[VIDEO] Thaipusam – a devotee's sacrifice

THAIPUSAM, a temple festival celebrated by Hindus, is an important public ritual observed by the community between January and February each year, usually coinciding with the ‘Tishya’ star, known as ‘Pusam’ in Tamil. 

It is derived from ‘Thai’ which means tenth and ‘pusam’ meaning when the moon is at its brightest.  

The carrying of ‘Kavadi’ with piercings and hooks on one’s body symbolises the devotees’ devotion to Lord Murugan, while the color yellow is important in this festival as it symbolises the Hindu deity. It is worn by many devotees on this auspicious day. 

Lord Murugan is the son of the Goddess Parvati, who gave him a celestial spear, a ‘Vel’ to annihilate the evil demon Soorapadman and his brothers, restoring prosperity and well-being to humankind. 

Historically, Thaipusam started when a devotee known as Idumban – a man who brought food and prayer items for the Gods up a hilly area to offer prayers – which became a festival practiced to the present day. 

It is also believed that Idumban is seen as one of the guardians of Lord Muruga's temples. 

It is on this very day that devotees fulfil their vows by carrying milk pots known as Paal Kudam, rose waters, small and large-scale Kavadis which are decorated in many different ways. 

As for 56-year-old Suresh Singh Rashpal Singh, a staunch devotee for the past four decades, this year’s Thaipusam will be the most memorable as this marks his last year of making his vows with a Poo Kavadi (flower Kavadi). 

In an exclusive interview, The Vibes Culture and Lifestyle speaks to Suresh Singh Rashpal Singh about his devoted journey. 

“It’s been 40 years now and I hoped it can go more but because of age factor that we have to come to a point to change our ways to fulfil it (vows) in a different form,” he said.  

Suresh Singh Rashpal Singh also confessed that along his journey there were a fair share of ups and down as different devotees faced different challenges. 

“God is here to give us challenges and because my challenges are tough, I don’t avoid him (God).  

“With or without good things happening, my pleasure is to carry out my vows, I’ll do it on unconditional basis,” he asserts. 

He is a one of the founders of the ‘Jega and Suresh Poo Kadavi Group’ that focuses on using multi-tiered clusters of flowers decorated on the Kadavi.  

“We have been around for the past 40 years, and we use fresh flowers to decorate our Kadavis.  

“It weights roughly around 70 kilograms fitted with belt, statue, frames, arch, peacock feathers, light emitting diode strip that runs on batteries and more,” he explains, adding that each Poo Kavadi reaches to about 12 feet in height. 

When asked how he was feeling on the day and what the future would hold, seeing that he would no longer carry the Poo Kavadi – with the kindest smile, even as his eyes tried to hold back his tears, Suresh Singh Rashpal Singh replied: 

“Personally, it’ll be a tearful moment in my life. When you take it for 40 years and then you don’t, you feel like you’re not there any longer.  

“Thaipusam day, it brings sentiments to me. It makes me emotional.  

“I really don’t know how it is going to be like for me”. – The Vibes, February 10, 2023