KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, February 6, 2007: Over a million Hindus fulfilled their vows and worshipped Lord Muruga at the Sri Subramaniar Swamy Temple in Batu Caves yesterday. This year’s Thaipusam festival, like many others before, also saw devotees carrying pots of milk, kavadis, or with their bodies pierced, making their way up the steps to the temple. The throbbing chant of ‘Vel, Vel, Vel’ filled the air as devotees climbed the 272 crowded steps to the cave temple. Even more stunning was the sight of those bearing huge and elaborate kavadis, walking patiently up to fulfill their vows and show their piety to Lord Muruga. This year’s Thaipusam was one of the grandest ever, with an estimated 1.3 million visitors and devotees yesterday afternoon. Sukhveen Singh Ajay, 21, an annual kavadi bearer, said determination was important to participate as a devotee during the festival. “I have been taking the kavadi for the past five years and will continue for another seven years to fulfill my vow,” said Sukhveen. He also said that discipline was vital for all devotees, in terms of keeping the mind, body and soul pure, to engage in the prayers and 48 days of fasting before the festival. Besides the devotees, foreign visitors were also awestruck by the sheer scale of the festival.
In Penang, hundreds of kavadi bearers, milk pot carriers and heavily pierced devotees made their annual Thaipusam pilgrimage up the Arulmigu Balathanda-yuthapani Hilltop Temple at Waterfall Road yesterday. Together with a surging crowd of almost 700,000 from the northern region and other counties like Indonesia, South Africa and Britain, they were en route to fulfill their vows to Lord Murugan. The devotees made their way through the crowd up the 279 steps to the temple. At the foothill of the temple, crowds of young visitors, families and tourists were seen feeding the five elephants specially brought in from Thailand for the annual celebration. Jasmin Zuviyah Noor Azyze said she brought along her daughter Juninta and niece Melissa because they had never seen how Thaipusam is celebrated here. “For us Muslims, we fast to cleanse ourselves spiritually. It is good to see the rituals the Hindus practice to achieve the same goal,” she said. More than 100 thaneer panthal (refreshment stalls) lined the route to the temple, offering popular sweet treats like the carrot halwa and milk mysore pak. For more photos click here.