The annual pilgrimage

One thing about Indians in Penang, mainly of Tamil stock, is that they have a solid attachment to Thaipusam celebrations. I remember growing up in Penang around low, middle-class Tamil families; Thaipusam was an important event. For Penangites, Thaipusam meant three trips of prayers. Anything else would mean incomplete worship of Lord Thendayathapani. On the eve of Thaipusam, it was customary to follow the day-long chariot procession that traversed almost the whole town.

The main event on Thaipusam was a giant fiesta. It was the go-to place to meet up with old friends and long-lost relatives who refused to keep in touch. Climbing the Waterfall hill to pray at the small temple atop is necessary. Watching wave after wave of colourful kavadis. Kavadis came in various sizes with degrees of intricacies, architectures and varying displays of theatrics by the kavadi bearers and their entourage. Music was compulsory. Those days, there was not so much restriction to the songs played over the P.A. system of the numerous refreshment sheds (thaneer panthal). So, it was left to the creativity of shed owners to whip up catchy songs that drew a crowd. Upbeat Tamil movie songs with sultry lines ruled the day.

To accommodate the hot season that used to hit Penang in January and February (now the weather pattern has taken a toss), kavadis mainly came in two shifts - early morning and late evening. 

If one thought that was all for Thaipusam, they were wrong. After recovering from the two days' merrymaking, the chariot had to return to its original resting place. It was a night-long affair, with the chariot starting in the late evening and moving slowly through town to reach its destination the following morning, making it the fourth day of festivity. 

Now, there was a local urban legend in Penang about Thaipusam. When someone misses a year's celebration, somehow, the curse of not attending would continue for another two years.

Now that my mother, a true blue Penangite and an octogenarian, is incapacitated and essentially homebound, she became restless as Thaipusam approached. She reminisced about the good old times when she could just partake in the celebrations back in Penang at the drop of a coin, at her will. 

She smiled the moment she laid eyes on the Batu Caves temple steps, filled with saffron-attired worshippers with hypnotising drums. For her, Thaipusam was done. Of course, she viewed all these from afar in the comfort of a car perched on a flyover overlooking Batu Caves and the iconic Murugan Statue. 

P.S. At the end of the day, the question that begs to be answered is whether Thaipusam, a religious obligation, has slowly evolved into a cultural revelry and ethnic entitlement.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

..thou art that..

Slava Kavadi @ Penang Thaipusam

The actor-director who made the much-talked-about Kannada film 'Kantara', is said to have performed some of the stunts himself. One of the scenes that he had to carry out was a particular dance for a diety. In an interview, he admitted that he followed the prerequisites before delving into that pious act. The rest, as we know it, is history.

These types of dos and don'ts are rife in many Indic practices. All have them have a said ancient scientific to them.

Growing up, I had seen many who religiously performed annual penance for Lord Muruga on Thaipusam. I heard they had to undergo a gruelling 30-day or 14-day regime before going anywhere near the tent to initiate the ritual involving body piercings and feats that would befuddle them later. 

It involved consuming two simple vegetarian meals a day. Abstinence from the luxuries of life is a must. That would mean no personal grooming, no manicure and pedicure, no footwear, no hot showers, avoidance of self-indulging activities, no entertainment, no TV and in the present day, it would mean no YouTube! The devotee can only sleep on a floor mat with no mattresses or pillows. All these were intended to prepare one mentally for the monumental task at hand. I heard of another person who would undergo similar self-torturing rituals to partake in the temple's annual fire walking ceremony to fete Goddess Kaaliamman.

The fantastic thing is that they would complete the task, return to everyday life the following day, and carry on as if nothing had happened.

Recently I heard a clip that gave a somewhat scientific explanation of why a Swami Ayyappan devotee fasts for 48 days. It seems that it took that much time for all the cells in the body to be replaced. That means that after 48 days, one is essentially walking with an entirely new set of cells in his body, hopefully as a rejuvenated, unique individual. 

The breaking of a coconut is the best symbol of what we aspire to. The rough, uneven exterior is broken to reveal a pristine white interior that can generate something new -a life. As the ancient sages used to quote, 'tat tvam asi', meaning 'you are that'. You are what you want to be. In other words, you are the architect of your life. Sometimes we do not know who it is 'that' we want to be. The Greeks also appreciated that.

At the entrance to Apollo temple at Delphi, is inscribed 'know thyself'. Sometimes, that can be a problem. We really do not know what we are capable of until we are pushed to the limit. The maxims that followed 'know thyself' were 'nothing to excess' and 'surety brings ruin'.

P.S. Masons who carved out murtis (religious sculptures) in ancient India are said to also go through vigorous fasting routines to attain a trance-like state to chisel out an error-free product. They never have a second chance attempt at their task; invariably, these figurines last many generations and are still awed today.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Pilgrimage for social justice?

