Thaipusam 2009

Event: THAIPUSAM

Day: THAIPUSAM EVE

Time: 5.00am - 10am

Task Of The Day: PHOTOGRAPHER

Our Thaipusam weekend started out bright and early. OK, maybe not bright considering the time(5am), but it was still early to be awake at 5am on a Saturday!! haha... Anyway, we woke up at 5am to bath and get ready as my sister was going to be carrying a Paal Kodam before heading to my grandma's house. At around 6am we finally arrived there only to see that the children i.e my cousins, were still in the midst of waking up and bathing. So, we had to wait for them to get ready before we could finally head to Market Street to see the Silver Chariot. Upon reaching there, we were surpirse to see that the chariot was not lighted up as usual and it was so dark that we could hardly see the statue on it. Though we were a bit dissapointed, yet we were satisfied that at least we got to see the chariot.

After that, all of us went to Waterfall to prepare the milk pots and kavadi. I helped my aunt pour the milk into the milk pots and before we could start the journey, we had to pray and break a coconut in front of the Ayer Temple at the junction, as that was the place where we would be starting our journey. While helping, it was also my job of the day to take pictures throughout the whole journey since I was not carrying anything.

After praying, we started our journey. Even though it was only the eve of Thaipusam, there were already so many people fulfilling their vows but thankfully it wasn't that crowded and we could still manage.

On the way, we also saw a "river of milk". All the milk that is offered to Lord Muruga is poured over the statue and the milk will eventually flow to a river nearby and the amount of milk that is offered is actually enough to turn the river white!

When we finally reach the main Waterfall Temple, it's not over yet because just like the Batu Caves Temple in KL, we too in Penang need to walk up more than 200 steps to reach the Murugan Temple. But as the steps are wider, to me, it is much easier to walk up this steps compared to the ones in Batu Caves. After a safe journey up the stairs, the milk carried is finally offered to Lord Muruga. Before heading down again, everyone sat at the temple to take a short break while some went and prayed.

In conclusion, it was a very fulfilling as well as joyful day for everyone involved. Not only did we get to cleanse ourselves and fulfill our vows but we also manage to squeeze in a little bit of family time. =)