SINGAPORE – This was it – after more than eight decades, the iconic Thambi Magazine Store in Holland Village slipped into history on a balmy night on May 5.

Its owner, Mr Periathambi Senthil Murugan, 49, paused for a wee bit and, tears flowing, pulled down the shutters for the last time.

One of the most famous shops at Holland Road Shopping Centre thus became a memory.

Mr Periathambi, better known as Sam, said: “I felt very emotional. When customers came by, I was very touched. A lot of them are motivating me to come back, and they say that this shop must be preserved.”

While pulling down the metal shutters, he reached for a framed article with a picture of his late father, kissed it as a mark of respect, and placed it back.

“Thank you so much for your support,” said Sam, as he addressed a crowd of about 20 people who applauded.

A steady stream of customers thronged the store on the last day, some buying magazines and newspapers, others taking pictures and videos for posterity.

Soon, some magazines and newspapers were sold out.

Customers were eager to know where Sam would set up shop next.

“I am still finding a place”, he replied. They wished him luck and said they would “see him soon”.

Some even went the extra mile to offer him food and drinks to thank him.

Mr Rukesh Varan, 40, a chief marketing officer, gave Sam a hug after thanking him for serving him since he was a teenager.

“I have been coming here since (I was in) secondary school, and I wanted to say my final goodbye,” he said.

“I am absolutely gutted and times have changed, but I think he has been a mainstay for us in Holland Village.”

Sam surprised seven-year-old Manha Omair with a princess set as a goodbye present.

Her father, Mr Omair Mahmood, 41, a director, said that his family has been in Singapore for seven years and would visit the store to buy magazines.

He added: “It is a bit sentimental even though it has just been seven years for us, and they have been around for 80 years. They have been very welcoming and always greet us with a smile, and we will miss that. We wish them the best. It is sad, but I am glad at least our children can witness this.”

Sam’s late grandfather, Mr P. Govindasamy, began the family business as a newspaper distribution service in the 1940s.

After taking over from his father in the 1990s, Sam began displaying magazines openly on shelves, inviting passers-by to browse, unlike his father who preferred to seal them.

Sam said the store has moved four times in Holland Village, an area that has seen significant modernisation over the years.

He decided to close shop after the landlords asked him to remove the outdoor shelves and confine business activities to the shop interior. He felt that doing so would defeat the tradition of having an open display or a “magazine cave” which has been with the business since its inception.

When contacted earlier, the Holland Road Shopping Centre management office had declined to comment on the store’s closure.

Ms Colleen Chong, in her 60s, said: “When I was a teenager in school, I used to always walk past, and I would always buy international newspapers and international magazines. So he is our link to the outside world.”

Sam said: “If you offer me a place in Orchard Road or Changi Airport, I would not want it. I am a kampung boy, so the feel is here, and the touch is here. I’ve played with soil and sand, and this is where I have seen three generations of people.”

He has been living in Holland Village since his childhood, and now lives in a three-room Housing Board flat there with his wife and two children.

“I have spent more time with my magazines than with my family and my children,” he said.

“Magazine is my first baby, it feels like I am killing my own baby if I let go of this, and that part is very sensitive.” 

On May 5, his family spent time at the shop for the last time.

Sam said he will continue to work as a vendor, distributing local newspapers.

He added: “There must be a reason to leave something behind. I want to be here. Definitely, I will come back, I cannot take a break from magazines. It is only a break until I set up the next place.”

On May 6, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing shared on Facebook and Instagram that he visited Sam over the weekend to discuss possible alternative locations for the store.

The minister said: “We are working with agencies and potential partners to develop some options for Sam to continue... It was raining then. Hopefully our walk through the showers of blessings will bring us some good news.”