A Malaysian Photo And Travel Blog

1.7 million peeps? Are you serious? A sea of people will be flooding the place! I am a person who is terrified of crowd - an agoraphobia. I would ask myself repeatedly whether I can survive in these chaotic situations. It does worry me a bit, but I finally managed to discard all the negativity of fear and thoughts. I wanted to see for myself the grandiose affair of Thaipusam 2013 in Batu Caves, Malaysia.

Here are some shots fresh from my camera. Click 'LIKE' if you enjoy reading my photo blog article :)


Title: Say cheese!
About: Head shaving are among the important Thaipusam festival rituals in Malaysia. Clean-shaven heads is a symbol of humility and atonement. Later the kiddo's shaven head will be smeared with sandalwood paste.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/200 s ISO: 3200 F-STOP: f/5.6 FOCAL LENGTH: 85mm CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: A sea of people
About: Believe it or not...The Batu Caves Temple Committee is expecting a sea of people, a WHOOPING 1.7 million peeps!  Despite the massive crowd, everything seems to be nicely organized - from security, crowd control and of course free flow refreshments throughout the day.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/500 s ISO: 3200 F-STOP: f/5.6 FOCAL LENGTH: 85mm CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Persuasion
About: By midday, it was scorching hot here in Batu Caves. You need to climb the 272 steps that leads up to the temple. That kiddo in the picture was almost reluctant to complete the last few remaining steps - he preferred to crawl. But father grabbed his right arm and persuaded him to carry on.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/1600 s ISO: 400 F-STOP: f/6.3 FOCAL LENGTH: 105mm CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Togetherness
About: When I arrived at Batu Caves, I discovered that most devotees of Lord Murugan wore yellow or orange color. Orange is also a colour of renunciation, and is worn by those whose pilgrimage is a temporary path of asceticism. In this picture, a young kiddo was carried to the top of the temple.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/2000 s ISO: 400 F-STOP: f/7.1 FOCAL LENGTH: 58mm CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Ascending
About: Often Hindu devotees carry brass jug of milk on their heads as a show of devotion and love to the God Lord Murugan – this is called a Pal Kavadi.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/2000 s ISO: 320 F-STOP: f/7.1 FOCAL LENGTH: 92mm CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Concentration
About: Kavadi literally means burden. The burden however can take many forms. A kavadi can be something as simple as pot of milk carried on the head to be given as an offering to Lord Murugan - Hindu God of War and Victory.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/1250 s ISO: 400 F-STOP: f/5 FOCAL LENGTH: 58mm CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: A spiritual journey
About: Hindu devotees show their gratitude to Lord Murugan for having fulfilled their wish by walking barefooted to Batu Caves, shaving their heads or carrying the milk pots and climbing up the 272 stairs to the Śrī Subramaniyar Swami temple.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/640 s ISO: 400 F-STOP: f/5.6 FOCAL LENGTH: 105mm CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Trance
About: The kilometers of walk kavadi-bearers endure takes no less than five hours to complete, and by the time they reach Batu Caves temple, the mix of pain and exhaustion pushes most of them into a trance.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/1600 s ISO: 400 F-STOP: f/6.3 FOCAL LENGTH: 48mm CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Deep
About: An up close and personal shot.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/1600 s ISO: 400 F-STOP: f/6.3 FOCAL LENGTH: 105mm CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Limes and hooks
About: A single green lime may not weigh much, but when the metal hooks are connected to more than 50 limes down a devotee’s back, the feat involved an amazing wealth of devotion and tolerance!

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/3200 s ISO: 400 F-STOP: f/5.6 FOCAL LENGTH: 105mm CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: Battle it out
About: Two kavadi bearers seem to be 'battling' one another in a trance-like moves. They are guided by the drum beats at the head of the procession, oblivious to everything except the next step. The musical troupe urumee melam (Tamil: உறுமி மேள) plays an important element in the Thaipusam festival as it gives the kavadi bearers the energy derived from the musical beats. The kavadi bearers are lulled into a trance-like state by the beats.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/2800 s ISO: 500 F-STOP: f/5 FOCAL LENGTH: 52mm CAMERA: Nikon D3200


Title: The journey continues
About: Crowd climbing steps to shrines in Batu Caves for the Thaipusam festival.

Photo Technical Details:
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/1600 s ISO: 400 F-STOP: f/6.3 FOCAL LENGTH: 18mm CAMERA: Nikon D3200

Updates: For full version, check out my photojournalism writeup in PhotoMalaysia

Last updated Jan 28th, 2013 (7:20 p.m.)

Captured this shot in the first temple closest to the Batu Caves 272 step stairways. These diyas look like Tibetan Buddhist Butter Lamps.

A diya, divaa, deepam, or deepak is a lamp made usually of clay, with wick made of cotton and dipped in ghee or vegetable oils. Source: Wikipedia

The breaking of old coconuts along the road where the chariot of Lord Murugan passes is a ritual that is carried out one day before Thaipusam. The coconut water is meant to wash clean the roads.

A Nepalese foreign worker helping himself with pots Bindi.

According to the 2001 census, 80.6 percent of Nepalese are Hindu, 10.7 percent are Buddhist, 10% are Muslim, 3.6 percent are Kirat (an indigenous religion with Hindu influence), 0.5 percent are Christian, and 0.4 percent are classified as other groups such as Bön religion. Source: Wikipedia

An old lady getting a helping hand from her relative.

Most devotees will start fasting a month or two before Thaipusam. They will follow strictly a vegetarian diet. Some even sleep on the hard floor for months preparing themselves for the day. So, it's not as easy as I expected!

