Speaker 1: Now CNA 938 rewind. Geylang busy, busy busy this month.
Speaker 1: Have you been to the Geylang area? I live near
Speaker 1: there so I don't feel the need to go there
Speaker 1: to have more. Yeah, I do know that it's, I
Speaker 1: don't know, it's strange. It feels as if this year
Speaker 1: there's just a lot more hype around it. Do you
Speaker 1: feel that way? Yeah, yeah. So if you're wondering why
Speaker 1: it's going to be busy.
Speaker 1: Because the annual Geylang Serai Ramadan bazaar is underway. So
Speaker 1: the bazaar officially opened on February 26th, and it will
Speaker 1: last till the end of the Muslim fasting month on
Speaker 1: March 30th. It is a crowd favorite, right, for festive shopping,
Speaker 1: culinary delights, culinary delights, especially culinary delights. Now the bazaar
Speaker 1: is set to feature about 500 stalls offering a range
Speaker 1: of goods and food.
Speaker 1: That is insanity, 500 stalls. So there are 4 food
Speaker 1: and beverage zones, daily live performances throughout the duration of
Speaker 1: the bazaar, including traditional music shows, comedy segments, as is
Speaker 1: the case every year, large crowds are expected in the area,
Speaker 1: so the authorities have advised shoppers and motorists to stay alert.
Speaker 1: We've made that announcement as well on the show.
Speaker 1: Uh, make alternative travel arrangements and drive carefully when in
Speaker 1: the area. I just want to take note here that
Speaker 1: um the MRT stations and the, basically your commuting experience
Speaker 1: to the Geylang Serai area is rather smooth these days
Speaker 1: because of the bus networks and the improvements to the
Speaker 1: MRT as well. So do plan your journey. You don't want,
Speaker 1: you want to avoid the crowds as much as possible. Um, well,
Speaker 1: guess what? We wanted to find out more about what
Speaker 1: it's like to have a stall.
Speaker 1: Geylang Bazaar, and we found one. Her name is Shereen Begum.
Speaker 1: She's founder of Indian Incs. Now she's no ordinary stallholder
Speaker 1: at the bazaar. You're not going to find her uh
Speaker 1: tossing some burger around me. Um, but she is a
Speaker 1: henna tattoo artist and she has a stall at the bazaar.
Speaker 1: It's been 3 days now, Shereen, that you've set up
Speaker 1: shop there in Geylang. Uh, first weekend also has just passed.
Speaker 1: How's the atmosphere and business been like so far?
Speaker 2: Hi, thank you for having me on board. Um, the
Speaker 2: atmosphere honestly has been very lively and like you mentioned,
Speaker 2: there has been performances every day at the um the
Speaker 2: baza since we opened, and I think that brings like
Speaker 2: the people together. And because during this first weekend, uh,
Speaker 2: fasting hasn't officially started yet, so there were many people
Speaker 2: coming by to try the food before fasting started and
Speaker 2: we
Speaker 2: We did get quite a number, uh, we did get
Speaker 2: quite a big crowd over on Saturday on Friday and Saturday.
Speaker 2: Oh wow,
Speaker 1: we understand that this is your 3rd year at the bazaar,
Speaker 1: but it's the first time you're running the stall for
Speaker 1: a full month. previous two times were only about 5 days.
Speaker 1: Why have you decided to run the shop for the
Speaker 1: entirety of the bazaar duration?
Speaker 2: So, um, in, yeah, like you said, this is my
Speaker 2: 3rd year at the bazaar. So for the 1st 2
Speaker 2: years when I was there, I had a pretty small
Speaker 2: space as I was just doing Hanna, and, um, you know,
Speaker 2: the Geylang Bazaar is one of the biggest events that
Speaker 2: we see in Singapore each year and um as part
Speaker 2: of like, you know, a natural progression in my business
Speaker 2: since I do Hanna, um, for me, I really wanted
Speaker 2: to be there and I, and I thought that was
Speaker 2: like the mark of like success. So for the 1st
Speaker 2: 2 years when I was at the bazaar, it was
Speaker 2: a very rich.
