Wading chest deep in the highest swimming pool in the world, I can study the intense changes made to the landscape of Singapore. Who would have imagined how far we would come? What did we lose to come this far and what could we gain in the future? © Amrita Chandradas
Singapore has evolved from third to first world in just a few short decades. © Amrita Chandradas
Skyline of Singapore © Amrita Chandradas
Liyana Sungep, a Singaporean looks out at the changes made in her country. © Amrita Chandradas
87% of Singaporeans resides in HDB (Housing Development Board ) estates. The room sizes vary according to price. Today, with the population rising, some couples have to wait some 4 to 5 years before moving into their new homes. Most Singaporeans spend their entire lives paying for their house. © Amrita Chandrada
An expat office worker looking out on the modern housing. Each unit costs over a million dollars, despite the constrained space. © Amrita Chandradas
The flag of Singapore waves in the last village of Singapore, Kampong Buangkok, on National Independence Day. © Amrita Chandradas
They are few, but some have chosen not to change and move forward with their surroundings. They are the inhabitants of the last village of Singapore, Kampong Buangkok. For almost 60 years, Awin Bin Yudin has resided in the village together with his wife Salmah and their six kids. © Amrita Chandradas
" I will never leave this village, I can't survive in modern flats. Why would I give up this greenery?"- Nek Nek, ISA © Amrita Chandradas
Nek Nek Lisa resides in the last village of Singapore. She has lost her memory. Her daughter had to move back to take care of her, claiming that moving her mother to modern flat would lead to even greater illness. © Amrita Chandradas
" I feel like a stranger when I visit the city. This place is my safe haven". Jamil Bin Kamsan refused to give up his home in the last village of Singapore, claiming it's more affordable and can support a simpler life. © Amrita Chandradas
Jamil Kamsah collects antiques from Malay weddings which he works at as a make up artist. From them, he has transformed his home into a wedding studio of his own. Every house in the village of Kampong Buangkok boasts a character of its own, unlike the repetitive public housing structures in Singapore. © Amrita Chandradas
80,000 Filipino domestic maids reside in Singapore today. They are responsible for bringing up the children of Singapore and keeping the households in order, since most Singaporean couples work full time. The Singaporean population decline is attributed, in part, to heavy work stress. Space constraints and cost also dissuade couples from having children. © Amrita Chandradas
Mohammed Samsuri lives in a 45 sq. meter flat which accommodates him, his wife and their six children. Unemployed due to his lack of education, he worries about the new population boom and the resulting competition for work. © Amrita Chandradas
" I have not seen my son since he was born, but I need to work harder to keep the clothes on him". Prabhu works as a construction worker. He hails from Tamil Nadu. Recent riots among migrant construction workers sparked a controversial debate about whether foreigners should be allowed to work in Singapore. © Amrita Chandradas
A gravedigger exhuming a grave at Bukit Brown Cemetery. This is the largest Chinese Municipal Cemetery outside of China, housing 100,000 tombs. It is the main resting place for the pioneers who built Singapore's economy. The government has proposed to demolish a part of this cemetery to build an eight-lane highway. © Amrita Chandradas
Gravedigger cleaning off his hands after an exhumation ritual. © Amrita Chandradas
"On the day I buried her, they told me she only had ten years left in her grave. How can I accept this?" —SA, who lost her mother recently. © Amrita Chandradas
Portrait of the dead found at Hill 3, Bukit Brown Cemetery. © Amrita Chandradas
A local musician appeasing the souls of the dead whose graves were exhumed. Local belief has it that some souls are lost and need direction. © Amrita Chandradas
Taoist priests are believed to be able to collect restless souls. These priests perform a ritual for the souls displaced by the exhumation process at Bukit Brown Cemetery. The souls are then sent to the sea, for their rebirth. As the modern mindset has taken over, traditional ancestral worship has dwindled. © Amrita Chandradas
Offerings for the dead, Taoist Ritual. © Amrita Chandradas
