GEORGE TOWN: Penang’s iconic silver chariot, which will be on its annual Thaipusam eve journey to the Waterfall temple, is hoping to depart earlier this year.
“We have requested to depart at 5.30am, earlier than the usual 7am, so the procession can end earlier and there will be enough time for prayers at the temple,” said Nagarathar Nattukottai Chettiar Temple trustee C. Veerappan.
“However, the permit is still pending approval by the authorities,” he told a press conference at the Nagarathar Kovil Veedu in Penang Street yesterday.
Veerappan said the request to leave earlier was made to better manage the long procession and religious rites.
In previous years, the chariot had arrived in Nagarathar Nattukottai Chettiar Temple in Jalan Kebun Bunga well past 2am the next day.
Veerappan said the number of bulls used to pull the chariot has been increased from 16 to 17 pairs to reduce the overall burden on the animals.
The procession enters its 169th year this weekend. The tradition started with a wooden chariot in 1859 for 35 years before the seven-metre-tall silver chariot was commissioned in 1894.
It was built in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu in India.
Veerappan added that the chariot has been polished and maintained by volunteers spanning three generations, reflecting the strong sense of heritage and continuity behind the annual event.
This year, he said, devotees will also be able to track the chariot’s journey from the Kovil Veedu through an app called “Silver Chariot Penang”.
As in the past eight years, the silver chariot will travel in tandem with the golden chariot, which departs from Arulmigu Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Queen Street to Arulmigu Sri Balathandayuthapani Temple, also known as Waterfall Hilltop Temple in Jalan Kebun Bunga.
The golden chariot, introduced in 2017, carries the Vel, the sacred spear of Lord Murugan.
With Thaipusam falling on a long weekend this year, Veerappan said organisers were expecting a larger crowd.
“We expect a turnout of about 1.2 million devotees,” he said.
Penang Hindu Endowment Board (PHEB) chairman RSN Rayer, meanwhile, said the golden chariot will depart at between 5am and 5.30am on Thaipusam eve.
He said the PHEB will work together with the Nattukottai Chettiar Temple to organise the movement of both chariots with the golden chariot leading the way.
Hindus will celebrate Thaipusam on Sunday to commemorate the occasion of Lord Murugan receiving the sacred spear from his mother, Goddess Parvati, to eliminate the evil demon Soorapadman.
Both the golden and silver chariots will make their return journey to their respective temples on Monday evening.