It had a fiesta mood, jovial demeanour, smiling faces, honking road users, the same colour motif and the chant. The roads were their path to reach the point of salvation. Interlaced amongst the crowd were banners, placards and cheeky messages. Everybody was courteous and everybody wanted their voices to be heard. Orang asal with years of neglect were down with their banner. So were the workers with minimum wage on their mind. The LGBT representative was there with his rainbow hued flag to be counted. The only time I last saw so many people don yellow was during Thaipusam celebration during my childhood back in Penang!

Come to think of it, there were so many similarities between this peaceful march and Thaipusam celebrations in Penang. People would come from near and far to witness the procession. The joy was in the walk as there was where old friends of yesteryears would be met. The march would be interrupted by occasional kavadis that would tickle our interest- in Bersih 4.0, it was the catchy tongue-in-cheek placards. The theme of Thaipusam colour was yellow (saffron) denoting the colour of fire that culminated from Lord Muruga's spear as he crushed the demon. It is also the colour signifying renunciation from pleasures of the world. In Bersih 4.0, people renounced their long weekend break to balik kampung, give up the comforts of their air-conditioned homes with pleasant beds to match but to pay homage to one of humanity's great asset - social justice!

During Thaipusam celebrations in Penang, people would make many trips; once in the morning for prayers and the evening again to enjoy the view of people and the kaleidoscopic hues of slava/vel kavadis - In Bersih 4.0, many did the same. Even the 90-year-old Dr M did the same, braving the crowd travelling with the common folks in the mass railway transportations to repent his former misdoings over the years by offering moral support to the people.
In most places, Thaipusam is a three-day fair; Bersih 4.0 being a 34-hour extravaganza climaxing with shouts of Merdeka at the stroke of midnight! The people have spoken, stated their displeasure, loud and clear, not only in the country but the world over. What next?

http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy

Penance to soothe divine wrath?

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2014/01/16/did-god-ask-for-this/
Did God ask for this?

Narinder Singh

 | January 16, 2014

With prices of goods skyrocketing, will the Indians still indulge in spending lavishly to appease Lord Murugan during Thaipusam?

Thaipusam is here and preparations are at full swing at almost all temples in the nation. The Batu Caves Temple being the lead runner and a tourist attraction will once again be thronged by devotees asking for their annual forgiveness from Lord Murugan.


From Perlis to Sabah and Sarawak, Thaipusam will be celebrated, no doubt. The only difference will be the intensity and magnitude as the population of Hindus in some states are insignificant.


Nevertheless the spirit and ambiance will surely mesmerise all in terms of culture, religion and peripheral entertainment.


The limelight of Thaipusam is anchored around the kavadis. Devotees who make various vows fulfill them during this time and carrying kavadis up the temple steps from the river is symbolic in nature to show gratitude towards Lord Murugan.


While we shall not question the religious and cultural believes and practices of Hindus in expressing their ways of paying homage, it is a wonder if there is any requirement in the Hindu religion or customs to carry outrages kavadis up the hill temple.


Annually we witness some devotees who are too carried away emotionally in exhibiting their kavadis; that get a many dumbfounded.


In the name of the different Gods, we have seen devotees who carry kavadis that can be easily perceived as little armory with spears, machetes, and whips.


And if that is not enough, there are little stunts like walking on razor sharp knifes all the way to the main entrance of the temple grounds. Some arrogantly smoke cigars, apparently to appease certain demigods.


What really took me aback a couple of years ago in Penang was the sight of a devotee being practically hung from his back with giant hooks up-side down from the kavadi which he is suppose to carry in the first place. Now I wonder if he was paying penance or was the kavadi paying the penance for his sins!


Are devotees mocking their own religion in the name of prayers? Is there anywhere in Hinduism that requires one to perform such stunts which can guarantee thorough cleansing of the soul and spirit?


Some devotees have even carried durian kavadis. Well, creativity is always welcome in any society, but when it infringes into the concepts of religion and its practices, one will be bound to be questioned not only by Hindus but also by all other right thinking persons.


Holy wastages


Is there extra bonus from the God to those devotees that carry heavier, bigger, more fanciful and expensive kavadis to His footsteps as compared to the smaller versions like the milk kavadis or other mini kavadis?


And if carrying kavadis is not sufficient to please the heavens, we have got devotees and their families offering hundreds to thousands of coconuts and litres of milk in the name of prayers.


The reason why this is being questioned is that will a poor devotee be blessed too if he or she cannot afford such offerings during the festivities? Has the current practices turned into material might over the lesser being in the worldly practices of Hinduism?


Is Lord Murugan corrupted too, that He demands such material poured in his name instead of being channelled to those underprivileged?


Are these ‘wastages’ considered holy and religiously right when we have fellow humans in many parts of the world that cannot even afford a single decent meal a day?


Is Lord Murugan sanctioning such sacrifices during Thaipusam and rewarding the grandeur kavadi bearers and the rich who break more coconuts in front of the chariot? If that is so, it can be assumed safely that one gets premier ‘cleansing’ as compared to those with lesser means to offer.


