For someone used to the dirt and filth of Indian cities, visiting Singapore was a shock - a very pleasant shock. The first thing I noticed about the place was that it was so CLEAN.

Be it the air we breathe or the water we use, everything is clean and fresh. Take the case of even milk: you can get milk with fat and skimmed milk. It is already purified and there is no need for you to even boil it.

Even the quality of vegetables and fruits here is excellent. So there is no need to pick and choose the good ones and make sure you are not cheated into buying rotten vegetables. Moreover, even banana leaf and turmeric are sold neatly in sealed packets, making it easy to carry them even in a public transport.

Music, Movies and Mamta Are you ready: Image makeover Red One for Achchamundu! Achchamundu! A day-trip to Dakshin Chitra ஒரு படம், இரு நாயகர்கள் யோகி: ஆங்கிலப் படத்தின் காப்பியா? சிம்புவின் டாலரும் தேவையில்லாத வதந்தியும்

The roads are well-maintained and do not have any potholes. It is fascinating to see cars plying on rubber roads - and plying quietly because there are no screaming horns. The parking system is excellent and everywhere people follow traffic rules. All these mean that there is no chance of traffic jams.

What we take for granted in India does not happen here: No stagnation of water during the rainy season as the water is pumped out regularly. Hence, there is no mosquito menace. If you were in the business of selling mosquito repellants here, you would be incurring huge loss!

Housing colonies are well planned and built as per plan. There are always small play areas for children in these colonies. A public telephone has been fixed in every flat basement and the charge is also low. And what is a bigger relief is that there is no power failure, even while there is heavy rains.

The iron benches in the play areas seem so inviting that older people are tempted to sit and relax there. There is also a visual treat because there is plenty of greenery around.

It is commendable that Tamilians live in harmony with the Malays and Chinese. But that does not mean that the expatriates have forgotten their roots: there are Tamil dailies, magazines and TV channels.

Tamil dailies publish good articles and stories. 'Tamizh Murasu' publishes Thenkachi Swaminathan's humour pieces, which makes everybody laugh and think. Tamil magazine 'Singaichudar' gives a lot of news from India and profiles Indians.

They also have not forgotten their religion. There are many temples like the Dhandayudapani Temple, Mariamman Temple, Shenbaga Vinayagar Temple and Srinivasa Temple. The temples are maintained well, and even old temples look new.

There is communal harmony everywhere. It is nice to hear Sai devotees conducting regular bhajans. But what is more fascinating is to see people from other religions also singing Sai bhajans.

Organisations such as Temple of Arts, and Singapore Fine Arts Society take our cultural traditions further: They teach Indian fine arts such as Carnatic music, Bharatanatyam, veena, etc., with the help of experts.

If you want to indulge in the world’s most popular pastime - shopping - everybody would recommend Mustapha Shopping Centre. Anybody who comes to Singapore definitely visits this place where you can get everything under the sun. And then you can sit down and have some real good food at the restaurants. The restaurants are clean and have all facilities. All food items are packed neatly in containers before being sold.

There is plenty of scope for entertainment for locals and tourists. Sentosa Island and Jurong Bird Park are two of the favourite spots of nature lovers. The dolphin show at Sentosa Island tugs at the heart of the visitors. Though there are a lot of visitors, the place is squeaky clean. The trees are trimmed and not felled.

I realised that Singapore is not all about cleanliness and fun. It is also a serious place for learning and doing research. There are three universities: Nanyang Technological University, National University and a management university - apart from many polytechnics, that offer excellent opportunities. There is even a student exchange programme.

I noted happily that good motivation is given to students to learn Tamil. Schools encourage students to take up games and are so concerned about the health of the students that they regularly give them health check-ups.

There are many public libraries also, which enrich the knowledge of the people. What is fascinating is that each and every book looks new. Even old magazines appear new, without any dirt or tear.

Speaking about lifestyle, everybody lives according to their standards. Generally, everybody has everything. This made me think of Singapore as a ‘Mini America’.

‘Sinda’ is an organisation that helps Indians with various facilities. It caters to all the needs of Indians like education, medical help and care for the aged. Students get support from Kho Sarangapani Trust. There are many other people who come forward to help the less fortunate with monetary assistance.

It is fascinating that such a small country has achieved all this within 40 years!