# Eyes on Thaipusam 2011



## ishafizan (Jan 23, 2011)

date: 20th jan 2011
location: batu caves, selangor, malaysia

"On the Thaipusam day, most devotees of Lord Murugan offer him fruits and flowers of yellow or orange color - his favorite colors and also adorn dresses of the same color. Many devotees bear milk, water, fruits and floral tributes on pails hung from a yoke and carry them on their shoulders"
http://hinduism.about.com/od/pongal/a/thaipusam.htm

- i wore a yellow tshirt. good coincidence. 
- my 1st time shooting the festival
- only spent 4 hrs there b4 i ran out of space. lesson learnt :blushing:

here are 10 of fav pics taken. will definitely repeat and enjoy the experience again

1



2011_01_20_9999_358 by ishafizan, on Flickr

2.



2011_01_20_9999_270 by ishafizan, on Flickr

3.



2011_01_20_9999_93 by ishafizan, on Flickr

4.



2011_01_20_9999_451 by ishafizan, on Flickr

5.



2011_01_20_9999_389 by ishafizan, on Flickr

6.



2011_01_20_9999_287 by ishafizan, on Flickr

7.



2011_01_20_9999_309 by ishafizan, on Flickr

8.



2011_01_20_9999_676 by ishafizan, on Flickr

9.



2011_01_20_9999_21 by ishafizan, on Flickr

10.



2011_01_20_9999_749 by ishafizan, on Flickr


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## LaFoto (Jan 23, 2011)

Good capture of the overall atmosphere.
What is it about torturing oneself, or having/getting one's hair shaved off? 
It seems to be happening against someone's will in Photo 9, or so it seems. 
And 8 looks horrible ... shivers down my spine. Whoa :shock: !


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## peeper (Jan 23, 2011)

these are rich with life and color....i especially like your detail shots....


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## Trever1t (Jan 23, 2011)

these are exquisite! You've captured the action in such detail that it makes one feel (like mentioned above) as though I am there, witnessing the procession! These are award winners for me, outstanding!


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## ishafizan (Jan 24, 2011)

LaFoto said:


> Good capture of the overall atmosphere.
> What is it about torturing oneself, or having/getting one's hair shaved off?
> It seems to be happening against someone's will in Photo 9, or so it seems.
> And 8 looks horrible ... shivers down my spine. Whoa :shock: !


- Devotees shave their heads bald as a sacrifice their God during Thaipusam. A sign of humility and devotion.
heh, took 4 people to hold the child steady. no worries, it was all smiles after that.
For some time when i looked at thaipusam pics on the web, i found it quite horrifying looking at the body mutilations, but after some research, i began to understand the tradition and culture. 4 hours being there physically changed my perseptions. My summary: It is abt finding your inner strength, self sacrifice, self reflect, great endurance, victory and most importantly the expression of love. Not my place to question how they express it 



peeper said:


> these are rich with life and color....i especially like your detail shots....


Thank you. I try not to overdo it 
i'm experimenting with canon's Picture Style Editor for the colors/saturations/hue, viveza in cs4 and picasa for crop ... overkill, i know hehe had too much free time during the weekend 



Trever1t said:


> these are exquisite! You've captured the action in such detail that it makes one feel (like mentioned above) as though I am there, witnessing the procession! These are award winners for me, outstanding!


oh wow, U are *very* kind! :hug::


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## safeshot (Jan 24, 2011)

excellent shots, great eye to detail thanks for sharing:thumbup:


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## Frequency (Jan 24, 2011)

These are the exoteric part of religion, the lessons of torture leads to wisdom about tolerance,  which may not happen in reality 

Isha has done an excellent job, because (s)he could capture the spirit and frenzy behind the whole celebration

Regards


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