Torn down and up in flames

0

ON Tuesday night, the Eye was awakened by constant text messages about a huge fire in downtown Kuching. “Pasar gambir hangus!” was among the first text messages received. That was around 11.45pm.

Naturally (and knowing how fast people in Kuching are on Facebook), the Eye turned on the computer, and sure enough there were already several photos of the inferno being posted via Facebook mobile. The photos showed the fire blazing, despite the rain.

There were also paparazzi-like photos of the VIPs who had made it down to the site, talking to business owners and the press. Among them was Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan.

As the Eye viewed these photos online (the feed of comments, status updates and photos were almost ‘live’) flashes of memories of Gambier Street from the Eye’s childhood came to mind — the sights, sounds and smells.

As the ‘live feed’ continued past midnight, the Eye started to pray that the several unique features of the area would not be destroyed, namely the spice row, the little alleyway and the mosque that is nestled along that little alleyway.

Sadly, Gambier Street suffered a double blow this year, first with the tearing down of the historical marketplace we fondly know as Pasar Cekur, and within the past week, the incineration of several of the colonial era shophouses that line the famous street that was once the heart of Kuching town, including one of Kuching’s largest fabric and textile shops.

For those who remember (and are old enough to remember), Gambier Street was THE ultimate shopping area back in the day. If you wanted fresh produce like meats, fish and vegetables, you headed for the famous Pasar Cekur. If you wanted to shop for fabric, you headed for Gambier and India streets. If you wanted daily household items, where else, but Gambier Street.

Gambier Street also holds fond memories for those who were headed overseas to study back in the day but could not afford winter clothing from P Lal Store in KL. The multiple-storey building next to the wet market housed a number of tailors and clothes shops including cheap but good quality winter clothes.

Most of us born before the late 1970s may have fond memories of running along the little hidden alleyway that connected Gambier Street to India Street. Back in the day, when the Eye was just a little tyke, an outing to town was a bus ride to India Street and shopping in the area with the grandparents.

The little Eye would always make it a point to make grandpa walk through that little alleyway — it was like a little adventure where you could let your imagination run wild. It was a child’s dream ‘adventure’ literally, walking through the tight alleyway, squeezing past the crowd and breathing in the air heavily laden with the scents of spices.

It brought the Eye to another world, one that the Eye later related to Indiana Jones. Imagine, walking through a secret passage and suddenly stumbling upon a lost or a hidden civilization and a grand palace (the little Indian- Muslim mosque). As Kuching expanded and more commercial areas opened up, the need for the Eye’s family to shop at Gambier Street eventually dwindled as well.

However, over the years, the businesses in the area have managed to hold on to a steady flow of customers, so much so, that parking in the area eventually became something dreaded.

It’s been a while since the Eye has returned to that little alleyway. Eye sometimes wonder if Eye would now be able to squeeze through to get to the other side (bearing in mind that over the years, the Eye has more than doubled in size). But of course, squeezing through would not be a problem.

The alleyway has always been somewhat magical, and no matter how big one gets, one would always be able to get to the other end.

As the Eye writes this, the Eye is yet unsure of the extent of the damage caused by Tuesday night’s inferno. Business-wise, it definitely isn’t a great way to celebrate Christmas or usher in the New Year. In terms of historical and sentimental value, the Eye hopes that the alleyway, the mosque and the spice shops were spared from the raging fires. We have already lost part of Kuching’s history and romanticism when Pasar Cekur was torn down.

We have now lost a little more to the Gambier Inferno of 2009.