Happy Deepavali and the God of War

After Hariya Aidilfitri comes Deepavali which is today, to be followed by Hariraya Aidiladha (haji) and then Christmas. Yes, Malaysia is rich in festives days. Happy Deepavali to all my friends who celebrate the occasion and a happy holiday to all others who will surely join them with a feast of muruku and other delicacies.

The celebration for Deepavali will of course be more at home than at Batu Cave as in the case of Thaipusam. I csn already see my neighbor's residence being lighted up since last night. I met my neighbor's wife Sunita on coming from prayer last night and she was pretty upset. Some stray cats had made a mass out of her beautifully colored rice arrangement ( called kolam) and she had to redo it all over again. Thank God i did not let my cat, Joened, lose last night. In fact we never allowed him to come out of the house because the last one we had called Awan, just disappeared after coming out in the morning to follow me to the madrasah a short distance away from our house. We never found him again even after a thorough search of the neighborhood. May God bless him.

It's funny how a pet cat that we love can just disappear like Awan, when several stray cats can be seen loitering and litering around in our neighborhood. Before Awan we also lost a cat which my daughter brought all the way from the Netherland as a beloved pet. She came out of the house for only a very brief period after getting used to our home. It was impossible for her to have walked away any distance at all for she was very timid and cautious of the new surrounding. Some of the stray cats we see around were so noisy amd quareellous that we sometime wished forbthem to dissappear, but they never did.

Batu Cave will not miss out in the celebration anyway for an open house reception will be held there to be attended by the PM, DPM and the other bigwigs of Barisan. It is expected that some 15,000 people will throng the sacred place now dubbed as the Mecca of Hinduism with the efigy of Lord Murugan, the Hindu God of War , reputed to be the largest in the world, guarding the place. It is also said that Batu Cave has become the highest training ground for all Hindu priests ( samis). The place that used to be a tourist attraction spot has now assumed a sacred mentle. Millions of Hindus will flock there during Thaipusam. There are all the signs that the township around the area wiil soon grow into another metroplitan area like Setapak.

Well, the open house reception in Batu Cave seems set to become as hectic and populous as the Thaipusam celebration. Batu Cave under the guardianship of Lord Murugan may yet become the centre of world Hiduism, giving Malaysia a new spot in world history. Happy Deepavali to all Malaysians.