For over 40 years, Mr R. Thanasegaran has tended the ceremonial fire pit upon which thousands of devotees walk across during the Sri Mariamman Temple’s (SMT) annual Fire Walking Festival or Theemithi Vizha.
“To work on the fire pit, you must first be a daredevil. You must have no fear,” the 60-year-old retiree said.
Since 1984, he has been part of an experienced team of bold volunteers who brave their bodies and minds to ensure the safety of devotees in and around the sacred fire pit.
“However best you try, you will still get burned,” Mr Thanasegaran explained as he gestured to the hair on his arms, chest and eyebrows.
He was a teenager when he started out as a SMT volunteer in 1981, and his early duties involved serving annadhanam (blessed food) during the holy month of puratasi, which usually begins around mid-September.
In time, the temple’s senior volunteers roped him in to help manage the fire pit alongside other youngsters with the aim to pass the mantle onto the next generation.
Their top priority was to maintain a record of zero casualties year after year. The volunteers researched and implemented safeguards through consultations with therapists and medical professionals to better understand the factors that can lead to falls and injuries.
The pit preparation can take up to nine hours, while the actual fire walking phase can extend till about seven hours maximum. “Beyond that, there won’t be any firewood left,” he quipped.
For his efforts and longstanding commitment, Mr Thanasegaran was one of eight recipients of the 2026 Excellence Award (which honours more than 20 years of volunteerism) at the Hindu Endowments Board (HEB) Volunteer Awards Ceremony on Aug 29.
The Board oversees four notable Hindu temples – the Sri Sivan Temple (SST), the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple (SSPT), the Sri Vairavimada Kaliamman Temple (SVKT) and SMT – that take turns to organise the awards ceremony since 1999.
This year’s event was helmed by SST, which added new categories such as the Friend of HEB Award and Youth Achievement Award to encourage more enterprises and the youth to take up volunteerism.
SST chairman Saminathan Malayandi explained that HEB only has about 107 full-time staff, but coordinates over 800 yearly events across the four temples. “We cannot sustain these kinds of activities without the volunteers,” Mr Saminathan told tabla!
“They are the pillars, and I can’t imagine how to run major events like (Maha) Sivaratri, Firewalking and Perumal Temple’s Purattasi. Without volunteers, it’s virtually impossible,” he added.
Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth and Manpower Dinesh Vasu Dash graced the occasion as the Guest of Honour.
In his speech, he said: “Volunteerism is about more than giving time. It is about building bonds, strengthening trust, and creating opportunities for people to come together in service of a larger purpose”.
Mr Dayaram Shivnath, 65, who also received the 2026 Excellence Award, exemplifies this definition. For the past 24 years as an SVKT volunteer, he has quietly supported temple operations, maintained its premises, prepared decorations, and mentored other volunteers.
“The temple has a lot of events like the Periyachi pooja or the Brahmothsavam festival, so I will help out with crowd control, serving of food and whatever is needed,” Mr Dayaram said.
His father is Indian and mother is Chinese, but he was raised as a Hindu as his father prayed to Lord Krishna, and as a result, the family frequently visited the Sri Krishna Temple located at Waterloo Street. Mr Dayaram started to patronise SVKT after he moved to Toa Payoh.
He officially studied English and Malay at school, but picked up conversational Tamil from interacting with the temple priests, staff and fellow volunteers.
“You must have the time to commit,” advised Mr Dayaram, who added that “it’s actually community service so you just contribute wholeheartedly”.
