Hindus Nationwide Observe Thaipusam

Hindus in the country yesterday observed Thaipusam with prayers, fulfilling of vows and undergoing of penance at temples in the major cities.

Thousands of devotees carried the "pal koodam" (milk pots) and "kavadi" (a gaily decorated wooden or metal frame) as they walked kilometres to undergo penance in fulfilling vows made to Lord Muruga (or Lord Subramaniyar) for answering their prayers.

Thaipusam falls on a full moon day in the Tamil month of "Thai", and Hindus believe it is the day when Lord Siva's consort, the powerful goddess Parvathi, gave her son Lord Muruga the "vel" (lance) to vanquish a demon.

The festival is usually observed over three days. On the eve of Thaipusam Day, a chariot bearing the idol of Lord Muruga leaves the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple for the Sri Subramaniyar Temple. Mariamman is another name for the goddess Parvathi.

On Thaipusam Day, devotees attend prayers and/or undergo penance to fulfill their vows for prayers answered. On the third day, the chariot makes the return trip.

Thaipusam is a public holiday in five states -- Selangor, Perak, Penang, Negeri Sembilan and Johor. This year, Thaipusam has fallen on Federal Territories Day, thus enabling many people in Kuala Lumpur as well to join in the celebration at Selangor's Batu Caves just outside the city. Many of them also did not miss the opportunity to attend the Federal Territories Day celebration launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur.

At Batu Caves, some 10,000 Hindu devotees fulfilled their vows by carrying the "kavadi" and "pal koodam". Many devotees also smashed coconuts at the temple during prayers.

Works Minister and MIC President Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu was at Batu Caves this morning. He addressed the huge crowd of people, among them many foreign tourists who had come in droves to watch the Thaipusam celebration that some of them described as a spectacular event not to be missed. Samy Vellu told reporters that more than 1.3 million people, many of them Hindu devotees, had come to Batu Caves for the Thaipusam.

About 500,000 Hindu devotees had arrived at the Batu Caves yesterday itself when they followed the silver chariot bearing the idol of Lord Muruga from the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Jalan Tun H.S. Lee in Kuala Lumpur to the Sri Subramaniyar Swami Temple at Batu Caves, a journey that took more than 12 hours from 12.10 am as the chariot stopped now and then to enable devotees to perform prayers.

Samy Vellu also launched a book entitled "Batu Caves: The Pride of Malaysia" written by the Chairman of the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple Committee, R. Nadarajah. The 64-page book, published in Tamil and English, relates the history and background of Batu Caves and is priced at RM10 each.

The temple committee secretary, M. Thevarajoo, commended the police for good crowd control. The police have deployed more than 800 personnel, the largest number ever for Thaipusam, at Batu Caves to ensure order as an estimated 1.5 million people were expected there today. Thevarajoo said the chariot carrying Lord Muruga will leave Batu Caves at about 3.30 pm tomorrow for the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Jalan Tun H S Lee.

Devotees also donated blood to the National Blood Bank under a campaign organised jointly by the Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre and the National Blood Centre from 10 am to 9 pm at the Batu Caves. "Up to this afternoon, we have achieved 2,007 pints of blood," said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk M. Kayveas. Kayveas was the guest-of-honour at the campaign, held in conjunction with the Thaipusam celebration.

In PENANG, thousands of people, among them many tourists, thronged the Nattukottai Chettiar Temple in Jalan Kebun Bunga where devotees carried the "kavadi" and "pal koodam" to fulfill their vows.

The chariot bearing the idol of Lord Muruga had arrived at the temple yesterday from the Kovil Veedu Temple in Lebuh Penang, along a route where devotees smashed thousands of coconuts.

In IPOH, foreign tourists were among the estimated 100,000 people who came to the Sri Subramaniyar Temple in Gunung Cheroh from early as yesterday evening.

Hundreds of "kavadi" bearers trekked 10 km from the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Jalan Sungai Pari to the Sri Subramaniyar Temple to fulfill their vows, passing through Jalan Tun Perak, Jalan Lahat, Jalan Sultan Yusuff, Jalan Sultan Idris Shah and Jalan Raja Muda Musa.

Yesterday, the chariot carrying the idol of Lord Muruga went in a procession from the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple to the Sri Subramaniyar Temple. There was traffic congestion along several roads in the city as some roads leading to the Sri Subramaniyar Temple were closed to facilitate the "kavadi" bearers.

In JOHOR BAHARU, thousands of Hindu devotees thronged several temples where the Thaipusam celebration was held, particularly at the Sri Muniswarar Temple in Tampoi where 25,000 Hindus turned up. The other most-visited temple was the Arulmigu Raja Mariamman Devasthanam in Jalan Ungku Puan in Johor Baharu.

After nearly two months of relentless rain and floods, the sun shone brightly as "kavadi" bearers walked through the streets to fulfill their vows. The "kavadi" bearers were accompanied by their family members as well as drummers. According to temple officials, there were about 2,500 "kavadi" bearers this year. (Bernama)

***** It is amazing that Hindus who are a minority in Malaysia can assemble almost their entire population at places of worship nationwide during Thaipusam. What is more surprising is that it is done without compulsion, incentives or any sort of outside help. The devotees pay for their own expenses and transport. They put up with, I'm sure much inconvenience which is to be expected when such large numbers congregate. As a non-Hindu I can only express my admiration as well as marvel at the religious fervour and commitment that the Hindus in Malaysia demonstrate.

It is a pity however that although being such a huge and important happening in Malaysia's calendar and I must say probably the most well known event among foreign tourists, the government has not seen it fit to declare a national holiday for Thaipusam! It speaks volumes of the skewed mentality of those at the decision making level. The government shouldn't merely preach equality it should practice it.
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