HINDUS BEGIN THAIPUSAM THANKSGIVING

By Hanuratha Thamilselvam

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- Many Hindus have begun to gather at designated
temples throughout the country to celebrate Thaipusam, which falls Thursday on
the full moon day in the month of "Thai" in the Tamil calendar.

Thaipusam, which is dedicated to the Hindu deity Lord Murugan, is celebrated on
a grand scale at the Batu Caves Sri Subramaniar Swamy Temple in the state of
Selangor, the Balathandayuthapani Temple or Waterfall Hill Temple in Penang, the
Sri Subramaniya Swamy Temple in Sungai Petani, Kedah, and the Sri Subramaniar
Swamy Temple in Gunung Cheroh, Ipoh, in northern state of Perak, among other
places.

This biggest festival for Hindus after Deepavali usually falls in January or
February and is observed as a day of thanksgiving and paying penance for Lord
Murugan.

Devotees prepare themselves for the occasion by cleansing their bodies through
fasting and abstinence, and usually observe a vegetarian diet for a certain
period of time.

Although Thaipusam is Thursday, many devotees began paying penance since Sunday,
with the carrying of the "kavadi" (a decorated structure bearing an image of
Lord Murugan carried on the shoulders) and "paal kudam" (milk pots), especially
at Batu Caves where about 100,000 devotees had thronged the temple.

Devotees and others going to Batu Caves are advised to use public
transportation to avoid the anticipated massive traffic congestion.

KTM Komuter is providing additional services on all sectors and shuttle train
services between the Kuala Lumpur Sentral and Batu Caves stations from Wednesday
to Jan 21 in conjunction with the festival. It expects more than 80,000 people
to use the services.

Sri Subramaniar Swamy Devasthanam (Batu Caves) Temple chairman R.
Nadarajah said the five-tonne silver chariot bearing a statue of Lord Murugan left
the Sri Mahamariaman Temple in Kuala Lumpur at 12.20am today for the Batu Caves
temple.

Preparations have also been completed for the Thaipusam celebration at the
Balathandayuthapani Temple or the Waterfall Hill Temple in Penang.

"This year will be a greener and healthier Thaipusam in Penang," temple chairman
P. Kuvenaraju told Bernama.

Prime Minister Najib Razak is scheduled to visit the Sri Subramaniya Swami
Temple in Sungai Petani, in northern stata of Kedah, Thursday, in conjunction
with Thaipusam.
-- BERNAMA