Thousands of devotees throng Pudu temple

The ceremony was held to mark the completion of the refurbishment of the temple. During the renovation period, the deities were placed in a separate location. Prayers begun three days ago as the deities were placed back to its original position and today is the culmination of the ceremony.

The significance of the rituals is to reinstate the energy back into the deities.

The ceremony attracted devotees from all walks of life, from different states and different age groups.

“It’s a special event for all of us because it takes place once in every 12 years. We’ve completed the special prayers. I am really happy with the ceremony because it brings people throughout Malaysia together,” said Anandan Paramasivam from Shah Alam.

Sathiya Seelan from Johor Bahru added, “This is a grand celebration that attracted many people since it is Sunday. I come to this temple once a month and often perform my prayers here to ask for a better life.”

Ravindran Sukumaran and his girlfriend Stephanie Low, both in their early thirties, attended the ceremony for the first time.

“This is my first time participating in this ceremony. I need to be part of my culture. I also need to understand my religion,” said Ravindran.

Stephanie added, “It’s a very unique event and this is the first time I attended the event. We didn’t perform any rituals because it was too crowded. Two days ago we came to the temple and performed other rituals. It’s good for the younger generation to get involved in such ceremonies.”

Father and son duo who want to be known as Jayseelan and Ganesan can’t wait to be back 12 years from now.

“It was a very grand ceremony with with good prayers. We really can’t wait to come back in 12 years,” concluded Jayseelan.