PENANG, MALAYSIA, January 29, 2007: A special ceremony to signify the actual meaning of Thaipusam will be held for the first time here in conjunction with the festival. Penang Hindu Endowment Board commissioner P.K. Subbaiyah, who is also State Health committee chairman, said the ceremony would begin at the Maha Mariamman Temple in Queen Street at 5.30pm tomorrow. The Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Hilltop Temple management committee led by temple chairman A. Chandra Kanthan will take delivery of a one-meter long gold vel (spear) from the Maha Mariamman Temple. “The committee members will then take the vel and drive to the entrance of the hilltop temple,” Subbaiyah said. Chandra Kanthan said it was believed that such a ceremony had never taken place before. He said the significance of the ceremony reflected the actual meaning of Thaipusam when Lord Siva’s consort Goddess Parvathi handed over a vel to the couple’s son Lord Muruga to destroy the evil demon Asura.
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