Almost 16,000 devotees take up milk pots and kavadis at Thaipusam 2025

SINGAPORE – Semiconductor engineer Saravanan Rajasuran, 30, pierced with several rods as part of his kavadi, braced himself on Feb 11 for his maiden Thaipusam walk under the blazing sun.

During a prayer in early 2024, he had vowed to bear the kavadi in the hope of having a child. His daughter, Shayna, was born on Dec 7, 2024.

“I am here after 21 days of preparation,” he said, adding that his friends had helped set up the kavadi.

He was among almost 16,000 devotees who registered to fulfil their vows to Lord Murugan, a major deity in the Tamil Hindu community, to whom the festival is dedicated.

Most of the participating devotees undertook to carry the paalkudam, or milk pot, while around 300 devotees carried spike kavadis, also known as alagu kavadis, which involves piercings of the torso, face and tongue.

Devotees set off in batches from the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Serangoon Road and walked 3.2km to the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple in Tank Road from 11.30pm on Feb 10 to almost midnight on Feb 11.

The annual event also attracted instrumentalists, whose beats inspired joyful dancing among the kavadi bearers.

Mr N.J. Pravin, 23, attended the major Hindu festival to play the thavil, a traditional percussion instrument, and cheer for his cousin, a seasoned kavadi bearer of 18 years.

The second-year sociology student from the Nanyang Technological University said: “Kavadi carriers are motivated by live percussion music.”

While women do not carry the alagu kavadis, Ms Nusha Dakshyni, 25, was among the few women who took up the paal kavadi – a wooden frame bearing milk pots at its sides – which does not require body piercings.

She said: “I underwent a vegetarian fast for 30 days before carrying this kavadi. My mother did this for several years before I started.”

The sociology undergraduate from the University at Buffalo, who was participating in Thaipusam for the second time, added: “I do this because I feel very calm and spiritually grounded. This atmosphere gives me the feeling of home.”

With the much higher turnout than Thaipusam 2024, which drew more than 12,000 devotees, some participants at the 2025 event faced delays at the Tank Road temple.

In total, the 2025 event saw 30,000 visitors, including devotees who took up paalkudams and kavadis, their families and friends who came to support them, and other worshippers who visited the temples for the festival.

Ms Saritha Rajaraman, 40, who carried a paalkudam, said that there was some confusion over queues for participants at the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple. “This led to overcrowding and caused some tired devotees to lose their composure,” she added.

Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam, who was guest of honour at the festival, commended the arrangements, but noted that “something can be done” about the long waiting periods to enter the temple in Tank Road.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines, Mr Shanmugam said: “Quite a few people mentioned that they were waiting for a very long time. The elderly and those carrying milk said they had been waiting for two, 2½, even three hours.”

Mr Shanmugam added that he had met the management of both temples involved in the event to discuss possible solutions.

“The main issue is that when people come in front of the deity at the sanctum, they want to spend some time. If they are asked to leave quickly – after having waited for hours – they understandably want at least four or five minutes. You can imagine if 10 people spend five minutes each, that’s an hour.”

He said: “The two temples, the Hindu Endowments Board, as well as the management of the Tank Road temple, will need to come together to explore solutions – perhaps using technology or releasing people in batches.”

Remarking that he does not yet know “what is feasible”, he said he would speak with the authorities to see what could be done.

Tamil Murasu has approached the Hindu Endowments Board for comment. TAMIL MURASU