Vanishing heritage immortalised in Potraits of Penang: Little India.

In 1979, Dr Ooi Cheng Ghee was captivated with the serenity of Penang’s Little India in George Town that he spent a year after that taking over 4,000 photographs of the place.
Armed with his trusted Leica camera, Dr Ooi walked the streets in the area during weekends and also sometimes after work.

Charm of yesteryear: Dr Ooi showing his book 'Portraits of Penang: Little India'.

“It was like no other place in Penang and Malaysia. I saw things which I thought never existed in the country.
“The immigrants from India were living their own way of life. They brought in their trades and traditions from their country,” he said during a press conference recently.
The 66-year-old Penangite, who is a practising doctor, said photography was his outlet for self-expression while medicine was his first love.
After 32 years, a total of 160 black and white photographs from Dr Ooi’s collection are featured in a hardcover book entitled ‘Portraits of Penang: Little India’ and published by Areca Books.

Thoughts: Always on my Mind.

The book showcases the colourful street life of a Little India that once existed.
There are images of betel nut industry workers, collectors, vendors, traders and children all going about their daily routines — working, playing, worshipping or just relaxing.
Dr Ooi said the images reflected a historical moment when Penang’s free port status had been lost and the Indian enclave was undergoing a difficult transition.
“I thought that it was time to let people know about the Little India that once existed,” he said.
The photographs show the trades and customs that were once unique but now forgotten,” he said, adding that it took him five years to compile the book.
He recalled that the people on the streets of Little India in 1979 were used to seeing him on a regular basis.
“The roads were almost empty then with only a few bicycles.
“I could stand in the middle of the road snapping pictures and nobody would bother me. It was a very different time,” Dr Ooi said.
Penang Heritage Trust president Khoo Salma Nasution said the photographs were a reminder of a vanishing heritage.
The book is priced at RM100 and is available in bookstores nationwide.

An exhibition featuring Dr Ooi’s photographs of Little India will run until May 31 at Galeri Seni Mutiara at the Whiteaways Arcade on Beach Street from 11am to 6pm daily. Admission is free.

The exhibition and book are sponsored by Think City as part of its Penang Story proje