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PENANG, MALAYSIA, March 16, 2006: The sea off Teluk Bahang in Penang was awash with lights as devotees of Sri Singamuga Kaliamman temple there released thousands of styrofoam lanterns into the water. The devotees made wishes before setting the lanterns afloat during the temple’s annual floating chariot festival on Monday night. Celebrated during the Masimagan month of the Indian Calendar, the festival was held in honor of Lord Sri Singamuga Kaliamman. “This is the 109th year we are celebrating the festival. This is the only temple in Malaysia to have a chariot in the sea,” temple secretary N. Ganesan said. He said the crowd grew bigger every year as an increasing number of people were coming from all over the country and Singapore to witness the unique chariot in the open sea. “We really hope that this annual celebration will become a tourist attraction in Penang,” he added. The devotees, numbering more than 20,000, began filling up the beach in front of the temple in the afternoon although the festival only started at 7.30pm. Many stalls selling various items including food, accessories and Indian costumes were set up along the small road leading to the temple. A beautifully decorated float, affixed with decorative bulbs, carried the statue of Lord Sri Singamuga Kaliamman and some of the temple’s committee members for a ride into the sea to mark the start of the celebration. At about the same time, devotees waded into the water with their lanterns of various shapes, made their wishes and released the lanterns into the sea. Nithiya Yogarajan, 16, from Kulim, said this was the first time she came for the celebration and she found it very enjoyable. “I am making a wish to excel in my studies and I really hope Lord Sri Singamuga Kaliamman will grant it,” she said while releasing her lily-shaped lantern into the water.

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