16,000 Tamil Hindus celebrate Thaipusam in Singapore

Singapore: Almost 16,000 devotees fulfilled their vows to Lord Murugan during a Thaipusam festival celebrated in Singapore on Tuesday.

Most of the participating devotees undertook to carry the 'paalkudam', or milk pot, while around 300 carried spike 'kavadis', also known as alagu kavadis, which involves piercing of the torso, face and tongue.

Devotees walked 3.2 km in batches from the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Serangoon Road in the Little India precinct to the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple in Tank Road in the central business district from 11.30pm on February 10 to almost midnight on February 11.

Thaipusam is a major religious festival for Tamil Hindus and is celebrated in Singapore and Malaysia, just like it is done in southern parts of India.

The annual event also attracted instrumentalists, whose beats inspired joyful dancing among the kavadi bearers.

Pierced with several rods as part of his 'kavadi', Semiconductor engineer Saravanan Rajasuran (30) braced himself on February 11 for his maiden ‘Thaipusam-walk' under the blazing sun.

"I am here after 21 days of preparation," The Straits Times quoted Saravanan as saying at the festival.

Nusha Dakshyni, 25, was among the women who took up the 'paal kavadi' -- a wooden frame bearing milk pots at its sides -- which does not require body piercings.

"I underwent a vegetarian fast for 30 days before carrying this kavadi. My mother did this for several years before I started," said Nusha, a sociology undergraduate from the University at Buffalo.

"I do this because I feel very calm and spiritually grounded. This atmosphere gives me the feeling of home," she said, adding this was her second participation in the festival.

The 23-year-old N J Pravin played the 'thavil', a traditional percussion instrument, at the festival. The second-year sociology student from the Nanyang Technological University said, "Kavadi carriers are motivated by live percussion music."

Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam, who was guest of honour at the festival, commended the arrangements, but noted that "something can be done" about the long waiting periods to enter the temple in Tank Road.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines, Shanmugam said, "Quite a few people mentioned that they were waiting for a very long time. The elderly and those carrying milk said they had been waiting for two, two-and-a-half or even three hours" Shanmugam met the management of both temples involved in the event to discuss possible solutions.

"The main issue is that when people come in front of the deity at the sanctum, they want to spend some time. If they are asked to leave quickly – after having waited for hours – they understandably want at least four or five minutes. You can imagine if 10 people spent five minutes each, that's an hour.

"The two temples, the Hindu Endowments Board, as well as the management of the Tank Road temple, will need to come together to explore solutions – perhaps using technology or releasing people in batches," the minister said.