After the Chariot procession on 7 Feb 2009, I took some moments of rest before heading to Serangoon Road. The MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) became my most reliable mode of transport for 7 and 8 Feb 2009. There was a number of traffic redirection that day and slow traffic was expected along the stretch of Serangoon Road because of the Thaipusam festival.
By the time when I reached the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, it was about 11.15 p.m. There was a crowd inside the temple already. I was pretty tired from the long day. I had woke up pretty early that day for a work-related event and after that, I was travelling from Tank Road to Serangoon Road to Chinatown area, then back to Tank Road and then to Serangoon Road. I was already pleased that I managed to have the motivations to carry myself to the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple that night. My original plans were to keep myself awake till 2 a.m. to see the first group of the spike kavadi carriers start their procession from Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple. However, by 12 midnight, I realised that I was too exhausted from the day, and had to make some changes to my original plans.
There was such a crowd inside the crowd that I decided to just watch groups of devotees who were carrying milk pots on their head start their procession from Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple to the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple in Tank Road. While I was watching the procession from the outskirts of the temple, I started conversations with a few Indians. I found out that a suitable time to visit the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple would be in the morning of the next day since the temple would be relatively less crowded by then, and it would be brighter at that time of the day.
Interestingly, I had found out much later that fellow blog-friend, Eastcoastlife, was actually in Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple to do a coverage of the Thaipusam festival. If I had known that she was inside, I might have attempted to overcome my fears for crowds and visit the temple. Meantime, please do read the Thaipusam-related posts that were written by Eastcoastlife:
Thaipusam Festival 2009 - WS
Love - RT
Please do read her posts to get a glimpse of what goes on inside the temple that very night.
Meantime, in order to catch a bus home, yours truly walked from Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple to Selegie Road that night. It was a relatively peaceful walk. The route to Selegie Road was also the route that devotees would take to reach Tank Road. As such, I had the privilege to observe groups of devotees making their walk of faith to Tank Road. The volunteers and personnel who regulated the traffic that night deserved a note of thanks to ensuring that the roads were safe for the devotees to travel on.
This is not the end of my Thaipusam related posts. Please stay tuned to find out more.
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