Speaker 2: Experience, um, and I just wanted to see if I
Speaker 2: can kind of pull it off for the whole month, uh,
Speaker 2: because we have the space for the whole month. Um,
Speaker 2: this time around, you know, since it's my 3rd year
Speaker 2: at the bazaar, you know, we're bringing something new for
Speaker 2: customers to come in and try and, um, you know,
Speaker 2: at each week because Hanna is typically not the um
Speaker 2: thing that people do first, it's always the last in
Speaker 2: their minds before Hari Raya. So this time around, you know,
Speaker 2: we are running a bit of like promotions and discounts
Speaker 2: so that we can get.
Speaker 2: People to come by to get their Hannah done earlier
Speaker 2: as well.
Speaker 1: OK, how long does a henna tattoo, by the way?
Speaker 2: So henna tattoo typically lasts around 5 to 7 days.
Speaker 2: People will start getting their henna done about 3 to
Speaker 2: 4 days before the festival and then it will darken
Speaker 2: on the day of the festival itself.
Speaker 1: So Peak Inc is about that time, about the time
Speaker 1: that Hari Raya is. OK.
Speaker 1: Um, let's go back to how you're setting up a
Speaker 1: shop there. Talk to us about the process of applying
Speaker 1: and securing a spot at the bazaar. Is it competitive?
Speaker 1: I mean, 500 stalls is crazy. Is it competitive, difficult
Speaker 1: to get a spot, especially since, as you said, Ramadan
Speaker 1: and the Geylang Bazaar, I mean they go hand in
Speaker 1: hand and it's super popular.
Speaker 2: Yes, you're right. But I would say it is a
Speaker 2: fairly simple process because what I did was um I
Speaker 2: just had to go down to the location to take
Speaker 2: a look at the space and um they already have
Speaker 2: the map set out for you, so you can pick
Speaker 2: which stalls you want.
Speaker 2: But it is competitive because a lot of the stalls
Speaker 2: can get booked up as early as 2 to 3
Speaker 2: months before the bazaar. So for myself, I booked my
Speaker 2: spot sometime in January, and I did go down multiple
Speaker 2: times to see, um, you know, which, um, spots were available,
Speaker 2: you know, have they been taken up? What were alternatives
Speaker 2: I had if they were to be taken.
Speaker 2: up. So um these are things I had to keep
Speaker 2: in mind when I was applying and trying to secure
Speaker 2: the spot.
Speaker 1: Shire, we're just curious, you spoke about this quite briefly,
Speaker 1: but you know, we want to get more from you.
Speaker 1: How much does the exposure from setting up shop at
Speaker 1: the bazaar help to drive your business in general?
Speaker 2: So currently my business um Indianings is mostly social media driven,
Speaker 2: but having a space at the bazaar gives us this
Speaker 2: opportunity to connect with those that are not on social media. Um,
Speaker 2: so a lot, a lot of times what has happened, um,
Speaker 2: at least what I've noticed in the last 3 days
Speaker 2: since I've set up the booth, is that many people
Speaker 2: do come by and they stop and they go like, Oh,
Speaker 2: you're Hannah Booth, and I'm like, yes.
Speaker 2: Mahana booth and they take my card and then they
Speaker 2: tell me that, oh, we'll come by, you know, when
Speaker 2: it's closer to Haria so that we can get Hannah
Speaker 2: done from you. So they have not seen my brand
Speaker 2: or my business before, the very fact that I've been
Speaker 2: there from the start kind of tells them that, OK,
Speaker 2: I'm still going to be here at the end of
Speaker 2: the month, and then they will come by. So that's
Speaker 2: the kind of exposure that we get.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think that's a good call that you
Speaker 1: made to, you know, be there the entire month instead
Speaker 1: of just the 5 days at least, you know, you
Speaker 1: don't have that bottleneck to deal with and people remember
Speaker 1: that you're there exactly what you said, right? So what
Speaker 1: do you do then the other 11 months of the
Speaker 1: year when there's no Geylang Serai Bazaar? What what do
Speaker 1: you do with your henna tattooing?
