Hours, Minutes and seconds-My first to Tirupati: Land of the Devoted

4th November, I was off. The 11:15 Mercedes benz bus took off to tirupati. The bus was anything but what the tagline says;”Sleep like a baby”. Not a very comfortable option, its speed is the only reason you must opt for it. The bus reached around 3:45 early morning. We had booked a room at this place called VIP residency near koralagunta road. This is a decent , well-priced hotel. A number of autos (No meters, the auto driver serves its purpose with random number generation) are available and transport should be no real problem.

After a cold shower, we were off at about 6:30.Reached Alipiri, which is the bottom of the tirumala hills. Ready for the trek of a lifetime, ready for the wait of a lifetime.3650 steps and some beautiful roads wait for us along our path. The first few steps were quite fast, but slowly the weariness begins to set in. There are a number of stone slabs along the way to take a breather and continue. Well constructed shades to protect you from the sun and the rains, a respect to the pilgrim. Along the climb I notice a lot of interesting things. Pilgrims applying kumkum and turmeric powder to every step and they said they would do it for all 3650 steps, some were lighting camphor (karpura) at every step (3650 camphors; That’s some devotion).I came across old people who were climbing like they knew no rest, I came across young folks who ate anything and everything on their way and resting like there was no tomorrow. What truly hit me was when I saw a women carrying a full cylinder to her shop which is I presume was a 2000 steps from the bottom. I had absolutely no words, so I too, like all the rest in the crowd blankly stared at her with a deep awe and a heavy heart. The first 2000 steps were not something of a challenge. But the ones that came later were something like this- “\”. Jus straight UP. Now, this was one climb. Tiring you away with each step you take. Beautiful roads with hills on either side was a magnificent treat to the eye. Crystal clear water dripping heavily from the hills at the side was an icing on the cake. The climb taught me a lot along the way.

Then came “The wait”; Not long surprisingly. Tirupati and crowd are two sides of the same coin. One can never really complain about the crowd. Some places you have to stand in the long serpentine like queue while some other places like the waiting rooms (I call it flood gates) give your legs the much needed rest. Once the rooms are open, the pilgrims rush to be the first to join another queue. It is indeed a flood of pilgrims once the gates are thrown open. The wait doesn’t end there, in fact it has just begun. You are then led into a over-bridge and then into the altern where beautiful hyms play at the background adding to the peace. Of-course there is always the “Yedu Kondala Vada Venkataramana Govinda Govindaa” shouts from the pilgrims. The time in the temple is a matter of seconds to say the least. The lord does leave you with some sort of a vibration in those very few seconds. Once you are in there, all that your teary-eyes (mine was) see are the lord. A breathtaking sight. It is the pull and push from the volunteers there that brings your mind back, along with the heart slowly following like it never wanted to leave the place. Well worth the wait. Happiness and a longing to go back again was the only feeling inside me. Then came the “Hundi” ,the reason why the temple in one of the richest in the world. I have come to believe most of this is being spent on development of the city and ease of the pilgrims. From what I saw, I must agree with all my heart.

Coming back down was by a car, for you would need great will-power and enormous stamina to walk back down. Back to tirupati from thirumala and the city is abuzz with pilgrims and cleanly shaved heads. The much needed rest comes with the night’s sleep.

The next day covered the local temples, Padmavathi and Govindarajaswamy. The temples add to the beauty of the well-developed city. We take the 6 PM evening bus and reach Bangalore at about 11:30 with a half an hour stoppage for dinner. The normal Volvo bus is a comfortable option. Do not go in for fancy taglines. Taglines that say “A government of India initiative” serve the purpose really well .I am back home with a bag full of laddus, some marapachi toys and a heart filled with happiness, content and of-course a lil bit of the longing to go back lurking in the corner.