Customs and traditions

At 5:15 I rose, showered and was gone.

Forty minutes later I arrived at Lorong Kulit, main centre for piercing of devotees.

Nobody, just a few food market stalls setting up.

“Where are the kavadi?”

“Haha, not before 8am.”

Back in Little India I was on time to see the departure of the Silver Chariot. It was crowded, yet fluid. Moving within the crowd was easy.

Anticipation was in the air; 7 am and already hot.

An unseen signal and devotees raised their hands above their heads, palms together, in prayer. The troop ahead of the chariot, wearing elaborate headgear featuring bundles of peacock feathers, moved.

People who had been close to the chariot started streaming in the direction of travel.

The chariot advanced, I think pulled by devotees. It moved rapidly, turned a corner and stopped.

Thus began the offerings. Bowls with banannas and burning coconuts and flower garlands were passed up to the men on the chariot.

And it advanced again, perhaps 100 metres.

The crowd dispersed behind the chariot. The flottila of cleaning trucks flowed behind the chariot.

Breakfast was offered to all.

One woman was holding a devotional bowl, another was feeding her. She caught my eye so I complimented them on their skill eating wth their fingers. “It’s a mother daughter thing.” she laughed. We chatted, they offered me a second breakfast, then the family of four left with waves.

So many casual, friendly meetings, yet I will not see them again. No exchange of FB nor emails. Gone.

Back at my guest house the other, golden chariot had just arrived.

Bowls of offerings were passed up to the chariot.

“Vel!, Vel!” chanted those pulling the chariot. It advanced, stopped, accepted more offerings.

When it had passed, I returned to bed.

“Surrender to India”

Recently I was talking with an Indian friend who told me, if you want to visit India, you have to surrender to India.

Georgetown, Malaysia, has its “Little India” which organises the Thaipusam celebrations.

Thaipusam is a Hindi festival mostly celebrated by the Tamil community.

It is celebrated in the Tamil month of “Thai” whilst “pusam” refers to a star which is at its highest point during the festival. The festival commemorates both the birth of the Hindu god Muragan, son of Shiva and Parvati, and the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a vel (lance) so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman. You hear the devotees chanting “Vel, Vel”. Source: Penang Tourist Office brochure.

On the eve of the celebrations I walked into Little India to have dinner.

The atmosphere was already warming up. Long queues of Hindus waiting to enter the main temple to pray. Women in beautiful saris everywhere.

Gold shops were full of people. They have elaborate, chrome-plated grills to prevent theft. They buy and sell more elaborate jewelry. Shops selling smaller gold jewelry were packed.

As I wandered through the streets I was drawn to an open-fronted store with men in long white sarongs at the entrance.

“Come in, share our food!” I approached to see better. “Should I take my shoes off?” I asked. “No, it doesn’t matter.” A magnet of hospitality drew me in.

Surrender to India.

As I sat on a stool people smiled at me, made small conversation, asked me where I am from, gave me more special food, complimented me on my skill eating with my fingers. I felt welcome.

Surrender to India.

After my meal, I walked back to Chettiar Temple where the silver chariot was outside waiting to be drawn through town tomorrow.

A dance of two big puppets (one person inside each) and a fire-eater was enacted. The musicans played drums and cymbals to rythms I do not know, but I lost myself in them.

Surrender to India.

Back near my guest-house was a display of Chinese Dragon dancers. I asked somone, “Why are the Chinese celebrating Thaipusam?”.

” They worship some of the same gods, and in Malaysia we are united.” Great answer.

They performed different dances with different dragons. The last was a long, thin, yellow and green dragon manipulated by seven men. The dragon whirled in circles and then undulated so the middle five men had to jump over the body.

They played drums. Then they were gone.