Speaker 2: So, um, besides Geylang Bazaar, the other biggest bazaar we
Speaker 2: are at would be the Deepa Valley Bazaar, so that's October,
Speaker 2: but a lot, um, throughout the year, we are mostly
Speaker 2: at pop-ups, uh, and events, so there can be events
Speaker 2: that happens, you know, like markets, festivals and things like
Speaker 2: that that happens throughout the year and we'll definitely be
Speaker 2: there because I think the idea is that we don't
Speaker 2: want Hannah.
Speaker 2: To just be linked with um only the festival period.
Speaker 2: We do want it to be like an all year
Speaker 2: staple where people can come by and get done anytime.
Speaker 2: Over the years since I've started, um, I think there's
Speaker 2: been a really good like uh push for it. So many,
Speaker 2: many times when people do come down, they're like, oh
Speaker 2: my God, I can't believe I get to do Hannah.
Speaker 2: I only get.
Speaker 2: I only get it done, you know, in school when
Speaker 2: you're in or um, you know, during the bazaar, but
Speaker 2: now I can get it, you know, at any point
Speaker 2: of the year. So that's OK.
Speaker 1: Shireen, so we talked about how competitive it can be,
Speaker 1: especially when choosing the sports that you want. What are
Speaker 1: the top three challenges you would say that you that
Speaker 1: you face setting up shop at the bazaar?
Speaker 2: I think the biggest challenge, um, for me would always
Speaker 2: be um footfall in the early years, because like I
Speaker 2: mentioned before, it is not, uh, people don't usually come
Speaker 2: by to get um Hannah done early. So, uh, for us,
Speaker 2: you know, to navigate the footfall and to ensure that,
Speaker 2: you know, people still stop by is something of a challenge. Um,
Speaker 2: and secondly, this kind of leads to, um, I guess
Speaker 2: like the second point. So I do have a team
Speaker 2: of artists that I work with and
Speaker 2: Um, for us, you know, we do enjoy drawing. So
Speaker 2: when there are times where, you know, these are slower, um,
Speaker 2: you know, that kind of affects morale sometimes. So in
Speaker 2: those days, you know, what we try to do is
Speaker 2: that because we have the space, we make use of
Speaker 2: the space to create like content, to create videos, you know,
Speaker 2: to explain more about Hanna, and also like, um, just
Speaker 2: general things that people should know when they come by.
Speaker 2: So this looks like videos about how to get to,
Speaker 2: you know, Geylang Baza itself, you know, what's the food
Speaker 2: that you can try there, and these are sort of
Speaker 2: like informational like topics that, you know, people will be
Speaker 2: generally interested in and that kind of makes us a
Speaker 2: familiar face that, you know, we are already at the
Speaker 2: bazaar and you can still come down to. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that virality actually gives you a sense of uh productive,
Speaker 1: it's a productive use of your time also to to
Speaker 1: kind of
Speaker 1: You know, people think about chasing virality on social media
Speaker 1: like it's a bad thing, but you know if you're
Speaker 1: doing cross cross promotional stuff like this, it's a great
Speaker 1: use of your time while you're there, especially on slower days. Um,
Speaker 1: so there are going to be 500 stores. I I
Speaker 1: think I can't say this enough.
Speaker 1: Offering a range of uh goods, food options, lots of
Speaker 1: shopping to be had services as well. I think sometimes
Speaker 1: I've seen cars there, carpets and cars in the same
Speaker 1: place that it's a uniquely Singaporean Geylang Serai experience. So even.
Speaker 1: Even for yourself, uh, there are other stalls offering henna
Speaker 1: services as well. So how do you set yourself apart then?
Speaker 1: I mean, you talked about, I guess social media being
Speaker 1: one of those ways, uh, but on the ground, how
Speaker 1: do you make sure that you stand out from all
Speaker 1: the other similar uh Hana providers?
