Thaipusam

Thaipusam falls in the month of Thai on the Poosam day, 23 years ago on that day I saw the world.

Ever since I remember, the auspicious day of Lord Muruga’s birthday, for me was always celebrated in Penang, the Island of the Pearl Orient. (If celebrate is the right word to use here) every year it’s a difference experience altogether. Through the years, faces have changed, the numbers of people have grown, the queues have gotten longer, the weather has gotten hotter, the staying locations have changed and I am seeing things through a different set of eyes which is mainly what this post is about.

Lesson learnt this year, if you’re leaving to Penang on the walking day, leave KL by 8 or you’ll be stuck in the jam to get into Sunway hotel and the roads will be blocked. Boy that was Not fun at all, with the heat searing through my pants and making my legs burn (mind you I hadn even started walking yet or even reached the hotel for that matter) and another thing i, ladies don’t wear all the jewellery in your house, doubt anyone cares whether you have got 10 chains and 3 chokers besides the snatch thieves, whom have increased in numbers along with the existing gold price.

Finally once we checked in and I was looking all Indian, parents and I grabbed a bite at the Shivan temple and left off to walk after the chariot.

The ‘walk’ i keep referring to is; the day before Thaipusam, Lord Muruga will leave his house (Kovilveedu) and make his way to the temple on the 108 year old silver chariot which is pulled by cows. This procession starts at about 5am and finishes close to midnight or later every year. The chariot is usually accompanied by the “chettiar kavadi” *which will walk & dance in front of the chariot but more than often will reach the temple a few hours before Lord Muruga himself.

So this ‘walking’ bit is usually fun in the morning seeing that there is not much sun and collecting stuff from the “Thannerpandhals” (which are actually these decorated stalls which give out free food and drinks to the devotees walking) are more often fun, but you should be careful not to end up with a tummy ache. Lol
The SHivan temple is the midpoint for the ‘walk’ where everyone gets some rest and has lunch and moves on all the way to the Murugan temple.

Seeing people from many walks of life, running due to the unbearable heat for the bare foot, trying to find shade and blessing those souls who pour water cold water for the heated soles is definitely a picture of its own. Moreover if you don’t get hit by a coconut splinter the whole way, you have no idea what you missed out on. The pit stop I enjoy the most is this big shady field that we usually relax like we are on some picnic or something.

Upon reaching the temple, I would recommend the masala chai at the stall right outside the Murugan temple. It is the world’s best chai (really). Thats really because you would have to hang around for the chariot, so mean while you could have dinner at the temple go home freshen up and head back, when u do get a ‘mango lassi’ at the same stall :P try not to stay too late at the temple though as you have to be up early the next morning for ‘pal kudam’.

‘Pal Kudam’* refers to milk pot. Those with vows usually carry them on their heads from the shivan temple to the Murugan temple; this starts about 6 and takes about an hour. But seriously I think a age limit should be imposed, like hello, years ago the number of devotes were only 60 and now it stands at 135, plus the youngest is like 5, what does that child even know about the whole procedure??? *roles eyes*

The rest of the day is just spent catching up in the temple, having lunch and getting some rest in the afternoon before coming back for ‘aiyaloor nagarathar’ done by the chettiars that night.* or sometimes even counting money, like all the money from the donation boxes get sent to this room and people sit down and count them, I used to love doing that as a kid, but since i turned into a “lady” I’ve been banned from that room. How sad is that :s

With that on the final day of the three, the “kavedi selethurathu” * takes place in the morning and Lord Muruga goes back to his house from the temple at night. This usually starts at 6pm and reaches the next morning at about 8 am. That night usually family provides dinner to all the devotees in uncles place, so thats like an event of its own, even more tiring than anything else. That technically concludes the three days of Thaipusam which takes 6 months of planning, 2 months of fasting, 1 week or preparing and 5 days of excitement.

The *’s will be written out in detail eventually (just food for thought)