KUALA LUMPUR: Hundreds of thousands of devotees and tourists thronged iconic Batu Caves here today for the Hindu festival of Thaipusam – one of the largest religious gatherings in the world.
Devotees, who had walked for about 1km from Sungai Gombak and up the 272 steps of Batu Caves leading to the Sri Subramaaniar Swamy temple, carried colourful Kavadis and milk pots to fulfil their vows to Lord Murugan.
T.N. Darshan Nair, 19, said he walked with a full pot of milk to show his gratitude to God for granting his wishes.
"I walked up the stairs with my dad and my younger siblings this morning. I have been doing this every year since I was six, just to give thanks to God
A tourist from Russia, Maksim Pechenik, 36, said he was excited about experiencing the Thaipusam celebration.
"I have been staying in KL for a month now. I am excited to see what the Thaipusam celebration is all about," he said.
Pechenik had taken a train from Pelabuhan Klang as early as 5.30am just to get to Batu Caves.
"I hope I can see unique things that the devotees do," he said.
R. Manimsubra, 45, from Klang, said he got ready as early as 6am to catch a train to Batu Caves.
"This is my second time praying at Batu Caves for Thaipusam," he said, adding that he had previously been working in Indonesia.
In IPOH, Thaipusam was celebrated with great vibrancy and colour by more than 10,000 Hindus at the Sri Subramaniar Temple at Gunung Cheroh here today.
Devotees carried kavadis and pulled chariots amidst loud music and the beating of drums.
They had earlier converged at the Maha Mariamman Temple in Jalan Sungai Pari, before walking five kilometres to the main temple at Gunung Cheroh.
Two tourists from the United States, who came to Perak for a teaching programme in Kampung Gajah, grabbed the chance to take part in the celebration.
Clay Ballard, 24, said he and his friend, Nate Stauffer, 22, decided to spend their public holiday in Ipoh to meet up with friends here.
"We arrived two minutes ago and saw a lot of people walking barefooted, so we just followed them.
"It led us here, to this beautiful temple. We only knew that the biggest Thaipusam celebration is at Batu Caves, but we never knew that it is also big in Ipoh.
"It is a very beautiful celebration and we are excited to take a lot of pictures to share with our friends back in the States," Ballard added.
Meanwhile, Perak Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department chief Senior Assistant Commissioner T. Selven said police launched a Crime Prevention Operation a week ago to ensure devotees’ and visitors’ safety during the event.
"I can assure the people (they need) not be afraid to go out to perform their prayer. The situation here is safe.
"We will ensure their safety, as it is our top priority," he told reporters after distributing food at the Sri Subramaniar Temple in Gunung Cheroh, here today.
He said about 800 policemen had been deployed throughout the state in conjunction with Thaipusam.
"For Ipoh, about 643 policemen were deployed since early of this week, and the celebrations are going smoothly so far," he said.
In PASIR GUDANG, Tunku Mahkota of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim and his wife, Che Puan Khaleeda Bustamam, joined worshippers at the Sri Subramaniar Paripalana Saba Temple here for state-level Thaipusam celebrations.
The royal couple, who arrived at about 12.30pm, also brought along their daughter, Tunku Kalsom Aminah Sofiah.
Also present at the event were Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin and state Unity and Human Resources Executive Committee chairman R. Vidyananthan.
Some 3,000 worshippers gathered at the temple to join in the celebration.
At the event, Tunku Ismail also launched the temple's charity trust fund, which will be used to help members of the Indian community in need.
In KUALA TERENGGANU, hundreds of devotees, including non-Hindus, celebrated Thaipusam at the Sri Kaliyuga Durga Lakshmi Sri Kalikanda Naya
gan Temple in Jalan Cerung Lanjut here.
Temple trustee Dr K.V. Dayal Krishnan, who is also Terengganu MIC chairman, said the devotees arrived at 7am to offer prayers and pour milk on the statue of Lord Muruga.
“Our celebrations here are on a modest scale, unlike the events in Kuala Lumpur (Batu Caves) and Penang (Botanical Gardens), or elsewhere in Sungai Petani and Ipoh.
“However, despite the smaller crowd, the festival is held on a meaningful platform,” said Dayal.
He said the local Chinese community joined their Indian friends to offer prayers and take part in rituals which included the preparation of the ‘pal kudum’ (offering of milk) and prasadam (offering of sweet snacks) for the deity and devotees.
On Friday, the temple will offer vegetarian meals to devotees after prayers at the temple, the only Hindu place of worship in Kuala Terengganu.
The temple also celebrates the annual Navarathri (festival of nine nights), which precedes the Hindu festival of lights, known as Deepavali, with a chariot procession through Kuala Terengganu.
Navarathri is an important festival which is celebrated all over India, Nepal and countries with large Indian populations.