K. JANARTHANAN
Thaipusam is grandly celebrated in several cities around the world. Yet, it seems a tad more special in Penang’s Georgetown.
On the eve of the Hindu festival, which was held on Jan 25 in Malaysia like in Singapore, hundreds of booths serving free food and drinks, including heaps of coconuts, line the sides of the road.
On the day itself, cries of “huat ah” (prosperity) rend the air as coconuts are smashed to the ground while gold and silver chariots bearing the statue of Lord Murugan approach the Arulmigu Sri Bala Thandayuthapani Waterfall Hilltop Temple in Jalan Kebun Bunga.
The chariots had begun their journey the night before from the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Queen Street and the Kovil Veedu (Temple House) in Penang Street, some 18km and 8km away, respectively, from their destination.
“I love taking part in Thaipusam each year. I find that my good luck increases,” said lorry driver Bryan Chua.
Retired power station employee Raghunathan Rengasamy, 74, who has observed Thaipusam processions in Penang for 15 years, believes it is a spectacle like no other in the city.
“Locals proudly proclaim that Penang Thaipusam is the best. I agree,” he said. “The atmosphere is celebratory, carefree and yet also safe.”
After two years of restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, some 1.5 million people from all over Malaysia attended the three-day Thaipusam celebration in Penang last year. The population of Penang is approximately 1.75 million.
At this year’s one-day event, attendance was not as stellar, but you could hardly tell given the thousands that carried kavadis and milkpots up to the hilltop temple.
Devotees have to climb 511 steps to reach the temple, almost twice the number required to reach the Batu Caves in Selangor.
Airport officer Kanchana, 48, who made a milk-pot offering, said the journey to the temple each year gives her immense peace and satisfaction. She has been doing it for 25 years.
For Singaporean Sasidaran, attending Thaipusam in Penang is also an opportunity to make new acquaintances.
“My friends and I from Singapore met a group of devotees from the 200-year-old Mottai Gopura Muneeswaran temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, a few years ago,” he said. “We often reconnect with them in Penang and serve the devotees together.”
The Hilltop Temple’s chairman Nithyanandan, 50, said he was happy several devotees from outside Penang join the festivities every year.
“I have been serving food and drinks to devotees since I was a child alongside my father,” he said. “I am so proud of how united Penang is in celebrating the festival.”
