greetings!

to most malaysians, thaipusam is just another blot in the calendar whih marks a holiday, and a day to stay at home and catch up with tv (wait a minute, we all do that everyday, right?). to some, its a day to express faith in its most sacredly sacrificial way. to some, its a perfect day to make an extra buck or so.neverthenless, thaipusam is never an ordinary day for anyone staying near the vicinity of batu caves.

leaving for thaipusam after work at 10, i decided to take the train to sentul via kl sentral. sensing the heavy traffic that would have built up along the gombak-batu caves road, i guessed this was the best route possible to sentul, from which i was to take the train to my destination. for starters, i wasn’t prepared to trek up the batu caves mountain/hill (what do you call it,a hill or a mountain?) right up to the top where the temple is constructed. my goal was to reach in time and lend a hand at the blood donation campaign which was already taking place there since that noon.

what i didnt guess was, that there are others who would have guessed the way i did. and they numbered by the hundreds. posibbly by the thousands, well i might be a little over reacting here. but my word, kl sentral was looking like egmore station in chennai! for a second, it looked that way though. with a ticket in hand, i headed to the terminal, waiting for the sentul train to arrive.

i’ve gotta hand it to the indians when it comes to celebrating a festival. colourful, effervecent, loud, and care-free, perfectly creating the environment i’m oing to see in batu caves later on. its very mardi-gras like, minus the more common things associated with that event with dollops of spirituality, doused with strength of faith, thaipusam is a sight to behold. for many first time visitors, its the perfect occasion to witness just how faith can move mountains. and its also a vivid cultural shock to many who have not seen anything else besides their own reflection in the mirror.

i finally managed to board the train after deliberately missing 5 consecutive trains. with two new friends on tow, my entourage then boarded the next train, and after almost an hour of waiting, the numbers just did not stop there. people were pouring in from every corner. the train ride lasted for about 20 minutes, with in house entertaintment provided by some obnoxious young male travellers that obviously haven’t seen that many girls in one single place. their often rehashed jokes from movies and some creative ones were fillers for an already tired day.

next stop, sentul. once a bustling town of railway housing quarters and squatters, its becoming somewhat of a link town settlement for the people of some parts of northern selangor and kuala lumpur. its still bustling though, with metropolitan landscapes blending with many of its original structures. my entourage then wriggled our way to the main gates to get our tickets to our next stop. i took a step back though, thinking that i’ve already reached batu caves already. the sight of another thousands of indians here made me feel that way. we then ditched the idea of taking the train and got ourselves into one of those ‘phantom’ bus services. yeah, those busses operated without prior licence, but being malaysians, where piracy is the best options for blockbuster video watching, we hopped on eagerly. with a 3 ringgit (yes folks, 3 ringgit for a bus ride that normally costs only half of it) ticket in hand, i was finally on my way to celebrate thaipusam.

bus ride lasted another 20 minutes. we got of on the highway, then proceeded to walk for another 2 km to the main concourse area. the walk itself was a sneak peak of what to expect the whole time i’m going to be there. the kavadi proccesisons  have started already, with many devotees expressing their faith in their most prolific ways, and some in their own kindred ways. again, colourful and loud. its a sign of things to come. our long walk together then ended. we reached the apex of our journey, where we would now part to our own objectives. my two friends then proceeded to the mian tample complex, and i walked again to the arena where the blood donation was being held.

after a brief introduction by a friend, i went straight into action. this was my second tie around, but it was much better organised this time. just being around kind souls invigourated me for rest of the night. from regostration of the donors till placing them on their donor beds, the place was bristling with individuals of different creed, colour and faith all joined together for a a noble cause. malaysia is special indeed. and activities like these is a testament to that.

it was a long and tiring day. after 14 hours on foot, i finally had to bid adieu to get back to work on time by 6. with a heavy heart and legs longing for a warm foot soak, i treaded my way back through a maze of people. finally, when i reached back to my office, after 6 rounds of counterstrike, i wondered for a while, on what has happend over the past day. and was the swelled up legs worth all of it?

it was definately worth it alright. and i would do it again. besides that, i did my own sacrifice. i performed the mudhi kaanikai, hich means, hair sacrifice. besides looking like a version of the smiling buddha, i’m also fulfilling a promise made to a friend a year ago. its the least i could do, but its not merely a show of blind faith. its my way of saying "thanks for everything dude!".

sigh, i wished i could tell her all this in detail. and show my bald pate, and hear her laugh as well. am i getting mushy on this? yeah, well, i’m a fish alright. go ahead, sue me.

so thats the end of my thaipusam adventure. lots more to tell, but i beleive i’ve bored you enough already. and the repeated song on my playlist is already getting to me. i’ve been listening to it for more than 15 times already.

goodnight everyone.

love ya!

the plain joe, wishing his special one and all off you goodnight

ps - grads round the corner right? congratulations! (this is for her eyes only, ignore if you’re not her… )