A whooping 1.7 million people visited Batu Caves for Thaipusam 2010 celebration (in just four days). That's AMAZING!!!

Did you notice something about the devotees? No shoes! The staircase leading to the top of the cave is considered sacred to Hindus.

This man was alerted by his friend that mylo was taking pictures. He turned his back and let me snapped some pictures :)

Concerned family members making sure this girl is OK.

There are several temples dedicated to Lord Murugan in Malaysia, the most famous being the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur.

The Vel (Tamil: வேல்) is the divine javelin/spear of the Hindu deity Murugan. In the Hindu mythology, Goddess Parvati presented the Vel to her son Murugan as an emobodiment of her Shakthi (Power and Energy) to vanquish the evil asura Soorapadman.

The annual Thaipusam festival celebrates the occasion when Murugan received the divine Vel from his mother. Source: Wikipedia

Some traditional rides for kiddos.

Slot your coins and ringgit notes to donate to the temple.

That's all for Thaipusam 2010. Thanks for visiting :) Remember to scroll down to check out some wonderful videos about Thaipusam 2010 celebration! Also, you may want to check out some informative blog articles, especially Durai's Thaipusam

A stunning and beautiful statue of Lord Hanuman (Hindu Monkey God). This statue is HUGE!

This Chinese guy brought along his own packet of incense for prayers.

A family of four fulfilling their wishes by offering pot of milk to Lord Muruga.

Oops! The pot of milk is leaking.

The storyteller? Nah....she was explaining the price to her customer. A street hawker selling trinkets and bracelets.

A priest listening to an old lady. She was mumbling something. Perhaps asking for specific blessing from the priest.

I wanna play!

I was really surprised to see a funfair at Batu Caves! It must a vibrant festival during nighttime.

This picture reminds me of Coney Island.

It was virtually impossible finding a parking space at Batu Caves during the celebration of Thaipusam. Luckily, I found a nice parking slot next to the funfair rides. It was a perfect day for photography - with excellent blue sky and small clutches of white cloud.

I would really LOVE to visit Thaipusam on the 30th January 2010 (Saturday) to witness the grand celebration. But, I'm an agoraphobic dude. I'm scared of big crowd in public spaces. So, I only visited the pre Thaipusam celebration at Batu Caves on the 27th January 2010. It was still an AMAZING EXPERIENCE!

This is my fourth visit to Batu Caves. On my latest trip, I discovered some positive transformation in Batu Caves. The pavement leading to the caves has been recently extensively renovated. Several new buildings have been added. Kudos to Selangor state government, Tourism Malaysia and local council for making Batu Caves a perfect tourist destination.

I've spent almost five hours documenting the pre Thaipusam celebration at Batu Caves. At first, I visited the two main temples at Batu Caves. The first temple is located at the left side. It has beautiful gold colored domes. Next to the temple, you can see a towering statue of Lord Hanuman. Lord Hanuman is the Hindu Monkey God. This gigantic statue is BEAUTIFUL & STUNNING! The green colored muscled statue reminds me of The Incredible Hulk!

Next, I visited the Thaipusam carnival at the car park. There are over 80 stalls selling Indian sweets, murukkus, drinks, religious books and trinkets, food and many more. This carnival looks like a mini Deepavali celebration. Love the vibrant atmosphere. In addition, there are fun fair rides for children and adults. The entrance to the fun fair was locked. I guess the rides are only available by nighttime.

Later, I proceeded to the second temple located next to the staircase of Batu Caves. There were many devotees praying in the temple. I removed my shoes and walked into the temple. The high priest was chanting some prayers. At the same time, he was applying bindi to devotees. I walked closer to snap some pictures.

One of the high priest signaled to me asking me to move closer to him. He wanted to apply bindi to my forehead. I rejected him politely. I'm a nonbeliever and a humanist. Interestingly, few others high priests in Batu Caves also gestured to me for their blessings. That's really odd. Do I look like an Indian? Strange....

After that, I climbed up 272 steps up to the top of the cave. Along the way, I chanced upon more than 50 milk and kavadi bearers. These devotees decided to fulfill their wishes earlier to avoid the Saturday Thaipusam crowd. The devotees may look tired due to weeks of fasting. But they were high spirited. Most of them (almost 90%) were wearing yellow colored clothes. Yellow is Lord Murugan favorite color.

According to Wikipedia, Thaipusam (Tamil: தைப்பூசம்) is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan/Feb). It is also referred to as Thaipooyam or Thaippooyam in the Malayalam language. The word Thai-pusam is derived from the month name Thai and Pusam, which refers to a star that is at its highest point during the festival.

The festival commemorates both the birthday of Murugan (also Subramaniam), the youngest son of god Shiva and his wife Parvati, and the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a vel (spear) so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaipusam

On the Thaipusam day, most devotees of Lord Murugan offer him fruits and flowers of yellow or orange color - his favorite colors and also adorn dresses of the same color. Many devotees bear milk, water, fruits and floral tributes on pails hung from a yoke and carry them on their shoulders to various Murugan temples, far and near. This wooden or bamboo structure called 'Kavadi' is covered with cloth and decorated with feathers of peacock - the vehicle of Lord Murugan. Source: About Hinduism

I do not feel embarrass at all taking street pictures. There were plenty of photographers at Batu Caves - amateur and pro players. I even saw a TV crew from TV3.

Overall, it was an unforgettable trip. The colors of the celebration is simply breathtaking! A visit to Batu Caves during Thaipusam is highly recommended.