Thaipusam in California: A spiritual trail, 500 walkers, and a feast

In California, 15 years ago eight Indians mapped out a Thaipusam trail in honour of the festival, which honours lord Murugan. This year, they create a new trail, guiding 500 walkers and 100 volunteers

“Vel vel Muruganukku” and “Arohara!” are uttered by eight men in cycling gear as they ride and push their bikes towards the Shiva Muruga temple in Concord, California, from San Ramon. The year was 2010 and it was an epic journey for these men. The map they drew out that day, now called the Thaipusam trail is trekked by thousands of devotees in California.

“Planning the trail itself was an experience. Remember, this was before Google maps. We rode our bicycles, mapping the route,” explains Solai Alagappan, 53, who initiated the walk. “Walking to Murugan temples during Thaipusam is a 400-year-old tradition in South India. I have walked to the Dhandayuthapani Swamy temple at Palani in Tamil Nadu and inspired by this tradition, wanted to organise a similar walk in the US,” says Solai who works for a global tech company in California. In the first year, he had 50 people sign up to walk the 21-mile trail.

In 2015, Solai and his friends went on to formally establish Pathayathirai, a not-for-profit, with the sole purpose of organising walks and hikes that bring the community together and support their spiritual and physical well-being. Among their initiatives, the Thaipusam trek has garnered a steady following and in some years has had over 3,000 walkers.

This year for Thaipusam, a new trail which leads to the Velmont Spiritual Centre in Mountain House was created by the same team. At the temple perched at the highest point of the open grasslands, sits an aimpon (panchaloha) statue of lord Murugan. “Once we did the recce and confirmed the route, we did another four rounds by foot to get the operational aspects covered. The scenic trail to the base of the hill is 4.5 miles and we created a girivalam (a path around the hill) that’s two miles,” says Solai. Being the first year, the team made a conscious decision to allow only 500 walkers, a majority of whom were from California, but also included people from Washington DC and Boston as well.

Before walking uphill, the walkers reach a thaneerpandal (resting spot) set up by a group of volunteers. “Our volunteers made panakam, buttermilk, tea, mini samosas, sundal and packed a shot of energy treats for the walkers. In my last trip to India, I stopped at these small stores in and around Tamil Nadu, what we call pottikadai and curated a giveaway. The pack included mini murukku, orange mittaai, puli mittai, jujubes, fig halwa, and achocolate bar. We wanted to support small business owners,” shares Alagu AL, an accountant who is the co-ordinator for the thaneerpandal.

The team reiterates that the initiative is volunteer driven. “For example, Ganesh Babu overseas the permits, communications and registrations. Uday works on the trail operations. There are so many more people who come together to make this walk happen. Breakfast for walkers and volunteers was cooked in home kitchens near the location. Over 100 volunteers actively participated to support the walk,” they say.

Across the globe the pusa saapaadu (lunch) is a significant part of the Thaipusam celebrations and viewed as prasadam. “We served elai saapaadu (banana leaf meals) at the neighhourhood school. Volunteers gathered the previous day and cut over 200 kilograms of vegetables and helped with the prep work. The dishes were cooked in the Dublin kitchen of Anjappar Hotels, as it’s the nearest to the Velmont temple,” explains Selvam Sethuraman, 47, and Meyyappan Ramanathan, 61, active volunteers who spearheaded the food and service operations for the walk.