As my hectic schedule eases its way through, I am beginning to gain back some of my sanity. All the late night reports and research has taken some toil on my body. I've been down with a slight runny nose since yesterday. Being a little paranoid from what I see from the news I was beginning to suspect the possibility of contacting bird flu. :/ After all, I did had chicken rice for lunch a few days back and the chicken looked kind of bloody. Despite that good old glorious bloody mess, I ignorantly wolved the plate of chicken rice in a record time.
Hmm... A little too late to regret? Edwina commented that it was probably due to the lack of sleep. I guess she's right, I do feel a little better after some intensive sleep and some cold medicine.
I was down at parklane with KW last Saturday evening when I bumped into something quite unexpected! As I was walking towards peace centre, I saw an entire army of black people! They were cheering, screaming, shouting and punching their fists in the air. Taken aback, I turned my head 90 degrees and saw police cars with the blinkers flashing on. I looked back and I saw roads being cordened off. Before I could blink my eyes, more Indians flooded the vicinity and were walking all over the main roads causing slight traffic congestion. I was stunned! A revolt? A mutiny? Mass protest and demostration from the Indian community? Isn't Singapore suppose to be a harmonious place right where people from all walks of life fuse together as one? Hmm.... But wait! There are burly looking Indian men who were carrying Kavadi(s) pierced onto themselves.
"It's Thaipusam!!!" KW shouted at over the surrounding noise. Cool... A festival celebrated by Indians all over the world. There were hundreds of devotees carrying offerings to their Hindu gods and there were some who pushed their devotion to the test by piecing themselves with Kavadi's into their flesh as a large offering to the Hindu god, Lord Subramaniam. I must say that their pain threshold is very high! That Kavadi looks heavy and it's pierced into this flesh without any visible wounds. Amazing! I'm just bewilded on why there is no blood flowing out the piercings. Wanting to test out whether it was painful to have all those piercings, I told KW to offer his arm as I pierced my fingernail into his flesh. *Ouch!* Not surprisingly, he brushed me off saying I was crazy. Ha.I seriously wanted to stand beside one of the Kavadi carriers and take a photo but decided not to. Afterall, this is something very sacred to the Hindus. There were many people whom I believed to be family and friends of the Kavadi carriers who were shouting and cheering to give the Kavadi people encouragement and support. Some even had drums as they hit a rhythm to motivate the people around.
Of course, not every Hindu devotee celebrated with extremities, some of them carried offerings on their heads decorated with flowers and religious ornaments. Many of them were walking barefoot as a test of their resilience. If i recall correctly, the devotees started off from a major Indian temple at tank road (near little India) and walked 3km to the next major temple.
I also noticed female Kavadi carriers. The ladies were carrying smaller version(s) of Kavadis but they still looked heavy. One middle aged woman was on the verge of tears as she hobbled in pain. Such is the power of faith and devotion. I can't help but to have a deep sense of respect for the devotees.
It was definitely an eye opening experience. I'm glad to be in Singapore. The fusion of different races and religions does really spice up the life and exposes different people to the cultures of other races.
Before I forget, today is V-day! Yep. It also coincidentally happens to be Kai Shun's (my younger bro) 16th birthday. Incidentally, Siew Lan's birthday also falls on the same day too! We're gonna have a belated celebration for her tomorrow. It must be fun to have your birthday falling on valentine's day. Some much love around. The entire campus is flooded with V-day booths, performances and love food. Flowers are going all around!! Wispie even distributed chocolates wrapped in pink papers to her friends. Way cool!
To everyone out there reading this. Happy V-day to you irregardless whether you are single or attached. Have you told someone you loved them yet? Look around you and you'll realise that actually, love is all around.
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