Thaipusam 2012 - Part Two (Penang Island)

First time in Penang Thaipusam.

We were supposed to leave house around 10am to Penang Island but ended up leaving at 11.45am!! We reached the island quite fast as there was no jam at all on the bridge.As we were nearing the temple the jam started to build up and we managed to park our car at the Che Hoon Khor Moral Uplifting Society parking bay at a RM10 parking fees. Since this was our first time here for Thaipusam, we thought the temple is quite near from here and decided to walk without slippers on as my wife is carrying "paal kudam" today. And what a day it was! It was freaking hot and I could feel the heat under my feet.The journey from the parking to the temple was around 2km. Thank God, there were trees almost everywhere along the road which provided enough shades and of course some good hearted people showering our feets with water and some of the road were already wet that time. But still, it was freaking hot!!

My wife started the journey from the Muniswarar temple at one of the junctions and headed towards the Sri Balathandayuthabaani Temple on top of the hill. There weren't many kavadis around but many people were carrying the "paal kudam". FInally, we managed to find our way to the top and offered the milk to Lord Muruga in Penang as well. Good thing was the temple committee has a separate stall to provide the "Milk Abishegam" in a plastic. After resting for a while, we headed down to get some drink and annathaanam to fill up our empty stomach.

The main attraction of Penang Thaipusam, in my humble opinion was the "Thanneer Panthal" where they serve free water/juice or mooru for the visitors. All of the "Thanneer Panthal" were sponsored by big companies in Penang such as Dell, Flextronixs, Intel, DHL among others. The design of the panthal were really creative. You have to see it to believe it.

As it was almost 4pm, the sun was still not kind enough to ease up its heat. My feet felt as though its already half fried. My body started to ache as well, as I was was carrying 13kg Kavinash Kavadi to and fro from the temple. Imagine that! In case you are wondering what Kavadi is that, its actually my son. I was carrying him the whole journey. Even in Sungai Petani. And I can still feel the pain on my shoulders and leg as I write this blog now.
We left Penang Island around 5pm and headed back to Kajang. The highway was quite jammed as there were many lorries and busses on the road. Took us 5 hours to reach home.

Food for thought, what do you guys think about the guys dancing in front of the kavadis? Do you think we really need that kind of attitude? Is this the kind of impression that we want to give to people of Malaysia\foreigners about Malaysian Indians? And I always thought that the festival of Thaipusam was for Lord Murugan. But, you can see kavadis of many deities and some even in a gruesome manner especially Kali amma. Isn't Thaipusam supposed to be dedicated to Lord Muruga only? How would you feel if we celebrate Deepavali on a Chirstmas day? Well, that's is my opinion. Do let me know what you think!

Enjoy the pictures!