Batu Caves is among Malaysia’s most popular attractions. In 2005 alone, some 2,250,000 visitors arrived from India to Malaysia’s capital and majority of the figure headed to Batu Caves.

It receives most attention during the Thaipusam festival, which celebrates two events: the birthday of Lord Murugan, the son of the god Siva and his wife Parvati, and Lord Murugans defeat of the demon Soorapadman with the aid of a powerful lance given to him by his mother.

The festival, which falls on February 1, is a religious festival which attracts worldwide attention, thanks to the presence of dedicated worshippers who enter into a trance and carry body-piercing ornate frames known as kavadi as part of their devotion.In 2006, more than 1.5 million pilgrims turned up. The celebration started with an early morning gathering at the Sri Mahamariamman Temple in town and culminated with ceremonies at the Temple Cave.

Batu Caves first came to public attention in 1878 when American naturalist William Hornaday followed the smell of guano up a jungle track, and saw the huge natural limestone caves he described in his journals as perfectly resembling St Peters in Rome.

At the time, the site lay in thick jungle, some 13km away from the city centre, and was only accessible to determined hikers accompanied by local guides.

However, Hornaday’s enthusiasm sparked wide interest, and before long, eager visitors beat a regular path to the caves.

By 1892, the site had become a favourite among Hindu devotees, who set up a shrine to Lord Murugan.

While early visitors had to scramble over piles of rock, the construction of wooden and finally stone steps later made the temple accessible to less determined visitors. The addition of a 42.7metre tall statue of Lord Murugan in January last year has confirmed Batu Caves as one of Selangor’s premier destinations.

Most visitors start off at ground level with a visit to the Art Gallery Cave located near the foot of the steps. It showcases statues and pictures of Hindu gods as well as scenes from the Ramayana. Visitors enter via a walkway stretching over a dirty-looking pond (which would look much better if stocked with proper plant life and colourful fishes).

However, the pictures and sculptures inside the gallery are beautiful. Painted in exotic colours, and with such attention to detail that you can see individual eyelashes and fingernail ridges, this exhibition could easily command an hour of attention and be counted among the nations top attractions if only there were more information available.

While those who pay for the audio tour sold at a kiosk near the main complex entrance can listen to a pre-recorded tape describing some of the more popular gods, visitors who missed this added service only see the names of the gods stencilled on the walls in Tamil and English.

There are no notices to tell visitors what they are seeing, and no guides to retell the famous scenes depicted so beautifully.

As such, those unfamiliar with the rich narrative of Hindu mythology walk in, exclaim with surprise and delight, and then leave quickly as there is no incentive to linger.

It’s a wasted opportunity that should be rectified. Individual notices to describe the roles played by Laksmi, the goddess of wealth and good fortune, Hayagriva, the horse-headed god of knowledge and wisdom, and their colleagues would add interest. There is also no opportunity to buy leaflets and books retelling the most famous legends at the gallery entrance.

For most visitors, the main attraction is the Temple Cave, which lies at the top of a flight of 272 steep steps leading to the main cave entrance 100m above the ground. At the end of the climb, visitors find themselves dwarfed again by the cavern’s 100m high ceiling, awed by the exotic rock formations. Visitors can rest, snack and drink at the hawker stalls before mounting another flight of steps to visit the main temple.As this is a place of worship, service times are clearly marked so as to allow devotees to pray without being disturbed by casual visitors.

As Hornaday pointed out over a 100 years ago, there are few words that adequately describe this shrine in the sky: gorgeous, stunning, and vast simply don’t do it justice. To record the moment, admirers take pictures, and buy postcards on the way out, just in case their shots disappoint. The only caveat is the damp patches on the narrow leaf strewn stairs that make the final walk up a very slippery affair, especially for elderly guests already fatigued from the big climb.

Also, there is rubbish strewn along rock shelves and edges that could easily be removed by daily cleaning. The final attraction is the Dark Cave, which lies three quarters of the way up the big staircase. Despite a recording inviting visitors to enter, many bypass the path possibly because there is no sign explaining that this is the kick-off point for adventure and education expeditions. The Star/Asia News Network

Source: The Brunei Times

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 3rd, 2007 at 7:23 pm and is filed under Festivals & Holidays, Art & Artists, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.