Hindus all set to celebrate Thaipusam tomorrow

0

MIRI: The Miri Hindu Society is all set to celebrate Thaipusam tomorrow (Jan 27).

Its chairman Selvaraj Grapragasem said that some 60 devotees would join the celebration to be held at the Raghavan Building, Brooke Road here starting 8am.

“Only this number of devotees is expected as some have gone home to celebrate in their respective home towns,” he said.

On this day, the devotees will carry pots of milk from the ground floor to the rooftop of the Raghavan Building.

There, the pots will be placed at the Kamini Durga Easwari Amman alter with a special ‘pooja’ for Lord Muruga.

“This will be followed by ‘annathaanam’ or food to be served to the devotees,” Selvaraj said.

The activities will end at noon.

Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan/Feb).

It is not only observed in countries where the Tamil community constitutes a majority, but also in countries where the communities are smaller, such as Malaysia.

The word Thaipusam is a combination of the name of the month, ‘Thai’, and the name of a star, ‘Pusam’.

According to Selvaraj, it will be celebrated nationwide on Jan 27.

“This is an important religious occasion among the Indians where devotees will pay homage and offer prayers to Lord Muruga”.

While expecting for a good crowd to witness the event, Selvaraj hoped for good weather on the day, otherwise the devotees and everybody would be drenched.