Hurts So Good

One of the best parts of living in Singapore is the ethnic enclaves. New York definitely had its fair share, but around here, when you go to Chinatown, it really feels like China. When you're in Little India, the smells and the sweat are just like you're walking the streets of Calcutta. I went down to Little India the other day to witness the Thaipusam festival.

Thaipusam is a festival originated by the Tamil people of South India that's celebrated widely by the Tamil expat communities in Singapore and Malaysia. The story is standard: A people (the Devas), were losing battle after battle to a stronger enemy (the Asuras), and prayed to the Lord (Shiva), who then enabled them to victory. The festival is supposed to be an offering of gratitude.

Standard story, not so standard offering of gratitude. My experience with offerings in Hinduism have been throwing some flowers and repeating lines given to me by a priest. These guys? This isn't just "going to church on Christmas and Easter". They take it to the next level. Bodily mutilation and adorning oneself with a massive decorative canopy supported through hooks attached to your body? If that's not an offering, I don't know what is.

As the Olympics have just begun and in the spirit of international competition, I've been wondering how there isn't any sort of international event that pits religious bodily mutilators against one another. The Shi'ite expressions of Ashura, the Firewalkers honoring Draupathi, and even good old fashioned Catholic self-flagellators all engage in extreme activities that test the bounds of human thresholds for pain. Isn't this just asking for a ESPN production team to jump on it? They've made everything from the Worlds Strongest Man to Poker become big television events, can anyone get on this?

Thank you to my new iPhone 3GS and "Genesis" by Justice for the following video: