Happy Deepavali Malaysia

Me in my Saree

Today is Deepavali or Diwali (the Festival of Light). There has been a lot of talk about 1Malaysia by the government politicians and a lot of criticism by ordinary Malaysians who think it's one of the government's empty promises. Well, my girlfriend Cheryl and I decided to do it our own way by getting to know our fellow Malaysians who celebrate Deepavali. Putting aside the politicians and the critics, I think 1Malaysia stand a better chance of success if ordinary Malaysians show more interest and understanding in our respective cultures. Malaysia is, afterall, malay and chinese and indian and iban and penan ...all the spectrum of backgrounds we bring with us to this land. On Thursday, I took the LRT and got off the Masjid Jamek stop. A short stroll down the river, I came to the Masjid India area, named after the mosque built there. Masjid India is an area dominated mainly my Indian muslims. My mission was to find a saree and experience some of the Deepavali atmosphere there. It didn't disappoint.

Shortly after crossing the river, I started to hear hindi music and smell the jasmine flowers which were made into colourful garlands. There were girls having their hands painted with henna.

A Decorated Kolam

I found my saree in one of the shops. The shop owner was a lady with a very fine saree on. She smiled and made some comments about me to the shopkeeper in tamil. He then smiled at me. I guess it was something nice they said? She picked a size 34 top for me. I put it on and it was tight. She assured me that that is the wya it's supposed to be. I dared not argue. I then asked her what time would be best to visit the temple the next day. Happy with my new saree, I strolled further down the street. There were a lot of people. Many were sitting in the bright gold jewellery shops. Chennai Jewellery, Bombay Jewellery and so forth. Many stared at me as I squeezed through the crowd. I thought "hopefully in a generation or two, this will be a norm i.e.chinese Malaysians celebrating Deepavali".

I stopped at one of the stalls where I bought some gold and turqoise bangles. Next to it, I stopped and got myself some murukku. I left Masjid India two hours later and moved on back to the Masjid Jamek area.

Clad in our sarees, Cheryl and I joined the Indian crowd at the Sri Mariamman temple this morning. Obviously, we were drawing a lot of attention. I was happy to find two other chinese young men who were there to shoot some photos. I thought to myself that when I move back to Malaysia, photography will be a good way to learn more about this country.

Cheryl turned out to be the perfect companion for this experience. Not only is she a great yoga teacher, but her interest in Indian culture and philosophy brings her to India for her personal pilgrimages. At the temple, I simply follow her lead.

First, we took off our shoes and then we washed our feet. We started with the main prayer hall where the chief deity Sri Maha Mariamman is in the middle. There were devotees lined up on either side of the centre space. Two priests held silver trays in their hands. On the trays were an oil lamp, some flowers and red powder. Cheryl guided me when we stood in line to receive blessings from the priests.

I placed some donation money on the tray and placed my hands close to the litted lamp. The priest dropped some red powder on my palms. I then used to powder to dot my forehead. Blessed am I!

We proceeded to the smaller halls, each time bending down to touch the floor before we enter. Cheryl explained to me that this is how we pay respect to the ground we were stepping into. As we watch the devotees pray and chant, Cheryl explained how the rotation of the lamp in their hand symbolizes different things. Clockwise for the Gods and anti-clockwise for those who have passed away.

On one of the prayer halls, devotees circled the middle alter of jasmine flowers and oil lamps. I was told that one could circle it 9 times or 108 times as they chant. holding an oil lamp. I followed those who clasp their palms together when one of the devotees waved at me to join in. The moist and scent of jasmine was really hypnotising. I glanced up once and saw the chart on the wall showing the position of the nine planets within the hall. One of the devotees in front of me poked a hole into his counting paper each time he completed a circle.

As I completed the nine circles, a chinese man took photographs of me. It was quite hillarious as he whispered "I'm such a bad photographer!" each time I hear the click on his camera.

We left the hall into the open space when a group of indian boys asked us to take some pictures with them. Strange, isn't it? It was harmless fun, I guess.

We stayed a little longer discussing why there are no guided tours for such things in Malaysia. I know many of my foreigner friends would be interested in seeing this side of Malaysia rather than just going to a tourist spot to snap pictures. Well, the more cultured of my friends anyway.

All in all, we left quite happy. Hinduism is truly an open religion. It is not money focussed. It is open to everyone. I felt very welcomed at Sri Mariamman today. I would recommend any visitor to Malaysia this special opportunity to share the experience of The Festival Of Light.