Prayers at temples light up Deepavali do

KUALA LUMPUR: The excitement of the Deepavali celebration is felt nationwide when Hindu devotees took the opportunity to leave their homes since early morning to perform their religious rituals at temples.
In the national capital, Indian families visited the temples in their respective areas since early in the morning for prayer rituals. Among the major temples focused on was the Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Jalan Tun H S Lee, which was filled with devotees as early as 7am.
After performing the rituals, they visited the houses of families and friends to fete the Festival of Light which was also participated by those from the other communities to enjoy special treats for the festival.
Other than attending Deepavali open house, the public also took advantage of the public holiday to spend time with their families and perform other leisure pursuits.
A Bernama survey around Little India, Brickfields and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman here found the areas a bit deserted and many outlets were closed.
In Klang, SELANGOR, the Sri Nagara Thandayuthapani Temple was the focus of Hindu devotees in the district to pray with their family members.
A check at the 120-year-old temple, which was located Jalan Tengku Kelana or ''Little India'', here found people had started to throng the temple since 9am.
In MALACCA, Hindus started filling up temples in the state since 8am to perform religious rituals in conjunction with the Deepavali celebration.
Other than Hindu devotees, foreign tourists also visited the temples such as Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthi Temple in Jalan Tokong, among the oldest temples in Malacca and was opened in 1781, to witness and experience for themselves the celebration and enjoy the beauty of the temple which had elements of Dutch architecture.
In Seremban, NEGRI SEMBILAN, about 200,000 Hindus celebrated Deepavali moderately by using the 200-year-old Sri Balathandayuthapani Temple to focus on religious activities.
State Human Resources, Plantation and Non-Islamic Affairs Committee chairman J. Arul Kumar said the Deepavali celebration would shine a new light to all Hindus towards a better future.
In PERAK, the state government did not have any official event for Deepavali, but the festival was still feted merrily by Hindus of all ages despite the drizzle in several areas since early morning.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, via his message on Facebook, hoped the festival this time could further strengthen family values, friendship and goodwill.
The state level Deepavali celebration would be held on Nov 11 at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Buntong, Ipoh with Sultan Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah scheduled to launch it.
In JOHOR BARU, Mentri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian attended a Deepavali open house organised by his Special Officer, M. Murugan at Dewan Majlis Bandaraya Iskandar Puteri, Taman Universiti, here.
In George Town, PENANG, Hindus began performing their obligations by visiting temples including Sri Mangalayanagi Amman Temple in Bukit Tengah here to perform religious rituals.
Deputy Chief Minister ii Dr P. Ramasamy held his open house at his residence Seberang Prai which saw hundreds of people, including state and federal leaders, attending the event.