JANUARY 31 — Last week, when my mother mentioned she was headed to the island of Penang to catch Thaipusam festival — the annual Hindu festival where Hindu worshippers carry “burdens” called Kavadis or pierce themselves with steel spikes as penance to Lord Murugan — I jumped at the chance to see how this eclectic religious procession unfolds up north.

I went with no expectations — well perhaps I imagined it would closely mimic its Singapore counterpart: that happens coincidentally on Penang Lane.

A day before I left, a friend said I was missing out because this year the Singapore event was “finally going to be fun again,” referring to the recent announcement that the state would allow pre-approved “music points.” For 40 years Singapore did not allow “live” music — a traditional part of the ceremony, and recently the festival has been marred by clashes between the police and devotees.

When I was young, I remember Thaipusam was a major event — my entire family would head down and I would see so many friends and acquaintances but somehow bit by bit over the years, the festival has been toned down... literally muted. I suspect, the noise, the exuberance, the self-mortification became a bit of an embarrassment. Perhaps, to the powers that be, it just wasn’t in line with the image of itself Singapore wanted to project.

But from my first minute in Penang, I knew nothing about Thaipusam celebrations in that part of the world had been toned down. On Jalan Utama on the eve of the festivities, there was no apparent end to the festivities. A full-scale carnival was unfolding in front of me as devotees gathered to greet a buffalo-led chariot that had wound its way through the city to arrive at the Nattukottai Chettiar Temple.

Rows of tents offered free buffets for attendees — everything from briyani to spicy vegetarian kway teow. And everywhere along the route were little silos of coconuts, simply sitting there in neat long piles. I asked my mother what those were for and she mysteriously suggested I wait and see.

Devotees smashing coconuts as the Silver Chariot makes its way to the hill-top temple in Penang on Thaipusam, January 23, 2016. — Picture by K.E. Ooi

The more we walked, the more the festival seemed to go on and as we proceeded towards the oncoming chariot — the stalls offering refreshments and buffets only got bigger and more elaborate with the music being played from each getting louder.

Weaving through the crowds were troops of young people that would spontaneously break out into dance or start singing accompanied by friends on drums.

Rather interestingly, the bigger pavilions and marquees were sponsored by brands you would never associate with a Hindu procession — from Bosch to Shangri-La Hotels — they were all represented.

And that signified to me that Thaipusam in Penang has been accepted as part of the city’s cultural heritage — not just something Indian but a part of the city and one that brands (not just “Indian” brands) wanted to be associated with.

This was also clear from the fact that lining the street were people of all ethnicities. Many of the devotees were non-Indian and the general excitement seemed to spread across the city — it was infectious, there was a sense of jubilation and a keenness to share in the jubilation that I honestly haven’t seen at Singapore’s version of the event for a long time. There are of course non-Indian Thaipusam participants in Singapore but proportionately far less than in Penang.

As we approached the chariot, I suddenly and happily discovered what all those coconuts were for. To fulfil vows and to bless the streets, every passerby was invited to break them onto the gravel — hundreds of people were dashing thousands of coconuts and the atmosphere was spellbinding.

All this along a residential road — another important distinction — as defending the citizenry from noise is one of the key defenses invoked by authorities in Singapore when there is any conversation  regarding Thaipusam restrictions.

In Penang — as far as I could see — the city dwellers were enthusiastically participating rather than complaining about the occasion. It’s a holiday on the island, as I think it should be in Singapore, and people seemed to understand that one day a year in the name of an important and ancient tradition isn’t too much to ask.

I think that’s the point; Thaipusam is important to Hindus in this region. In many ways it’s celebrated more deeply and enthusiastically in Singapore and Malaysia than in India. The form the festival has taken in this part of the world is unique and something we should all be proud of — regardless of our ethnicity, it’s part of our shared heritage.

My trip taught me this is something Penang has understood but that Singapore is struggling with. I hope the partial lifting of the ban on instruments is a sign we are coming around but the truth is music “points” is different from a street of devotees and their music.

It will be a while before we catch up with Penang, if at all.

*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.