Thaipusam 2012

Yesterday is Thaipusam , and it is celebrated by all the Indians around the world .
It is also a public holiday that our country declare every year. Many Indians go to the famous place which is Batu Caves and Penang to celebrate this special event. Actually Thaipusam mean the birthday of the God Lord Muruga ,the younger son of the God Lord Shiva.

At Batu Caves, devotees have to climb 272 steps of staircase to reach the main cave to seek for forgiveness for past deeds or to thank Lord Muruga for wishes granted. There are some devotees carry the Cavadi , a wooden arch with two pots at its end which decorated with peacock feathers. All the Cavadi carriers are devotees who have requested favours , and have had their favours granted or wish to atone for past misdeeds.

There are also devotees that pierce their body. They pierce their mouth, cheeks, and skin with rods as a demonstration of their faith. Devotees believe that the body should not be harmed as the body is akin to a temple that the soul resides in. However, devotees are able to tolerate this ordeal of pain as they are in a trance-like state. There is no blood and they prepared themselve for this by undergoing specific rides during the preceding month.

This event really play an important role to our culture. A lot of tourists came to Malaysia and celebrate this festival together at Batu Caves. The crowds at all venues are huge and affected the traffic near by. I also went to the temple that near me which is in Kuala Selangor , there is also celebration at there. Basically i went there because of our religion class that acquire us to take photos and know more about others religion . I really gain knowledge on our Hindu culture after the visit to the temple. The Indian people there welcome us and let us take photos with them. They are really friendly i could say. Wish i could attend this event again next year at Batu Caves or Penang .


By Milk Ng Shu Lin