Chariot roofed with three-dimensional lights for Thaipusam in KL

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 28): The grand and colourful chariot procession bearing the idols of Lord Murugan and his two consorts, Valli and Theivanai for the auspicious Thaipusam this year will be roofed with vibrant three-dimensional lights.

Honorary Secretary of Sri Maha Mariamman Temple C. Sethupathy said that the 3D reflections that radiates towards the idols, and more than 1,000 light-emitting diode (LED) lights used on the chariot, will bring a new look to the festival.

“Cleaning and decoration works have started since mid last month. At the initial stage, we will clean and polish the silver chariot which takes almost three weeks to complete before the lighting work begins,” he told Bernama recently.

He said almost 50 volunteers are involved throughout the process that takes place from morning until midnight on daily basis.

Significantly, Sethupathy also said that prayers need to be conducted before work starts as a way to seek permission from God and another ‘pooja’ (prayer) upon the completion of cleaning and decorating.

“Once we hold the special prayers, the colourful procession will begin with almost 10 sets of ‘Nadaswaram’ and ‘Thavil’, which are Indian traditional classical instruments played along the route to Batu Caves and the returning journey

The chariot procession will begin from Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Jalan Tun HS Lee on Feb 6 at 10 pm before reaching the Batu Caves Sri Subramaniar Swamy temple about 3 pm the next day.

The returning journey, meanwhile, will take place on Feb 9 at 4pm from Batu Caves and the chariot is expected to reach Sri Maha Mariamman temple at 3 am on Feb 10.

“More than 100,000 devotes are expected to accompany the chariot this year,”  he said.

Sethupathy also sought cooperation from the devotees to abide by traffic rules and flow during the entire procession.

“Since this year, there have been a lot of road works along Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, and we want the public to be more cautious and follow the road signs,” he said.

In Malaysia, Thaipusam will also be celebrated on a grand scale at the Sri Arulmigu Balathandayuthabani temple in Penang and the Arul Subramaniar temple in Ipoh, Perak and Johor.

It is a festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil Hindu community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (January/February), mainly observed in countries where there is a significant presence of the Tamil community.

The word Thaipusam is a combination of the name of the month, Thai, and the name of a star, Pusam. This particular star is at its highest point during the festival.

The festival commemorates the day Lord Murugan received the 'vel' (lance) from his mother, Goddess Parvathi, to annihilate the wicked demon, Soorapadman, to restore prosperity and wellbeing for the people.