THE Thaipusam festival is back again on a grand scale with the iconic silver chariot processions across the country after two years of muted celebrations due to the Covid pandemic.

The mass of devotees was felt at the main thrust of the celebration at the Sri Subramaniar Swamy Temple in Batu Caves, Selangor, with thousands of Hindus carrying kavadi and paal koodam (milk offerings) to pay homage to Lord Murugan.

Met at the temple, Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar advised Hindus and tourists to be on guard against the spread of Covid-19 and to observe cleanliness on temple grounds.

“As for the level of security, I noticed that the situation here is quite good. I also take this opportunity to wish a happy Thaipusam for the year 2023 to all Hindus throughout the country,” he said when observing Thaipusam celebrations in Batu Caves.

IN SELANGOR, an estimated 150,000 Hindus thronged the Sri Subramaniar Swamy Temple in Kuala Selangor since yesterday, with the chairman of the temple P. Kannathasan saying the number increased by 30% compared with the last three years.

“Many people taking vows came here, because this festival has been postponed for two years. The temple gave free food to visitors who attended from yesterday until tomorrow thanks to public donations,” he said.

IN JOHOR, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar attended a vegetarian luncheon for the state-level Thaipusam festival held at the Arulmigu Sri Balasubramaniar Temple in Skudai, Johor Baru.

Sultan Ibrahim’s arrival at 11am was greeted by Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi and temple chairman S. Balakrishnan.

At the ceremony attended by 10,000 devotees, Sultan Ibrahim also consented to accept a donation of RM5,000 from the temple for the Tunku Laksamana Johor Cancer Foundation and a souvenir pot made of silver specially ordered from India.

IN NEGRI SEMBILAN, president of Sri Balathandayuthapani Temple in Jalan Yamtuan, Seremban, R. Parameswaran, said thousands of devotees visited the temple with about 5,000 marching with the paal koodam.

IN PENANG, thousands garbed in bright orange-yellow to symbolise purity began to flood Jalan Kebun Bunga in George Town as early as 4am, before they drifted 2km to the Thanneermalai Shree Balathandayuthapani Temple, the famous shrine at the base of a waterfall.

Penang police chief Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said as of 11am today, more than half a million visitors attended the Thaipusam celebration since yesterday, which went smoothly without any incident.

IN KEDAH, Kuala Muda district police chief Zaidy Che Hassan said the celebration at the Sri Subramaniya Swami Devasthanam Temple in Sungai Petani was also incident-free, with 700 police officers assigned throughout Op Palu in the district.

IN PERAK, an estimated 25,000 Hindus celebrated the Thaipusam festival at Kallumal Arulmigu Subramania Temple in Gunung Cheroh, Ipoh.

A tourist from France, Juliette Baudot, 24, who attended with her boyfriend Hugo Doucet, 23, was excited to be among tourists worldwide drawn to the celebration, as it was their first visit to the country.

“It is nice to be here as I don’t really know more about the history of this festival. In my country, we don’t have all this. I came here as early as 10am to see how it’s actually going and I really like it,” she said.

Thaipusam is a festival celebrated in the month of “Thai” – the 10th month in the Tamil calendar – to commemorate the event of Goddess Parvati giving her son Lord Murugan a divine spear “Vel” to vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman and restore prosperity and wellbeing to humanity. – Bernama, February 5, 2023.