This is my third visit to Tirupati – one as a child so young I don’t even have faint memories of it (my kid bro got lost in the crowd and we found him hugging one of the statues in a corner.. he gets lost whenever there is a crowd ) This time around, there were four of us, mom, my brother, cousin and me.. off to Tirupati . Our journey started off in the wee hours of Feb 28th, Sunday in an Innova from T Nagar. We stopped by a wayside restaurant for an early breakfast at 6.45 am and then on went to Alimelumangapuram, the temple where Goddess Padmavathy resides. It is customary to visit her before Balaji’s Darshan at Tirumala. A quaint little temple with a very cute Goddess…it gave a trailer of the long queue experience at Tirupati. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alamelu)
The huge white garuda at the bottom of the hill welcomed us to Tirumala as we waited for a check-up of the vehicle – very impressive, and even more elaborate than the security checks in airports.
Hills give me the heebie-geebies, the hair –pin bends make me giddy, even if it is only a 10 km wind like the one in Tirumala. Our driver effortlessly steered around the bends at more than 60 kmph (my cousin marvelled at his knack of driving). Once we reached the top, came the revelation – that the crowds were milling during the long weekend. Our driver-cum-guide gave instructions as to where to find the vehicle after the darshan and dropped at the start of the queue for what is called “Seeghra Darshan” or Quick –Darshan. The wait was just getting started, and we carried bottles of water to keep us going. Amma, knowing us only too well, had brought along thenga-paal muruku. No electronic equipment, mobiles, cameras etc are allowed inside the temple premises. But standing in the queue cannot be boring when you have three of your closest people on earth bearing the wait with you. Amma told us stories of how she detects fraudulent Rupee notes in her bank, Thambi and Anna leg-pulled me as usual and we joked and chatted endlessly - from how Tirupati was meant to be part of Tamil Nadu to the latest Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaya movie. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Board is doing a phenomenal job (to say the least) to make sure the gruelling wait is made less painful. We had manga ( raw mango with chilli powder), newspapers, juice being sold along the way and piping hot sambar-sadham served free ( it tasted divine), with drinking water pipes installed all along the queue. We started standing when it was 10.15 am and by the time we actually reached the huge waiting rooms, it was 1.50 pm. The rooms are like cells, heavily guarded, well protected with huge metal gates and the crowd pushes along even after reaching the rooms. In fact, you need not walk in Tirupati, the crowd pushes you along, faintly reminiscing the scene in Ranganathan street in T. Nagar. We were put in a different set of rooms – last time, we were in the ones that played Ramayana and Mahabharata all day long in big TC sets. 17 rooms and a security check later, we were in the maha-sangamam of the Dharma dharisanam, Rs. 50 and Rs. 300 tickets crowds. In fact, we realised that the Rs. 50 crowd was less than our 300 bucks queue. The chants of “Venkataramana Govinda.. Govinda” started here…the sophisticated crowd in the 300 bucks queue was rather quiet. Once the mass joined in, the real fervour started.
I loved it in spite of the heat, crowds and an already swollen leg. The crowd pushed along… as we entered the main entrance to the Garbagraham or sanctum sanctorum. The water gushing along the floor cleaned our feet and we got into the all-gold interiors. It is a sight to behold really – the sheer opulence with which the temple is built – solid gold plating covering the entire walls, it was like entering Vaikuntam itself. Then came the Ranga mandapam - I learnt that my beloved Ranganatha swamy idol from Srirangam was protected here for nearly 60 years – from invaders. My respect for the temple grew even more.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirumala_Venkateswara_Temple)
The chants reached a feverish pitch as I joined along with all my strength (Thambi told Anna “Sangee paravasa nilai adanjidita ) “Govindaa… Gooooooovindaaaaaaaaaaaa”!
We entered the Garbagraham (the point of maximum pushing and shoving) and we held hands tight so that we don’t get lost. Seeing Him for that 5 second period within which the guards push u like crazy – is worth every bit of the pain. That glance gives you strength to endure till the next visit – I could not pray, infact, no one can, in that 5 second darshan. But people come, day-in, day-out, braving everything, sometimes waiting a whole day, just for those five seconds. It is worth it, at least for believers like me. I came out and prayed, for everyone, lined up my requests and we got the “Sadari and Theertham” - customary at all Vaishnavaite temples. We read the “Vattezhuthu” Tamil engravings on the walls – and wondered at how much Tamil there was all around the stones that made the temple walls.
