THAIPUSAM

This is surely one of the most impressive festivals in the Hindu calendar, celebrated in the Batu caves in Kuala Lumpur. The festival is celebrated in Tamil Nadu, India. Devotees inflict cruelty on themselves before their procession: cheeks and tongues pierced with needles, hooks in the torso and back on which limes (symbol of purity) are hung; large metal structures, weighing around 40 kg, attached with spikes and hooks stuck into the skin... the list of possibilities is long. The devotee undergoes a strict 48-day preparation.