Attend the Thaipusam festival at the Baku Caves

“This year, I’d noticed the crowds were larger, but nothing had changed… The air was still thick with incense, floral fragrance, and the aroma of simmering vegetarian curries, meant to feed devotees en masse. I followed the hypnotic pull of the procession, enveloped by the current of worshippers. As in Penang, barefoot, head-shaved devotees held offerings of milk to Lord Murugan under the sweltering January sun. [...] Once atop the stairs, the crowd streamed into the gaping mouth of the cool and damp caves, with a palpable collective sigh of relief. A colourful, eclectic sea of people spread out ahead of us, filling the entire cavern, flowing in and out of the darkest reaches, and up the stairs back into the light of an adjacent cave.”

“As usual, the challenges began at the train station when I had to push my way in with all my might and let myself be sandwiched in the super-crowded train at least until it reached the intended destination – the world renown Batu Caves on the outskirt of Kuala Lumpur. [...] The sun was blazing hot and the heat was potentially perilous but it didn’t stop the people from joining what was always considered one of the greatest festivals in the region. I went to Batu Caves and brought with me a promise that I made last year, that I’d be joining the procession up to the cave instead of just watching it from the sideline like I did back then. With that promise tightly wrapped around my waist, I promptly got myself into the line and joined thousands of Hindu devotees to climb up the flights of stairs – all 272 steps of it – and witness the offering of Milk and Kavadi to the Lord Muruga up at the temple.”

“As I approached towards the entrance of Batu Caves, the place was already packed with people and loud music. I could see the Lord Muruga statue shining bright from the staring of the sun. It was massive and crowded. We decided to break into smaller groups as it would be impossible to stick as one while we gazed ourselves into the crowd. [...] Winny and I decided to climb that 272 steps and check out what happen up there. So up we went passing through massive crowd while the devotees chanting VEL VEL . Upon reaching the top we could see most of the devotees are taking off their kavadi. Some are sitting and reminiscing the moment while some are giving offering in forms of coconut and fruits to the temple while the priest says the prayers. Inside a cave, packed of people from walks of life came here for one reason..simply a bizarre scene but all the name for good deed.”