Batu Caves

According to Hindu belief there is a saying that wherever there is a hill, lord Muruga resides. Batu Caves in Kula Lumpur is no exception to this belief. Early Hindu settlers of the 19th century made this beautiful natural limestone hills/caves as the abode of lord Muruga. Now, the 142 foot tall Golden Muruga stands majestically at the foot of the caves.



This is a holy worship place. But, some of the locals (non-Hindus) were treating the place as an exercise spot...so the temple management has put up a notice board to stop this kind of practices.



You need to climb 282 steps to reach the first level of natural caves. And, while hiking up you might feel breathless. But, the cool breeze that welcomes you at this height is so refreshing that you forget the tiredness.



Here, Moolavar or the main deity resides.



Then the second level is an open cave, again Muruga graces here in a different posture.

Batu Caves - Our World

Thai Pusam festival is celebrated annually in a large scale and it is declared as a public holiday! Even after a couple of weeks after this festival, the devotees throng to this place...



Look at the fantastic bird's eye view of Kuala Lumpur from the top of this hill.



Though going down the stairs is effortless, you need to be careful, as the steps are narrow and high. It is better to climb down in a zigzag fashion to make the descent easier.

Pen Thoughts

It was love at first sight, for my husband, on a pen^^. The minute he set his eyes on this Alan Dlouis Pen, he had to have it.

Unlike Gen Y or nexters, ink pens were part of growing up for Gen X. We used to get a new pen, usually at the beginning of an academic year, along with other goodies like new school bag, pencil case & water bottle.

Come to think of it, besides the inconvenience of refilling ink every now and then, it does have an attraction or may be just I'm nostalgic. At times the pen would leak and there would be ink on fingers, notebooks and even on the school uniform. The best fun was trying to get few drops of ink from a friend's pen, because we have missed to fill it up. By doing that spill few drops, never had a care how to remove those stains! 

We used to exchange our pen with friends as well, and at home we had to explain why we do this! 

Our World

There is an adage often quoted in Indian movies, "Pen is mightier than the sword". Well, now "keyboard is the sword"! However, I recall ink-pens being used as swords by boys in fighting, and especially on 1st of April, they smear ink on friend's back and of course get reprimanded by teachers:) 

Come to think of it, I'd say that now pens have lost it's significance, well NOT when we are in a meeting and trying to scribble something or doodle :D