Tamil speaking Hindus worldwide celebrate an annual event called “Thai Poosam”. In Ventura
County, a Tamil-Hindu book club organized the event this year. It involves devotees carrying semicircular wooden structures (Kavadi) and pots of milk. At the end of the spiritual walk, the Kavadis and the pots of milk were let go at the feet of the Hindu Deity Murugan.
Kavadi (Kaa-wa-Dee) representsthe need for balance and harmony in the world. Both Kavadi and pots of milk represents the community or personal burden. The Kavadi usually weighs the same as the person carrying it.
The Tamil-Hindu community walked for miles around the Hindu temple in Thousand Oaks. More than 100 people attended the dedication service at the end of the walk.
“Thai Poosam” denotes a special day in the Tamil-Hindu calendar. “Thai” is the name of the month, which falls between mid-January and mid-February. Poosam is the Tamil name for the Beehive cluster located in the constellation Cancer. It is a lunar asterism having special significance to Tamil-Hindu community world over. This is the day in which the spiritual walk explained above is done. This practice originated more than 2,500 years ago in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
The Tamil-Hindu book club intends to continue holding spiritual walk every year.
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