Happy Thaipusam! 25/01/05

I found this great traveller's page that tells you and me about the weird and wonderful celebrations going on 'round the globe. For example, did you know that in the town of Lerwick, Scotland, a fire festival named Lerwick Up Helly Aa is being celebrated today? Every year, during the last Tuesday in January, the townsfolk dress up as Vikings and then proceed to burn down a Viking ship.

Then there's our very own annual Thaipusam gathering at the Batu Caves. Thaipusam is a Hindu festival which commemorates the day when the Goddess Parvathi gave her son Murugan an invincible vel (lance), with which he vanquished the evil asura (demons). The 3 day festival actually begins at the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in the Chinatown district. It is from here that the 50 000-odd Hindu devotees escort the statue of Lord Subramaniam the 13 kilometres to its final resting place in the Batu Caves.

Oh yes, and the procession is truly a sight to behold. Self-mutilation, astonishing feats of strength, lots of chanting, the oddly high pain threshold... For more information, check out Audrey Lim's article on Thaipusam here.

I, personally, have been to the Batu Caves once. It was not a bad trip; my brother got bitten by a monkey and I got a bad case of vertigo. I said I'd give it another go in 10 years time... when I turn 23.