Batu Caves are one of the well-known Hindu shrines outside of India. In 2017 alone, an estimated number of 1.6 million worshippers have visited the site during Thaipusam, which is a festival celebrated to honour Lord Murugan in a grandiose manner. Lord Murugan, son of Lord Shiva, is hailed as the Hindu God of War. Thaipusam is celebrated to pay homage and show gratitude to Lord Murugan for prayers well-answered. A large, hectic procession move among the shrines with devotees that have gone for extreme lengths and inflicted self-mutilation on behalf of Lord Murugan. The festival also commemorates the gift of a spear, or rather, a vel, to Lord Murugan by his mother, Parvati, the Hindu goddess of love and fertility.