Friday, December 16, 2005
A pilgrimage to Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala
Well looks like it is a long time I am writing again. Right now I am at Tirupati, the temple town, abode of Lord Venkateswara or Lord Balaji. No it’s not a pilgrimage trip for me. It’s a business trip. But, as usual, whenever I am in Tirupati, I do go to Tirumala to have a darshan of Lord Balaji, provided time permits, which happens most of the time except some extra rush period, when one has to wait for 2/3 days for darshan.
Yesterday morning I arrived here and in spite of busy schedule, decided to have darshan yesterday itself. Now-a-days darshan at Tirupati has become techno savvy. For special darshan one has to buy ticket @Rs.50/-. At the time of ticket purchasing they take your fingerprint and photograph and computer generates an automated likely time for reporting at the Main temple. I got the timing of 9-30 p.m. So happily I attended my daylong works and started for Tirumala by around 7-30 p.m.. For the uninformed, the Lord Venkateswara temple is situated on hilltop at Tirumala, some 14 Kms from Tirupati.
Yesterday was Thursday, my weekly fasting day. Normally every Thursday, by evening my body becomes so weak that I hardly manage to do any work after 7 p.m. But yesterday I decided to take food only after darshan. Not surprisingly, but somehow I managed. As, once inside the temple, nobody is sure about the time the darshan will be complete, I decided to hire taxi for one-way trip only. I have a simple believe that once you are in a temple, simply surrender to the God. Second simple belief: once you find something inevitable, try to enjoy it. My realistic mind was asking me to enquire about the possibilities of getting conveyance for return journey, but I resisted on the premise that it will only cause more anxiety.
Anyway by the time I got the darshan and came out of the temple it was past 12 O’clock. Then I came to know that the road from Tirumala to Tirupati is closed from 12 to 3 a.m. so no conveyance is available till 3 a.m.
At Tirumala only accommodation available is at TTD choultries. They don’t give room for single person. The winter night at hilltop was really chill. I did not have any warm cloth with me as at Tirupati, where I was supposed to spend the night (in a cozy hotel room) the night temperature hardly falls below 15-17 degree Celsius. So I thought the wish of GOD is to spend the night on pavement under the open sky. Once decided, I surrendered to my fate and started walking on the road to find a place to spend the next 2 hours (by the time it was 1 a.m.).
The walk on a lonely road under a moonlight sky was not that bad. Once I started, I found the surroundings quite fascinating. It gives you a special feeling; surrounded by the vastness of forest, only the moonlight and the shadows created by it to give you the company. It makes you feel so small and helpless! I was so engrossed in enjoying the precarious situation I am in, that I failed to notice the approach of a person. It seemed suddenly from nowhere he is in front of me. I became apprehensive. But the person whose face could not be seen in the darkness informed me that there is a jeep somewhere down the road, I can hire him if I want.
Well it is not the first time that I have done this, and every time I was cautioned by my wife. (actually I am putting it mildly, she normally uses explicit languages on my foolhardiness). But I went with him and boarded the jeep. If the readers are eagerly waiting breathlessly for some sensational news, I am afraid, I am going to disappoint them, as nothing did happen except the poor fellow dropped me to my hotel door faithfully, pocketing the money and thanking me also.
Well that was another night I am going to remember for a long time. May be someday I will tell the story to my grandchildren.
Yesterday morning I arrived here and in spite of busy schedule, decided to have darshan yesterday itself. Now-a-days darshan at Tirupati has become techno savvy. For special darshan one has to buy ticket @Rs.50/-. At the time of ticket purchasing they take your fingerprint and photograph and computer generates an automated likely time for reporting at the Main temple. I got the timing of 9-30 p.m. So happily I attended my daylong works and started for Tirumala by around 7-30 p.m.. For the uninformed, the Lord Venkateswara temple is situated on hilltop at Tirumala, some 14 Kms from Tirupati.
Yesterday was Thursday, my weekly fasting day. Normally every Thursday, by evening my body becomes so weak that I hardly manage to do any work after 7 p.m. But yesterday I decided to take food only after darshan. Not surprisingly, but somehow I managed. As, once inside the temple, nobody is sure about the time the darshan will be complete, I decided to hire taxi for one-way trip only. I have a simple believe that once you are in a temple, simply surrender to the God. Second simple belief: once you find something inevitable, try to enjoy it. My realistic mind was asking me to enquire about the possibilities of getting conveyance for return journey, but I resisted on the premise that it will only cause more anxiety.
Anyway by the time I got the darshan and came out of the temple it was past 12 O’clock. Then I came to know that the road from Tirumala to Tirupati is closed from 12 to 3 a.m. so no conveyance is available till 3 a.m.
At Tirumala only accommodation available is at TTD choultries. They don’t give room for single person. The winter night at hilltop was really chill. I did not have any warm cloth with me as at Tirupati, where I was supposed to spend the night (in a cozy hotel room) the night temperature hardly falls below 15-17 degree Celsius. So I thought the wish of GOD is to spend the night on pavement under the open sky. Once decided, I surrendered to my fate and started walking on the road to find a place to spend the next 2 hours (by the time it was 1 a.m.).
The walk on a lonely road under a moonlight sky was not that bad. Once I started, I found the surroundings quite fascinating. It gives you a special feeling; surrounded by the vastness of forest, only the moonlight and the shadows created by it to give you the company. It makes you feel so small and helpless! I was so engrossed in enjoying the precarious situation I am in, that I failed to notice the approach of a person. It seemed suddenly from nowhere he is in front of me. I became apprehensive. But the person whose face could not be seen in the darkness informed me that there is a jeep somewhere down the road, I can hire him if I want.
Well it is not the first time that I have done this, and every time I was cautioned by my wife. (actually I am putting it mildly, she normally uses explicit languages on my foolhardiness). But I went with him and boarded the jeep. If the readers are eagerly waiting breathlessly for some sensational news, I am afraid, I am going to disappoint them, as nothing did happen except the poor fellow dropped me to my hotel door faithfully, pocketing the money and thanking me also.
Well that was another night I am going to remember for a long time. May be someday I will tell the story to my grandchildren.
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