(AFP) Thousands of people attended an annual pilgrimage today at the Batu Caves Hindu shrine to seek blessing for students facing year-end school examinations.

More than 300,000 parents and children congregated at the popular cave temple nearby Kuala Lumpur just after dawn to perform the ' Kalvi Yathirai ,'organisers said.

The pilgrimage, organised by the Centre for Social and Cultural Advancement of Malaysian Indians since 1995, is aimed at instilling discipline and concentration in studies.

Mass prayer

Devotees performed a mass prayer before climbing the 272 stairs to the cave temple carrying a vessel of holy water to seek blessing from the Hindu deity Lord Murugan, public relations officer S.G.Prasadh told AFP.

They are required to follow a vegetarian diet for a week before the event.

A motivational session and educational seminar were held after prayers at the temple grounds to prepare the child academically, Prasadh said.

"The Yathirai is not a festival but is pious and serious. It will awaken the desire in the child to exercise his will against all odds to perform well in the final examinations," he added.