who were present? For me, (the book) was sort of a ground-up initiative whereby we hit the ground, we talk to people."

The duo were interested in presenting "alternative and multiple narratives of the riot from the people on the ground". In a separate email interview, Zakaria said that he “was curious to know of the multiple narratives from everyone else present during the riot.”

The duo had three main questions: Where were the witnesses? What did they observe? How did they feel?

“Personally, having alternative narratives add another dimension to experiencing a historic event, away from the stories dictated by the state and the media,” Zakaria added. “We do hope that when people get the chance to read the book they will be presented with other stories not found anywhere else and learn of stories of hope and courage from the people we have met.”

Silvam said the book aimed to achieve a "recorded narrative" of the riot -- to showcase the narratives in a human manner. “The migrant workers who toil in our land, they’re no different from you and me,” he said. “They have hopes and fears... they have loved ones waiting for them at home... basically, they’re just like you and me."

These recorded narratives were reported on Yahoo! News Singapore in February this year, leading to some contacting the duo. One of them was Tholmas Sim, who had lived in Little India for 25 years.

Growing up, Sim had mingled with migrant workers. On the day of the riot, Sim was rather curious, and went to “a few corners to see what was going on”, according to Silvam. “(He told us) that he never once feared for his own safety, so that dispelled a lot of rumours that the mob that night was just going at anyone and everyone who were not migrant workers,” Silvam added.

Sim had felt that "it was important to let other Singaporeans know that the migrant workers and their mannerisms form part of the colourful mural that is Little India", according to Zakaria.

“To have an ordinary citizen reach out and remind of us this message was truly wonderful in the work that we do,” Zakaria added. “(If) you were to trace the trajectory of Singapore’s history, it is a meeting point of so many cultures. It is in our DNA to be accepting and tolerant of people from other parts of the world."

Many of the people featured in the book were no longer in Singapore, according to Silvam -- but before they left, the duo gave them three portraits taken of them, as some had expressed that they have never had a portrait taken of themselves.

Silvam said: “(These) people are the reason why we had this book, and not being able to see them again is a little painful... (but) on hindsight we feel happy because... the people might not be there, but their words are forever in the book for future generations to come.”

Mothership.sg is giving away three copies of Riot Recollections, autographed by Prabhu Silvam and Zakaria Zainal. Share with us your own recollection of the Little India riots last year in the comment box below. We will select the three best comments and notify the winners in the comments box.

Riot Recollections is available for purchase online at Ethos Books and costs $22.23 at major book-stores. 

Related article:

Mothership Q&A: A glimpse of Gurkhas book authors Chong Zi Liang and Zakaria Zainal

Photos by Ng Yi Shu. 

If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest updates.