A community of Tamil ship builders, whose roots can be traced back to Pozhgainallur near Nagapattinam in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, lived along North Bridge Road and Jalan Sultan in Singapore up to mid - 20th century. While some continued in the ship building line, others diversified into other businesses and owned provision shops, etc. Marriage was usually within the same community. This is the birth certificate of Mr. Sockalingam Veerappen born on 1.6.1920 a member of the aforementioned community. The certificate notes the profession of Mr.Veerappen as serang or controller of the shipyard.
