thaipusam

in pictures.
because i did a proper post but there was a blackout in my block and i lost the post >_<
and i cannot draw upon the same emotions and expressions, twice. the magic has been lost

and thaipusam WAS magic. it was beautiful, albeit a bit quiet along the route. (is it me or were the urumi melam players not getting their thaalam on as much this year?) but at least we got to revel in "Urumi Wars" (good one navan) aka the Battle of the Bands of the indian folk percussion troupes of singapore.

the guy thuls and i watched from preparation, to mounting his kavadi, to getting pierced.




















the view from the kavadi preparation tent in the courtyard of the perumal temple. the people density was kerazy, and so was the cacophony and the colours. it was surreal being in there..i swear i got a high out of it, just standing there
















the one kavadi i still can't get over. it looked even more stunning when it glittered in the evening sky when we caught up with it later as it passed selegie complex




















look who thuls and i spotted!
ok you can't see his face but that's local "celeb" jay nesh (he appears on central and things), who's quite a looker in person. i've had an irrational crush (yes IRRATIONAL) crush on him for the longest time. my dad says not to bring home a guy like him (i dunno if its cos of the way he looks with his innumerable piercings and his ever-changing hair colour, or cos of his profession) but i still have the hots for him *facepalm*


















i will never be able to fathom/understand penance and devotion unless i take part in the procession myself carrying a paalkudam. it is unfulfilling, being merely a curious onlooker for 18 years 10 months and counting.
there's this one picture in my hall of my dad carrying a 2-year old me during thaipusam (with his ray ban wayfarers on and everything *wink*) and i remember how much fun i've had going for it for years and how much joy it gives me just to be lost in the crowds and taking in the atmosphere.

i remember sitting under a thaneer panthal (refreshment stall) tentage while my grandma and older cousins gave out free idiyappam all afternoon. i was like 4 (?) then and my attention span and stamina was limited. plus i think i couldn't take anymore of random strangers pinching my cheeks cos they thought it cute that an ickle kid was giving out food -__-
it wasn't only the random strangers, it was also all my grandma's friends and things. speaking of which, just 2 weeks back while i was at the temple for the anjineyar prayers, aatha intro-ed me to the lady who used to bathe me when i was a newborn. she's sort of a professional midwife as i was later told but being told that this was the lady who bathed me was a bit of a *wide eyed momentary shock* moment. ok yeah, so the thing is, my family and i used to run into a million and one people we know (cos practically all of the local indian population descends upon the area that day innit) and they'd always cheek-pinch !_! it happend up till i was about 14. jaysus. i mean, muruga. ok whatever, i'm becoming trivial now.

i think i'll always be a curious onlooker, no matter how old i get and how many thaipusam processions i go to