Thaipusam celebration a blessing for kavadi designers
IPOH: With Thaipusam falling on Jan 25, these are busy days indeed for kavadi designers J. Lawrence Dev, 37, and his friends, who dub themselves The Kavadi Masters (TKM) Group.
The owner of Maharaj Event Designer and his six close friends have their hands full trying to complete various kavadi designs according to the demands of the devotees.
The resumption of Thaipusam processions after the Covid-19 pandemic has proven to be a boon for them, especially after their income took a nosedive when the Movement Control Order (MCO) limited the size of the celebration.
“Although I provide other services like wedding receptions, nonetheless, the Thaipusam celebration is the one I look forward to the most because making kavadi is a hobby of mine and I can make an additional income,” said Lawrence when met at his workshop here.
The father of two said the TKM Group has been actively making kavadi for the past 20 years, with the participation of nearly 40 people in the group.
He said that each year, they would receive 12 to 15 orders.
“This year, alone, we have received 12 orders, including a chariot,” he said, adding his customers would usually place their orders in June before the Thaipusam fever kicks in after November. That’s when we will begin work earnestly as it takes about two weeks to a month to make one kavadi, depending on the design.”
He explained that the minimum price of making a kavadi could be around RM3,000 and it could go up as high as RM30,000, depending on the material used based on the request of the devotees.
He said most of the kavadi they produced were from styrofoam board because there was a lot of demand for this material in Ipoh compared to other places.
Lawrence, who began showing an interest in making kavadi when he was 15, said he learned it from a ‘master kavadi-maker’, with the heaviest one he had ever made weighing 60kg.
Thaipusam is observed annually in the month of ‘Thai’ in the Tamil calendar, which usually falls either in January or February to commemorate the act of Goddess Parvati presenting the ‘vel’ (lance) to her son Lord Muruga as an embodiment of her ‘shakti’ or power to vanquish the evil Soorapadman and restore peace and well-being.
In some places, the processions would see devotees carrying kavadi, which is a beautifully and elaborately decorated structure, on their shoulders, often with body piercings attached to them in a painstaking ritual as a mark of sacrifice and paying respect to Lord Muruga. While preparing for Thaipusam, the devotees also fast and take part in various religious activities to cleanse themselves.
Apart from carrying kavadi, devotees also carry the Paal Kudam, which is a pot containing cow’s milk as an offering to Lord Muruga.