Essay on tour to triparti
Answers
Like most mothers, my mother also had one wish: to take me to a temple. After a lot of coaxing and cajoling, my mom managed to convince me, but I had no clue that her intention was to take me all the way down south to Tirumala (for that is the name of the place where the temple of Lord Trupati is situated). The Tirumala hills are the world’s second oldest rock mountains.
It is a small range of seven hills, and atop the Venkatachalam hill is the temple of Lord Tirupati or Lord Venkateswara. Agreed; its the most beautiful and one of the richest and most visited holy places in the world after the Vatican, but I was in no mood to spend the last week of my vacation in a crowded, stuffy town full of religious people scurrying about to catch a glimpse of their favourite, Lord Tirupati. But I was in for a huge surprise and a pleasant one at that.
My trip to Tirumala has officially been the most fruitful and pious experience of whatever little that I have lived of my life so far. I have been to quite a few holy places in my life (thanks to my mother) but Tirumala is the only one that counts as being the most relaxed of them all. It could also be attributed to the timing of the trip. We went towards the end of June when there are no big festivals being celebrated, and therefore, makes it the best time to visit Tirupat,i if all you are looking for is a quiet visit.
But if you want to see the temple in its full splendour, then the best time would be during September, when the temple celebrates Brahmotsavam, which is the most important of all the festivals. This festival sees the arrival of millions of devotees within a short span of a week. February, March and April are also the other auspicious months, when the temple receives a large number of devotees.
Anyway, there we were with our luggage at Dadar station (in Mumbai) waiting to board the Dadar-Chennai express at 8:20 pm which would reach Renigunta at 5:20 pm the next day. On reaching Renigunta, we hired a cab to Tirumala, which takes hardly 30 minutes. It was made entertaining and interesting, with Telugu songs playing on the radio and a helpful driver who gave us the entire low-down on how to get rooms, when to go the temple, approximately how long would we have to stand in the line before we finally get our darshan, etc. That’s something wonderful about this place. Even if these people don’t speak your language, they are ready to help you in any which way they can.
And speaking of languages, it is mandatory that you at least speak English or Hindi (if you don’t know Tamil or Telugu), because that is a language that they sincerely make an attempt to speak in, putting an end to the myth that people in South India refuse to speak in Hindi or any other language except their own.
Now came the main task of finding a place to stay in. We were told that the TTD (Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam) – Trust of Tirupati temple is the right place to look for. They have a huge complex, complete with small shops, a restaurant and close to 400 rooms, which would make you think that accommodation would be a piece of cake. But it was not. At any point of time, you have to wait for at least two hours to get a room and in our case, 4 hours. The cost of one room is 200 per night for non-AC rooms and 400 for AC rooms. The rooms are all clean and well-maintained. But apart from these, there are many hotels around the TTD complex, so that you are, at all times, close to the TTD complex and can avail of its facilities. Remember, whenever you go to Tirumala, it is better to book your rooms’ before-hand. You can do this online on the TTD website.
We were so tired and exhausted that we opted for a room in a hotel right opposite the TTD complex. But lunch, dinner and breakfast was all at the TTD restaurant inside the main complex building. The food is good, reasonably priced and predominantly vegetarian. Non-vegetarian food is available, but not at the complex. You will have to go looking for it outside. The restaurant has a simple, calm and clean ambience. And while you are there, one thing that you must try is the fresh fruit juice stall. Every glass of juice is freshly-made right in front of you and simply delicious. And I can personally vouch for every fruit juice that is made in that stall as I have tasted them all.
Another thing that will surprise you about this place is how neat it is, considering the number of footfalls it receives each day. They have a cleaning staff everywhere that works round the clock to keep the place neat and clean at all times. But then, to everything positive, there is a negative side as well.
Answer:
I had been to Tirupati over the past weekend. For those who are unaware, Tirupati is a Hindu temple that can be found in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Additionally, the management of this institution is the wealthiest overall. And why shouldn't it? The idea is that whatever money you place in the temple's treasure box will double and eventually find its way back to you.
The Sri Venketeshwara Temple is a temple that is situated atop a hill. Standing in lines is a necessary part of visiting Tirumala. At around 3:30 AM, my friend Pritesh and I arrived in Tirupati. After joining the line at around 4:45 AM, it became longer and longer until we finally reached the desk at around 7:45 AM, three hours after we first arrived. Finding a motel where we could store the luggage was our next chore. The entire area was bathed in daylight as soon as we exited the building and entered the streets. At this point, Tirupati revealed its true self. After an hour of looking and visiting approximately five motels, we settled on one that seemed cost-effective.
We set off on our mission to see God after rehydrating. We jostled, pushed and got pushed, pressed and got squeezed across the numerous line chambers from approximately 12:30 to 3:45, which were built with iron grills on either side to prevent anyone from jumping the queue. The idol was kept at a distance of roughly 100 metres. Anyhow, since we could at least view the idol, this is meant to be a terrific darshan.
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