In the Western world, fortune-telling conjures up images of crystal balls, mystical gypsy women and oversized hoop earrings. The East does it differently. Getting your fortune told here in Singapore often involves pungent Indian aromas, tarot cards and clairvoyant parrots. 

Walk around Tekka Market in Little India, and more likely than not you’ll come across a weathered Indian woman with her faithful parrot, Money Money, both ready to tell the fortune of any passerby. Ever since her husband died 50 years ago, Narani has relied on her feathered friends to provide her with this humble existence. She is one of the two remaining fortunetellers of this kind in Singapore. The process is relatively simple: after the parrot is brought out of its cage, it is told your name. With its beak it then selects one of several envelopes, which contains your fortune. The ‘fortune’ is a short and rather predictable paragraph similar to a horoscope you’d find in the back pages of a magazine. 

So will you be enlightened by this experience? Probably not, which perhaps explains why this is a dying trade. However, if you want to witness the simple but close bond that can be forged between an intelligent bird and its owner, then for $5 it’s worth a visit. The fact that they share food off the same plate demonstrates how close the companionship is between the two. Will this tradition be passed down to the next generation? Sadly not; none of Narani’s four children is interested in being handed the torch. So for the foreseeable future – and yes, the pun is intended – and whether you are a cynic or not, there is a limited time to catch both a glimpse of the past and a look into your future.

$5 per reading. Near the Tekka Market steps, Serangoon Road. MRT: Little India.