It is incomprehensible at times to see the Indian community lamenting about rising cost of living but willing to take on exorbitant expenses during festivities like Thaipusam.


When the thosai price goes up by 50 sen, they are willing to hail their dissatisfaction via protests right up to Putrajaya and take on the streets. But they keep their peace and silence when the prices of coconut, flowers, milk and other prayer paraphernalia go up; all in the name of not offending the Gods. Astonishing indeed.


Anyways, again, it is not to denounce and run down any community or religion but as creation of God, should we not think a little more critically and with reasonable questioning for the betterment of mankind.


Eventually it is the good deeds in this worldly existence that will determine our afterlife. Or does it not just because one did not carry a thousand ringgit worth kavadi or break a thousand coconuts or pour 100 litres of milk on Lord Murugan as a Hindu?


I contemplate at times on these issues!


Narinder Singh is a FMT team member.

Life in the fast lane

In this time and age, where everyone lives in the fast lane where speed dial rules - nobody remembers numbers any more;  immigration is through the green lane; express lane to squeeze toll in a wink; dressed down to work and so forth, everything can be arranged for your convenience.
And I thought it is only applies to our daily living!

Even preparations for penance can fast trekked. Just the other day, my son who is generally cynically and sarcastic about age old traditional rituals and ethno-religious practices, blurted out that he was taking a 'paal kodam' (milk containers) on our Thaipusam outing. I guess the stress of wanting to excel in his recently concluded public examinations lured him to display publicly his private cajoling of divine interventions.
From my understanding of carrying out penance, one has to purify the body and soul by sacrificing simple pleasures of life over a protracted period of time to focus the mind with their ultimate task of surrendering their offering at the lotus feet of the speared Lord of Destroyer of All Evils. Even a day before the said event, they (my daughter joined in the foray a day earlier) were seen enjoying the pleasures of cooked meat and comforting snooze on high quality rubber mattress!
Hey, I guess it is the thought that counts, not the execution of the task....

One man's wastage is another man's economic stimulus!

Datuk Zainal Alam, senior RTM broadcaster,
entertainer, singer, and stand-up comedian.
© Star

Of late, they have been talks of unspeakable wastage of stream of milk filling the drains of Batu Caves all along the days surrounding Thaipusam. Money that otherwise can be used for the upliftment of the Indian Malaysian community is said to be literally down the drain.

Milk, as described by Datuk Zainal Alam, a fellow Penangite, comedian, entertainer extraordinaire, is the first and last thing consumed by humans and would not have been so much stature and reverence in life is not for its pristine white hue. Imagine a purple liquid called 'milk'! I digress...

Much has also griped about the humongous garland donned upon 'The First Lady' and her consort, which would have taken half an acre's yield, going to waste.

Ever since my language teacher in Form 1 (AA), told the class that we could not say the space expedition is a waste of money in our essay as money just changes hands, I took upon the idea. These acts of pouring gallons of milk, breaking grosses of coconuts, deflowering of plants to glorify idols are not usually a waste of resources. In fact, it stimulates economic activity. Dairy farmers, small plantation holders, florists, middlemen, transportation companies, and even labourers benefit tremendously from this sudden surge of demand. It would improve the production and distribution of these items. The philanthropic act is still done but people have to work for it - no handouts!

It is just like the Chettiars in the early history of our country. They were big landowners but were contented in keeping them idle for cows to graze and keep trespassers at bay. When the Chinese bought over the land when the British gave away independence and the Chettiars returned to their motherland, they started building supermarkets, factories, restaurants etcetera there. This had a snowball effect on related businesses and eventually these small and medium industries have now become the lynch pinch of Malaysia's economy. But then, these activities are still going to leave our carbon footprints of which our descendants will be cursing and trying to clean up. May all the worshipping now would help them then!

Oh Muruga! Where Art Thou?

Shiv family (North)

Siva family (South)

Coin, 200BCE, Indus Valley

Somebody said that Hinduism is amalgamation of believes of many in the one God with various manifestations and names. The earlier settlers who jump started the civilization in the Indus Valley had their own Gods of worship. Along came the culture from the North, either by cultural or physical invasion. Their mode of worship was forcibly or by diffusion infused into the society. Some society members never forgot their predecessor icons and continued worshipping them in their own way and stories were created to substantiate their practice.
With that background in my mind, I was not at all surprised when the secretary of the temple, on his routine weekly announcement of events of the following week, totally omitted Thaipusam in his list. He was faithfully reading out on this prayer and that prayer and Shivrathri. That's it!
Actually, Murugan (Kaarthikeyan) has been hanging around the scriptures since the first millennium BCE. Somewhere along way, Murugan who appeared as the elder son of Shiva disappeared in some scriptures and appeared in other the younger brother of Ganesh and the eternal manifestation of youth. From the middle ages, He disappears from the North but makes sporadic appearances in certain parts of India like Haryana, Punjab, Bengal and Maharashtra.

Happy Thaipusam! Just call his name and He will come flying down in his peacock....