Compiled by IYLIA MARSYA ISKANDAR, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN
THAIPUSAM celebrations in Kulim, Kedah, this year will proceed without kaavadis and temporary stalls for the planned Maha Kumbhabhishekam, Makkal Osai reported.
The festival at the Nattukkottai Nagarathar Sri Thandayuthapani temple has over the years attracted many devotees from nearby towns.
Located along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, the temple was built in 1939 by the Nattukkottai Chettiar community.
The temple, which had its first consecration on Jan 22, 1999, after upgrading works, will undergo its Maha Kumbhabhishekam (reconsecration) after 24 years on Feb 1.
Preparation works for the ceremony will begin on Jan 30 and the Mandala Abhishekam ceremony will continue for 48 days after the reconsecration ceremony.
> The daily also reported that a small town in Tamil Nadu celebrated the Ponggal festival with its very own “rooster jallikattu”.
Jallikattu is a type of bull run where youths try to bring down specially bred bulls.
But Tiruchengode town in Namakkal district opted to introduce the rooster jallikattu to replace the bull to avoid the inevitable injuries and even deaths.
The rooster run takes place inside a circle measuring about 9ft.
Participants are spun around a few times until they are disoriented to make catching the rooster more entertaining.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
