Consecration ceremony held at one of oldest Hindu temple in Singapore

Singapore: More than 20,000 devotees attended the consecration ceremony at the Sri Sivan Temple, one of the oldest Hindu temples in Singapore with a history dating back to the 1800s.

Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam on Sunday joined the devotees at the temple popularly known as Geylang East Temple in the suburban housing estates.

Shanmugam, the guest of honour at the ceremony, told the media: “Today’s consecration ceremony is very significant. This temple itself has a very special place in the heart of the Hindu community in Singapore.” Shanmugam unveiled a plaque commemorating the consecration ceremony.

Devotees began streaming into purpose-built tents outside the temple from 7 am, eagerly waiting for the main event -- a Maha Kumbhabishegam or “grand consecration”.

It is the process of pouring sanctified water from vessels on the roof of the temple.

These vessels, called kumbhams, are filled with holy water and energised through chanting of sacred Sanskrit mantras over seven consecutive days.

From around 7.30 am, chants and traditional music filled the air as the procession of priests holding kumbhams headed to the roof of the temple.

Thousands of devotees followed the elaborate proceedings via large screens showing a multi-camera live stream of the priests pouring the sacred water cascading from 22 golden “kalasams” or pinnacles at the peak of the temple structure.

However, the over-eager crowd at times threatened to break through barricades set up to control people entering the temple after the main ceremony ended, The Straits Times reported.

At around 11.30 am, part of the crowd bulged out of barricades at one of the tents as organisers and volunteers implored in Tamil for people to stop pushing, according to the report.

The crowd, which had been waiting to enter the sanctum to pray, dissipated after the police were called to the site at Geylang East Avenue 2.

According to the Hindu Endowments Board (HEB), assistance was rendered to a few, but no injuries were reported during the event.

More volunteers were deployed, and the HEB “subsequently sought the assistance of the police to quickly bring the situation under control”.

This was the third such consecration for the temple, which started on a parcel of land in Orchard Road in 1868, then relocated to temporary premises in 1983, before moving to its current location in Geylang East in 1993.

This year, the temple underwent a refurbishment and saw all its sculptural features restored and deity sanctums refurbished.

Other upgrades included expanding prayer spaces to cater to the growing congregation and renovating the existing multi-purpose hall, among other areas.

The temple will hold 48 days of prayers, rituals and cultural programmes from June 9 to July 26. PTI GS PY PY