The journey back is always shorter.. or so it seems. By far, the best Andhra meals I’ve had is at Bheema’s in Tirupati town. No words to describe the experience..Heavily recommend the Gongura Chutney and Pappu.. with roasted potato curry.. Yumm!! I shamelessly admit I look forward to Bheema meals as much as the Darisanam itself. We piled in into our Innova and slept through major part of the journey.
PS: I strongly believe things sort themselves out after a trip to Tirupati.. And they did this time too ! Of course.. it depends on how strong a believer you are :-)
The huge white garuda at the bottom of the hill welcomed us to Tirumala as we waited for a check-up of the vehicle – very impressive, and even more elaborate than the security checks in airports.
Hills give me the heebie-geebies, the hair –pin bends make me giddy, even if it is only a 10 km wind like the one in Tirumala. Our driver effortlessly steered around the bends at more than 60 kmph (my cousin marvelled at his knack of driving). Once we reached the top, came the revelation – that the crowds were milling during the long weekend. Our driver-cum-guide gave instructions as to where to find the vehicle after the darshan and dropped at the start of the queue for what is called “Seeghra Darshan” or Quick –Darshan. The wait was just getting started, and we carried bottles of water to keep us going. Amma, knowing us only too well, had brought along thenga-paal muruku. No electronic equipment, mobiles, cameras etc are allowed inside the temple premises. But standing in the queue cannot be boring when you have three of your closest people on earth bearing the wait with you. Amma told us stories of how she detects fraudulent Rupee notes in her bank, Thambi and Anna leg-pulled me as usual and we joked and chatted endlessly - from how Tirupati was meant to be part of Tamil Nadu to the latest Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaya movie. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Board is doing a phenomenal job (to say the least) to make sure the gruelling wait is made less painful. We had manga ( raw mango with chilli powder), newspapers, juice being sold along the way and piping hot sambar-sadham served free ( it tasted divine), with drinking water pipes installed all along the queue. We started standing when it was 10.15 am and by the time we actually reached the huge waiting rooms, it was 1.50 pm. The rooms are like cells, heavily guarded, well protected with huge metal gates and the crowd pushes along even after reaching the rooms. In fact, you need not walk in Tirupati, the crowd pushes you along, faintly reminiscing the scene in Ranganathan street in T. Nagar. We were put in a different set of rooms – last time, we were in the ones that played Ramayana and Mahabharata all day long in big TC sets. 17 rooms and a security check later, we were in the maha-sangamam of the Dharma dharisanam, Rs. 50 and Rs. 300 tickets crowds. In fact, we realised that the Rs. 50 crowd was less than our 300 bucks queue. The chants of “Venkataramana Govinda.. Govinda” started here…the sophisticated crowd in the 300 bucks queue was rather quiet. Once the mass joined in, the real fervour started.
I loved it in spite of the heat, crowds and an already swollen leg. The crowd pushed along… as we entered the main entrance to the Garbagraham or sanctum sanctorum. The water gushing along the floor cleaned our feet and we got into the all-gold interiors. It is a sight to behold really – the sheer opulence with which the temple is built – solid gold plating covering the entire walls, it was like entering Vaikuntam itself. Then came the Ranga mandapam - I learnt that my beloved Ranganatha swamy idol from Srirangam was protected here for nearly 60 years – from invaders. My respect for the temple grew even more.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirumala_Venkateswara_Temple)
The chants reached a feverish pitch as I joined along with all my strength (Thambi told Anna “Sangee paravasa nilai adanjidita ) “Govindaa… Gooooooovindaaaaaaaaaaaa”!
We entered the Garbagraham (the point of maximum pushing and shoving) and we held hands tight so that we don’t get lost. Seeing Him for that 5 second period within which the guards push u like crazy – is worth every bit of the pain. That glance gives you strength to endure till the next visit – I could not pray, infact, no one can, in that 5 second darshan. But people come, day-in, day-out, braving everything, sometimes waiting a whole day, just for those five seconds. It is worth it, at least for believers like me. I came out and prayed, for everyone, lined up my requests and we got the “Sadari and Theertham” - customary at all Vaishnavaite temples. We read the “Vattezhuthu” Tamil engravings on the walls – and wondered at how much Tamil there was all around the stones that made the temple walls.
The journey back is always shorter.. or so it seems. By far, the best Andhra meals I’ve had is at Bheema’s in Tirupati town. No words to describe the experience..Heavily recommend the Gongura Chutney and Pappu.. with roasted potato curry.. Yumm!! I shamelessly admit I look forward to Bheema meals as much as the Darisanam itself. We piled in into our Innova and slept through major part of the journey.
PS: I strongly believe things sort themselves out after a trip to Tirupati.. And they did this time too ! Of course.. it depends on how strong a believer you are :-)
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