The event every year
on the banks of Sungei Manik
brings a lot of cheer.
The day falls on a Pournami
known as a full moon day
in the month of chithrai ( April).
The hundred and a twenty-year-old temple
built by the Chettys of South India
is agog with excitement in ample.
The deity is adorned with fineries
abishekams follow the discipline
people watch them in a reverie.
Archanas are done in fervour
the devotees throng the sanctum
hard to keep them in a demeanour.
Much more could be seen
paal kudams and kavadis outnumber
the event takes a turn keen.
Those who carry the paal kudams
seem to walk in a trance
at times fast and times very slow.
The kavadis are so beautiful
one could see the artistic inclination
they present a sight wonderful.
One kavadi is shaped like a boat
the man who carries it
is dressed in fine silk and wears no coat.
He has a small sceptre
pierced through his cheeks
does not bother about the rupture.
Lemons are pricked on his back
they rest on sharp tongs
bells (salangai) are tied on his ankles.
He walks majestically all around
then runs making the loudest noise
creating a sensation in the surround.
“Ha ha” he shouts with joy
tears well and flows copiously
turns frantic and behaves like an impish boy.
His fast moves provoke the bells
they chime with an exciting sound
add to the frenzy in a tell.
The yearly Hindu festival
hosts three hundred shops of makeshift
a shopping opportunity in a carnival.
The small town Teluk Intan
reverberates the echoes all through
a fortnight of revelry all through the century.