Lunch @ Thaipusam festival

I shot these pictures inside Sri Thendayuthapani Temple, today


Lots of Hindus met there to celebrate Thaipusam, the full-moon festival held on the first month of the new year.
In this occasion, hundreds of devotees offer their prayers and fulfill their vows.
Most of them come from Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, in Little India, and walk all way long to Tank Road, a journey of about 4 km.
Someone is barefooted, some people wear sandals with spikes on their soles, someone pierces his/her flesh with spikes and hooks: they can prevent them from closing their mouth or be placed on their tongue. I've seen a lot piercing their chest or their back with spikes, golden bells and lemons.
Strong devotees also carry a kavadi, semicircular metal structures decorated wih flowers, peacock feathers and lights. Its weight can be up to 60 kg! Hooks attached to the kavadi are pierced through the flesh to keep it in place.

Celebrated in every indian community, Thaipusam is special in Singapore and in Malaysia, because in these countries it still includes flesh mortification, that is now prohibited in India, since 1950s.

In spite of these apparently cruel rituals, everything it's colorful and joyous:
getting closer to the temple, you can hear music and songs from the inside, where the sanctum is showered with milk for hours, continuously.
All these people wear festive robes, very bright, and the kids are gorgeous!
Everyone's given food and drinks and everyone looks happy and faithful...

Here you have some images of this event!