Sep 5, 2010 , Singapore
HUNDREDS of Hindu devotees flocked to the Sri Vairavimada Kaliamman Temple in Toa Payoh yesterday, all in the hope of seeing and receiving blessings from a visiting deity from Kerala, India.
The deity, Sree Bhagavathy Amman, is popular among women who seek comfort from problems such as family abuse and alcoholism.
This is the first trip the idol, measuring about 30cm, has taken outside of India. It hails from the 5,000-year-old Chakkulathukavu Sree Bhagavathy Temple in Kerala.
It is a smaller version of the main idol, which is said to have been fashioned naturally out of a rock and cannot be removed from the temple. About 1,000 Singaporeans make the trip to Kerala to visit the deity each year.
In Singapore since Thursday, the idol was displayed at Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Serangoon Road before being moved to Toa Payoh on Friday evening. It will return to India tonight.
Yesterday, a group of devotees sat barefoot on the floor of the Sri Vairavimada Kaliamman Temple chanting the 1,008 names of the deity, each signifying a different quality of her. Devotees offered the deity a plate of flowers at the end.
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