Jim Beaux
09-16-2008, 04:23 PM
"POLITICAL stability and economic prosperity were among the things that members of the Hindu transsexual community prayed for at an annual religious festival held in a temple in Pandamaran near Klang recently.
The prayer session was the climax of a five-day celebration dedicated to the Hindu presiding deity for transsexuals, the goddess Bahuchara Mataji.
During the celebrations, which began on July 21, 2008, several hundred devotees from Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar and Europe fulfilled their vows by carrying pal kudam (milk pots) and thee chatti (earthen pots with fire).
Dressed in green sarees, the official colour for Bahuchara Mataji, the devotees chanted and recited mantras as they performed religious rites.
The prayers were led by the community’s matriarch, M. Asha Devi, 64, as well as several other community elders.
Asha Devi said the transsexual community hoped that better times were ahead, given the hardship faced by many due to the rising inflation."
More @ http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/8/1/central/1686989&sec=central
The prayer session was the climax of a five-day celebration dedicated to the Hindu presiding deity for transsexuals, the goddess Bahuchara Mataji.
During the celebrations, which began on July 21, 2008, several hundred devotees from Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar and Europe fulfilled their vows by carrying pal kudam (milk pots) and thee chatti (earthen pots with fire).
Dressed in green sarees, the official colour for Bahuchara Mataji, the devotees chanted and recited mantras as they performed religious rites.
The prayers were led by the community’s matriarch, M. Asha Devi, 64, as well as several other community elders.
Asha Devi said the transsexual community hoped that better times were ahead, given the hardship faced by many due to the rising inflation."
More @ http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/8/1/central/1686989&sec=central