The holy trip to Tirupati was a 2 day weekend tour from Friday night to Monday morning. We started our journey from Bangalore at 10 pm reaching Tirupati by 4 am. It was a picnic time more than a pilgrimage since we were venturing out of Bangalore for the first time. Adding to the fun was the fact that it was an all friends outing for the next 2 complete days.
Day 1:
Once we reached Tirupati early morning we had to take tickets for entering the temple which is on a hilltop. The ticket has slot timings allotted to a devotee. It is only during this time that we can visit the shrine. Also there is a limit of tickets which can be issued to prevent the temple from getting overcrowded. Lord Balaji is the second richest god after Vatican and the security in this temple is high. We purchased ticket for darshan from base and got the slot time of Sunday evening. Since we had more than a day, we were to cover all the temples at the base of hill that day. The next day we would see some more temples and then drive up the hill. After getting tickets we boarded the coach again to reach the hotel where had to stay. It was a decent room but without AC. The climate in that region was hot and humid and difficult to sustain without AC.
We managed to upgrade our rooms and slept for some time. We then got ready to visit all temples in the planned package tour itinerary. We covered 4 temples in that area whose architecture just amazed me with beautiful carving on the exterior. The temples stand tall visible from quite a distance made up of rock boulders or stones. This makes the temple floors get quite hot to walk on when the sun is in its full fury. The humidity inside the temple also increases with rising temperatures.
We stopped at a place for traditional South Indian lunch after visiting one temple. Ahead on the tour we visited 2 more temples in neighboring areas. The names of temples were difficult to pronounce, forget about remembering them. By evening we reached back to our hotel rooms to relax. We then explored area around the hotel. The weather was cooler by then but the humidity level was still high. We had some snacks and juice to refresh ourselves. We also went to a nearby Kuber temple built in a big area and spent a lot of time. After visiting this temple we went for different kind south Indian cuisine.
Day 2:
The next day was to be a long and we had to get ready quite early. The first visit was to Anjaneya temple which is built at different heights on a hill. At the hill base was the main temple and after walking a few steps we reached a hill top. The architectural beauty of city was visible from the height. We sat on the top for some time to see the sun rise on top of us.
The next destined temple was Siddhivinayak of Lord Ganesha. The compound was quite beautiful and there were less number of people so we had a good time. At center is a pond with small waterfall within the compound. On one side of the water body was the main temple and other side had rooms for devotees to stay. This was the last temple for the trip before we visited the main temple of our journey.
The Balaji temple is on a hilltop called Tirumala and it took us little over an hour’s drive to reach there. On reaching the entrance we had to take off our footwear and join the queue for darshan. If one has a VIP pass, it will take less time as they have a separate entry. We were under the general pass category and people in that queue take about 4 hours on a less crowded day. On auspicious days, it can even take days. The temple is closed only for 2 hours from 2-4 am. Once the Darshan is completed, 2 big sweet laddoos are provided. The number is fixed to 2 per devotee.
The bus conductor had collected money in case any one of us wanted extra laddoos. That was a good achievement for me as I was told that in any case a devotee cannot get more than 2 laddoos. Inside the temple premises, at different places were placed huge containers where people can donate money. The containers had heavy security around them and also are emptied regularly. Being in the queue for so long did not matter as we had a good time waiting with all friends. We chatted and discussed all kinds of matters in the world. This was quite a relaxing time with no physical activity. It was a very long queue and we got our turn in around 4 hours.
Once we got close to the main temple, we got to see the idol of Lord Balaji for a fraction of second. That is the maximum time any devotee is allowed to see the idol. Since there are so many people they ensure that people do not stay in front of the idol for a very long time. Once we completed the darshan we went to a designated place to get our token exchanged for 2 laddoos. Once we got them we returned to the place where our bus was parked. We were feeling hungry now and also it was around 8 pm. We again had south Indian food at a nearby eating joint and boarded the bus which brought us back to the base of hill. There our bus was waiting which had to bring us back to our homes. The devotional and religious trip came to an end after getting rid of all my committed sins.
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March 16th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
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March 18th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
The names of temples were difficult to pronounce, forget about remembering them…
Readers come looking for info, if you say you can’t remember the names, what is the point of the narration?
March 18th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Hi Suchita,
The place of Tirumala and Tirupati will land you into Temples are right places and asking people for directions without the name will land you into the right place. Just name the god as narrated in the travelogue and you will be rightly pointed to the destined temple.
I could take the luxury of not remembering the names as the tour operator had it planned for us.
Moreover in the place, Lord Balaji temple is the most famous and maximum interest. People tend to visit there and then return home. If there is some time, then they look around for more temple options as it is generally a holy trip.
..Sarthak