Up the steps at Batu Caves
Malaysian Hindus mark Thaipusam in a vibrant, colourful show of tradition and culture.
Photographs by Djohan Shahrin
Hindu devotees carry pots of fresh milk on their heads as they prepare to participate in a religious ceremony at the iconic temple in Batu Caves, Selangor.
In the temple, devotees stand before a priest as he performs a religious ritual.
It is a bright and colourful affair, with most of the devotees dressed in yellow.
A man carries a kavadi weighing an estimated 50kg, helped by two others.
A tourist from Japan poses for a picture outside the temple amid a flock of pigeons.
A woman strings flowers into garlands to be used during the Thaipusam ceremonies.
Devotees dressed in yellow carry pots of milk on their shoulders.
Devotees and tourists mingle on the colourful stairs leading up to the temple.
Devotees carry kavadis on their shoulders in honour of Lord Murugan.
Monkeys leap and play overhead on the temple roof.
A man blows a traditional horn in a call to the devotees at Batu Caves.
A couple carry their children up the stairs towards the temple.
Devotees balance pots of milk on their head as they make their way up the 272 steps leading to the temple.
A man lends his wife a hand as she ascends the stairs, balancing two pots of milk on a rod over her shoulder.
A woman carries a kavadi on her shoulder as she goes up the stairs.
A man with piercings through his cheeks carries a golden kavadi up the steps.
A family with young children make their way up the steps with their pots of milk.
A young girl clings to her parents' hands at the temple.
A young woman crawls up the steps in a show of devotion.
Devotees fill the temple, which is full of light and colour.
A tourist takes a selfie with one of the hundreds of monkeys roaming the temple grounds.
Devotees play drums during a religious procession at the temple in Batu Caves.
Men carry pots of milk on wooden yokes across their shoulders.
Milk trickles down a woman's face as she looks up at the golden statue of Lord Murugan at the Batu Caves temple.
Devotees and tourists flood the temple grounds, some carrying kavadis weighing as much as 40kg.
Children carry miniature kavadis as they accompany the grownups on the stairs.
Together, they ascend the colourful steps to the temple.
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