Devotees assist woman in labour on Thaipusam
Thaipusam is an important time for Hindus, with celebrations carried out annually at Sri Subramaniar Temple in Batu Caves. The festivities remain relatively lowkey this year due to the ongoing pandemic, but that didn’t stop devotees from showing the true Malaysian spirit.
Several devotees at the temple rushed to help a Malay woman in labour who had been en route to the hospital to deliver her baby. Her husband had stopped their car just across the temple when the devotees heard cries for help. To help out, they held up their vesthis around the car to offer her privacy.
Baby delivered amid Thaipusam celebrations
On 18th January 2022, during the Thaipusam celebrations, LK Savantharaja took to Facebook around 9AM to share about the incident which he hailed as a “happy Thaipusam story”.
A group of devotees at Sri Subramaniar Temple in Batu Caves were alerted of a woman’s labour pains from her cries and a female devotee’s shouts for help. Other devotees did not hesitate to rush over and help the mother-to-be, offering their garments, or vesthis, to block the car so she could deliver her baby in privacy.
Image credit: LK Savantharaja
According to him, the traditional garments were given to the devotees walking into the temple with their Paal Kudam to fulfil their vows – which is a ritual part of the Thaipusam celebrations.
A photo Savantharaja shared showed a man and a woman holding up their garments to shield the woman in labour inside the car from onlookers. Other photos showed devotees surrounding a four-wheel drive, looking ready to offer help, as paramedics came to the woman’s aid.
Savantharaja also said that he managed to find a knife for use in cutting the umbilical cord, which was carried out by a female devotee.
Image credit: LK Savantharaja
The pregnant woman gave birth to a baby girl around 7.24AM, right before the arrival of the ambulance. Savantharaja ended his story by thanking everyone who offered assistance to the woman, and offering blessings to her and her newborn baby.
The Facebook post received nearly 2,000 shares and over 3,500 reactions at the time of writing, with many also wishing the mother and her baby well in the comment section.
In a report by The Sun Daily, the couple had apparently stopped their vehicle near the temple, under a flyover, when the wife experienced contractions at around 7.20AM.
Savantharaja was quoted in the article saying that devotees were “fast to respond” and offered to hold up their “vesthis and sarees to ensure the pregnant mother was comfortable before she delivered her baby.”
Woman in labour assisted by devotees on Thaipusam
Although full-blown celebrations were not possible this year, devotees kept their spirits high to carry out religious duties and also show goodwill to their neighbours regardless of cultural differences. These devotees exemplified this with their kind act to the couple amid the Thaipusam celebrations.
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Cover image adapted from: LK Savantharaja and LK Savantharaja