Malaysian Hindus face muted celebrations of the annual Thaipusam festival, which were scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event sees Hindus, a sizeable minority in multi-ethnic Malaysia, showcase their devotion to the deity Lord Murugan.   The festival normally sees believers carrying offerings to places of worship to the Hindu deity Lord Murugan, marking the day when his mother, the goddess Parvathi, gave him a powerful lance to fight demons. But an ongoing coronavirus outbreak infecting more than 2.8 million people and killing nearly 32,000 so far led officials to allow muted festivities, limiting crowd numbers and barring certain practices.

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