Thaipusam in Penang – A Festival of Sensory Overload

I ran my tongue around my lips and tasted the lingering flavor of curry and the remnants of spices from masala tea. The morning air was thick with the woody scent of incense sticks. A breeze rustled by. I stopped and took in the grassy scent of banana leaves and a faint whiff of freshly plucked flowers as I began my experience at Thaipusam in Penang.

A nondescript street, which people barely pay attention to on most days, was now filled with women clad in sarees and men wrapped in dhotis. They edged past the fervor of the kavadi procession. Some carried milk pots. Others were cloaked in towering metal frames, hooks piercing their flesh. All of it blurred in the haze of incense that added an air of mystique to it.

I tapped my feet to the hypnotic beats of the Urumi Melam and the piercing wail of the Nadaswaram. The slippers hugging my toes squelched like a squeezed sponge as I splashed through a deluge of coconut water, cleansing the streets. Coated on my forehead was the sandalwood paste, powdery yet damp to the touch.

Kavadi carrying devotees dance to the music Photo: Teh Chin Liang

Cultural Immersion in Penang

Thaipusam is one of the grandest religious celebrations in Penang. It is a day when your senses revel in a riot of tastes, smells, sights, sounds, and touches.

The festival falls on the full moon day of the Tamil month of Thai, usually in late January or early February. Thousands of devotees swarm the streets and temples to offer prayers to Lord Murugan, the Hindu god who epitomizes bravery and wisdom. Legend has it that Lord Murugan defeated the evil Soorapadman with the sacred spear given to him by his mother.

This year, in 2025, Thaipusam coincided with the Lunar New Year. The major streets across George Town, the capital of Penang, were intermittently closed for three days. More than 1.5 million arrivals were expected. It was a traffic nightmare for commuters, but the palpable festive spirit helped take the edge off the inconvenience.

Chariot Procession Through George Town

The day before Thaipusam, a grand procession of two main chariots—one gold and one silver—set off early in the morning from a Hindu temple in George Town. The chariots then trundled in a ritualistic crawl to another Hindu temple on Waterfall Road, covering a total of six miles and taking an entire day.

A pair of oxen pulled each chariot. While one pair was on duty, over a dozen more waited their turn to take shifts. The arrangement was to prevent the animals from being overworked.

Panthals, makeshift shelters covered in banana leaves and decorated with paintings of Hindu deities, lined the streets for pilgrims to rest. Pilgrims waited in a long line across the panthals to be served complimentary food and drink.

People smash coconuts to welcome the chariots

Coconut Smashing Spectacle

Mountains of coconuts piled up along the procession route. When the chariot approached, pilgrims picked up the coconuts, one by one, and smashed them to the ground. Some rolled away unbroken. It takes the right amount of strength and precision to crush the coconut into jagged pieces.

Thump, thump, thump—shards and splashes flew in all directions. My glasses quickly fogged up in this splattering spectacle. In Hindu belief, breaking the coconuts symbolizes surrendering pride, selfishness, and worldly attachments before Lord Murugan.

A man with his back pierced with hooks, is pulled by another man behind him in an extreme kavadi Photo: Teh Chin Liang

A Pilgrimage of Devotion to Murugan

Every year on Thaipusam, the street leading to the Penang Botanical Garden transforms overnight into a pilgrimage passage. The day also marks a gathering for Hindu families, from a baby cradled in a parent’s arms to the elderly in a wheelchair. Everyone comes together to pray to Murugan.

From the foot of the rock staircase, I stared in awe at an unbroken chain of people undulating in a solemn wave along 513 steps to Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple, the largest Murugan temple outside of India.

I skipped the crowd and went to a temple at the foot of the hill. Every inch of the temple sparkled in a luminous, jewel-like spiritual glow, from the vintage chandeliers dangling down the wooden ceiling.
I humbly cupped my hands to receive a prayer offering from a temple priest, consisting of a small coconut shell filled with bananas and leaves, topped with a burning incense stick.

Holding the coconut shell in my palm, my eyes were warily glued to the incense flame bending sideways in the wind as I followed the lead of other pilgrims walking in a circle around the shrine.

As if perfectly timed, the incense went out the moment the walk was complete. I dutifully placed the offering on an altar.

Two pilgrims walk while balancing milk pots atop their heads Photo: Teh Chin Liang

Awe-Inspiring Rituals

A sugarcane pole, draped with a saree in the middle, balanced on the shoulders of two men. The men led a mother cradling her newborn to walk a loop around the temple as part of a ritual of gratitude to Lord Murugan for the blessing of a child.

Outside the temple, the discordant mix of Urumi Melam and Nadaswaram rose and fell in the tumult of the crowd. The never-ending kavadi procession sprawled through the sea of pilgrims, one after another.
The kavadi came in various forms. One devotee marched with his body fully pierced with small milk pots, and a Vel—a sacred spear— wedged precariously through his tongue. Another balanced an Alangara Kavadi crowned with a dome of peacock feathers. Metal rods fanned out from his flesh in gleaming tribute of devotion.

A man stood before a Murugan statue. Behind him, another man pulled on a claw of metal hooks that lifted flaps of skin from his back. One minute, he was lost in a spiritual trance. Next, his disoriented sway snapped into a sudden jerk and bolted toward the crowd. Caught off guard, the crowd instinctively backed up and almost simultaneously split into a serpentine path to let him through.

Pilgrims carrying their offerings to Lord Murugan Photo: Teh Chin Liang

A Festival of Inclusivity

If you are an avid photographer like me, Thaipusam is a day when you just can’t keep your finger off the shutter. Photography opportunities manifest almost everywhere and at any time, from the spectacle of the procession to the intense emotions of the devotees.

A pilgrim invited me to her panthal and handed me a plate of rice piled high, drenched in curry and topped with vegetables and spices. Another applied sandalwood paste on my forehead for blessing.
Before I knew it, I was no longer an outsider observing the festive moments; I had become part of the flurry of the celebration itself, which lures people from all walks of life.

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