The Hindu festival of Thaipusam commemorates the day when Goddess Pavarthi gave her son Lord Muruga an invincible lance with which he destroyed evil demons. It is celebrated by some two million ethnic Indians in Malaysia and Singapore.  When prayers are answered, devotees fulfill vows by piercing parts of their body before carrying a 'Kavadi' along a four kilometre route. Here, a Hindu devotee makes his way towards the Batu ...