After a comfortable leisurely drive with breathtaking views as we ascended the Tirumala hills we reached our destination in 28 minutes.We passed through another checkpost and the driver dropped us off near the temple and drove off to the parking lot. We had Rs.300/- darsan tickets - e-tickets booked in advance on the web.A long queue had already formed and we hurried along rapidly to join the serpentine queue line which was already a few hundred metres long.But the Q moved along rapidly and within an hour we were at the sanctum of Sri Venkatachalapathi. There was a bit of rush and some pushing and jostling at the sanctum entry. We spent only a fleeting few seconds worshiping the Lord before we were pressured and ushered out towards the exit. Thereafter we spent a while going around the sanctum collecting chandanam partaking tirtham and consuming divine "prasadam of thair sadam (curd rice).We were also completely awed by the sight of the magnificent Golden Vimanam. The entire experience took all of two hours.After exiting from the temple we moved towards the laddoo counters - there was an extra ordinary rush here and it took nearly one hour to collect our mandatory Tirupatu laddoos - 2 per Rs.300/- ticket.
We returned to the large concourse near the car park relaxed for a bit used the rest rooms called for our car and departed for lunch.We had vegetarian thali lunch at Mayura -an unpretentious restaurant serving simple uncomplicated lunch. We were famished and we ate well.
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| Enquiry counter & toilets |
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| Large concourse in front of the Ram Bageecha guest house |
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| Battery Buggies for transporting Senior Citizens |
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| Lunch at Mayura |
We go through this ritual every year...we visit Tirupati once every year for the past many years now. But every time we curse the people who push us roughly near the sanctum. Too much crowd always. I think they should build a conveyor belt so that we can just stand and the platform moves! Let us dream for a jostle free darshan!
ReplyDeleteI last visited tirumala in 2011 and stayed at the room leaving parents to go though the pushes. Very bad the practice hasn’t changed since my experience in childhood. I want to go with Sandhya’s idea of conveyor belt. How nice :)
ReplyDeleteThank God you wrote about this commotion to get the laddoos. It takes more time to get the laddoos than having darshan of the Lord.
ReplyDeleteSo interesting, nice photos!
ReplyDeleteWonderful coverage.
ReplyDeleteInteresting coverage Ramakrishnan..
ReplyDeleteNice report on Tirupathi, Ram.
ReplyDeleteI think I will need a Golf Cart after a good lunch at the Maurya, though I may not qualify for any other reason :)
Happy Earth Day!
Have a Beautiful Day!!
Peace :)
Hello greetings and good wishes.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting write up and excellent photos. It is interesting to see the battery buggies for senior citizens. The place you had lunch looks simple but I am sure they gave quality food.
I understand Tirumala is the richest temple in India.
Best wishes
Namaste......
ReplyDeletelovely as per usual, its nice to take the tours with you.
have a blessed day
Rhapsody
The arrangements seem to be good, particularly that for elderly citizens.
ReplyDelete