Thomas Tan
A small Hindu temple occupying a little space outside the corner of a ground floor unit of a three storey commercial complex may be hidden from view on the main road and may seem unknown to many of its existence.
However, when the Kuil Sri Madurai Veeran Sanggili Karuppan temple at Section 21 SEA Park in Petaling Jaya celebrated its 5th anniversary last Sunday April 22, 2012, more than 300 devotees from near and far attended the celebration offering prayers and in return seek blessings from the deity Madurai Veeran.
A new three-and-a half feet tall statue of Madurai Veeran sporting a large thick moustache and carrying a sword in his right hand stands majestically on the altar replacing a framed picture of him previously.
On the altar were offerings of fruits, flowers, coconuts, betel leaves, cigars and other prayer items to Lord Madurai Veeran who is worshipped as a heroic figure and a protector of the people.
The temple is owned by Suresh Balasundram, 40, and his wife Raji Paramasivam, 38, takes care of the day to day maintenance of the temple.
“We have been here since 2007 and the devotees grew in number as the devotion spread fast far and wide, even outside the SEA park area,” said Raji Paramasivam who helped her husband in his car wash business.
Devotees and guests were served curry mutton rice for lunch under a large tent setup opposite the temple.
A devotee Virginia C. Telan from Damansara Damai, KL who came with her three children said: “We came here to offer our prayers of thanks to Lord Madura Veeran for protecting us from any harm.”
Among the guests present included SEA Park Poh Toh Association chairman Gan Keng, SEA Park Rukun Tetangga deputy chairman Cliff Yin, PJU federal coordinator Dato’ Dr Wong Sai Hou, Dato’ C. K. Lim, Voice of Women KL and Selangor president Liew Chew Hoong and BN coordinator for Kampung Tunku constituency Kelvin Chong,
The temple received strong support from the local Chinese community for the celebration. Chinese vegetable sellers at the SEA Park market contributed 30 kg each of tomatoes, cucumber, potatoes and smaller quantities of chilli and other ingredients and four Chinese organisations and individuals who included the SEA Park Poh Toh Association donated a goat each to make mutton curry.
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