Matt Brandon: Thaipusam

Matt Brandon, aka The Digital Trekker, has just produced an audio slideshow using the SoundSlides platform of his photographs of Thaipusam in Penang. Some 800,000 Hindu Tamil and Chinese devotees of Muruga (also called Subramaniam), the Hindu God of War, gathered in Penang to celebrate Thaipusam, and Matt was there to record the images and ambient sound.

In contrast to the nervous energy from his pulsating photographs of the festival, Matt does an admirably calm and well articulated narration. A well done job.

Matt is now living in Malaysia, and travels all around South Asia and beyond on different assignments, and most often shoots people in their natural environment. He also authors an excellent blog called The Digital Trekker, so bookmark it if you haven't already.

As for Thaipusam, I read on Wikipedia that the largest Thaipusam celebrations take place in Singapore, Mauritius and Malaysia. The temple at Batu Caves, near Kuala Lumpur, often attracts over one million devotees!