Devotees at the Nattukkotai Chettiar Temple performing prayers to mark Tamil New Year.
FESTIVE vibes filled the air last Friday as three major festivals –the Tamil New Year, Vaisakhi and Songkran (Thai New Year) – were celebrated with much gaiety by their respective communities.
Several Hindu temples, including the Nattukotai Chettiar Temple at Jalan Waterfall in Penang, were buzzing with activity as devotees performed prayers before enjoying vegetarian meals with their families to mark the Tamil New Year.
The day is also known as Varisha Piruppu or Puthandu (new year), which marks the first day of the first month of Chittirai in the Tamil calendar.
At Wadda Gurdwara Sahib in Jalan Gurdwara, a large crowd joined in the colourful Vaisakhi celebration, which commemorates the founding of the Khalsa order by Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh Guru in 1699.
It marks the first day of the second month of Baisakh in the Sikh calendar and is also a harvest festival, traditionally celebrated by the largely agrarian community of Punjab in India.
At the Chaiya Mangalaram Thai Buddhist Temple in Pulau Tikus, revellers had a merry time spraying each other with water during the Songkran celebration.
Devotees at the Nattukkotai Chettiar Temple performing prayers to mark Tamil New Year.
Devotees offering ghee lamps to express gratitude after seeking blessings from deities at the Nattukkotai Chettiar Temple in Jalan Waterfall.
A volunteer distributing ‘degh’, a sweet offering made of flour, sugar and ghee following the culmination of prayers to mark Vaisakhi at Wadda Gurdwara Sahib in George Town, Penang. – Photos: LIM BENG TATT/The Star
Revellers armed with super soakers to drench each other during the Songkran festival at the Wat Chaiya Mangalaram Temple in Burma Lane. -- Courtesy of KWONG WAH JIT POH
(third from right) Datuk Sri Valli Palaniappan, Visalachi Batumalai,29, Vqarun Krishnan,6, at the Nattukkotai Chettiar Temple at Waterfall Road joining in the prayers for the Tamil New Year on 14/04/15. ( April 14, 2023 ) - LIM BENG TATT/The Star.
Devotees enjoying a vegetarian meal as part of the Vaisakhi celebration at Wadda Gurdwara Sahib.
Visitors bathing a statue of Buddha at Chaiya Mangalaram Thai Buddhist Temple in Pulau Tikus during Songkran. — Photo courtesy of KWONG WAH JIT POH