Speaker 2: So I think there was a, there's a couple of
Speaker 2: things to this. Um, so firstly, because we were number one,
Speaker 2: we are familiar face, having been at Gillam Bazaar for
Speaker 2: the last 3 years, um, a lot of people do
Speaker 2: come back looking for us, and I've had situations where
Speaker 2: um clients would, um, message me online asking like, oh,
Speaker 2: are you going to be at Geylang Bazaar this year again? Um,
Speaker 2: so it's kind of nice to see that, you know,
Speaker 2: people still look out for us being there. But, um,
Speaker 2: I think secondly, the most and this
Speaker 2: This is the most important thing is that I don't
Speaker 2: really see like similar stalls as competition. It's always about collaboration. So, um,
Speaker 2: like for, for many years, um, what happens is that
Speaker 2: we have uh many people coming down to Geylang Bazaar,
Speaker 2: and I think if you've seen the reports, Geylang Bazar
Speaker 2: brings down at least like 2 million people a year.
Speaker 2: I know and um as as a Hanna artist, you know,
Speaker 2: there's there's only like a finite number of people that
Speaker 2: I can draw Hanna for in any given.
Speaker 2: So we all look at it as collaboration. So, um,
Speaker 2: I think one of the, uh, one of the examples
Speaker 2: I would give you is that, um, if there's like
Speaker 2: a really long queue at like my, my, my store,
Speaker 2: you know, I will kind of tell my customers to, um,
Speaker 2: head down to a different store where I know that
Speaker 2: a friend of mine is, um, doing it. Um, so
Speaker 2: this kind of brings this sort of like community um
Speaker 2: of artists together, because we do know one another and
Speaker 2: then you know, we've been in the scene for quite
Speaker 2: a while. So we do want to make sure that
Speaker 2: Everyone succeeds at the end of the day. So and
Speaker 2: at the end of the day, we also don't want
Speaker 2: our clients to wait so long just to get their
Speaker 2: place where we can, you know, send them to that's
Speaker 2: what we try to do. So but for this year specifically, um,
Speaker 2: I think something to set my apart from the rest
Speaker 2: is that we've actually partnered with a photo booth company
Speaker 2: called AI Pho Booth. So this is to make like
Speaker 2: the buzzer experience more lively and engaging for everyone.
Speaker 2: Down. So I think every year, um, we, we, when
Speaker 2: we think about the bazaar, we only think about food
Speaker 2: and we think about Hannah and we think about shopping for, um,
Speaker 2: you know, the higher festivities. But this year, you know, with, with, um,
Speaker 2: the idea I had was that if we had a
Speaker 2: photo booth um inside the shop, you know, um, people
Speaker 2: can come down with their friends, their family, you know,
Speaker 2: and on top of doing all the usual things, you know,
Speaker 2: they can snap a picture of the memories they make
Speaker 2: at Geylang Baza, and that's something that they can bring.
Speaker 2: And then this is just like a little fun activity
Speaker 2: to just, you know, make it really nice engaging for
Speaker 2: everyone.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's a little, it's more than just your,
Speaker 1: you know, on your hand or your limbs, but it's
Speaker 1: also a little momento that you can take home with
Speaker 1: you of your experience there. Shereen, I, I wish you,
Speaker 1: we wish you all the very best at the Geylang Bazaar. Uh,
Speaker 1: I do apologize if you don't see me there because
Speaker 1: it's not something I.
Speaker 1: you a visit. I'll probably take my friends there. We might,
Speaker 1: we can go viral on her Instagram. Yeah. Uh, all
Speaker 1: the best, uh, for this Ramadan. I hope you get
Speaker 1: lots and lots of hands to tattoo on and uh, yeah,
Speaker 1: Salam Ramadan to you and your followers as well.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having
Speaker 1: me. That's Shereen Begum. She's founder of Indian Incs and
Speaker 1: you can find her on social media as well as
Speaker 1: the Geylang Serai Bazaar.