I am back!. Our three days trip to Tirupati went well by God’s grace. As planned, we started early morning at around 5.30 AM on Saturday, and came back yesterday i.e., Monday at around 10 PM.
The route that we took for Tirupati was Mangalore - Hassan - Bangalore - Kolar - Chittoor - Tirupati.
We stopped for breakfast at Hassan. Next on route was Bangalore. We kind of got stuck in the Bangalore traffic. Horrible. I wonder how people travel in Bangalore. We did not enter the Bangalore city. We moved towards Kolar. We reached Kolar at around 4 PM, and we hadn’t had lunch. So, we stopped at a hotel called Kamat Upchar on the highway. Had lunch/snacks and continued our travel. We reached Tirupati at around 8.30 PM.
Sign on top of the Tirumala Hills
I think we were kind of very lucky. All along the trip, it did not rain!. (not even a single drop of rain!). Given the fact that cyclone warning was issue in and around this area, its a miracle!!! Also, due to the cyclone warning, and heavy rains, lot of trains and buses to Tirupati were cancelled. So, there wasn’t any crowd!. Now, thats the second miracle! Just to give you an Idea, on an average, Tirupati temple is visited by around 1,00,000 devotees every day. Normally, people spend hours (and in some cases, days) together in queues to get a glimpse of Lord Venkateshwara. And on festive days, the number doubles!. There is a very efficient system of queues etc to control the crowd. But, the point is, you need to wait!! On the day we reached Tirupati, it was virtually empty. So, it was really our luck. Or, you can say, God’s Grace.
The Temple Complex. Image Courtesy : Tirumala.org
BTW, Tirupati is the name of the city. Lord Venkateshwara’s temple is located on Tirumala Hills. Its around 22 km uphill from the Tirupati city. Devotees can either take the road route to reach Tirumala, or can walk (i.e. climb the stairs) all the way up. Its an 8 km walk. It takes around 4 hours to go walking to the top.
Around 9 of our family members decided to walk to the Tirumala hills. I took the road route. We reached Tirumala at around 11 PM, and occupied the guesthouse that we had booked. The room was decent enough. It was a three bedroom apartment with some basic facilities. At around 1.30 AM, the folks who had decided to walk reached Tirumala.
We had booked for something called the “Archanantara Darshana” early in the morning at around 5 AM. So, we had to get up early in the morning. We reached the temple at around 4.15 AM, and soon we were on the queue. As per my estimate, there were around 600 to 700 people already on the queue. But we didn’t have to wait for long. We got Lord Venkateshwara’s Darshana at around 5 AM.
Belive it or not, its really a thrilling experience to see the Lord Venkataraman’s Idol. I just can’t describe it! You have to feel it for yourself. Due to massive amount of people, you hardly get few seconds to see the Lord’s Idol. But belive me, its one thing that you have to experience. Its like the God is standing right there in front of you!
Lord Venkataraman’s Idol. Image Courtesy : Tirumala.org
After the Darshana, we came back to our room, took some rest. We had booked one more Seva in the evening called the Sahasra Deepalankarana Seva. So, we were kind of free for the whole day. So, we decided to see some other temples around Tirupati. We started at around 9 AM, and returned back at around 4 PM.
We saw the Sri Kapileswaraswami Temple, Sri Kalahasti Temple, Sri Padmavathi Ammavari Temple.
Sri Kapileswaraswami Temple (Click to Zoom)
Sri Kalahasti Temple (Click to Zoom)
Sri Padmavathi Ammavari Temple (Click to Zoom)
We went back to the Tirumala temple at 5 PM for the Sahastra Deepaalankara Seva. This Seva is a very beautiful one. The God’s Idol (not the one inside the Garbagudi*) is placed over a Swing, and the Seva goes on.
Sahastra Deepaalankara Seva. Image Courtesy : Tirumala.org
From the Tirumala Website:
This seva is performed in the Unjal Mandapam. The Mandapam glows with the lights of sahasra deepa (a thousand earthern lamps). The Lord is seated on an unjal, which is rocked gently to the accompaniment of a clarinet orchestra.
After the Seva, we got chance to see the Lord again. Again an wonderful experience.
We came back at around 7 PM. After the Darshana, we decided to go around the shopping complexes. My folks did some minor shopping. Majority of the stuff in almost all the shop is somehow related to the Lord! But there is other stuff too. At around 9 PM we returned back to our room after having dinner.
Lord Venkateshwaras Idols (Click to Zoom)
Next day, i.e., Monday, we started our trip back. We stopped for breakfast at Chittoor. We reached Bangalore at around 11 AM. Luckily, this time around, the traffic was much less. May be because, Monday was a holiday due to Deepavali. So, we didn’t get stuck in traffic. We reached Hassan at around 3 PM. We had our lunch at Hassan, and visited one of our relatives house. At around 5 PM, we started back to Mangalore. We reached Mangalore at around 9 PM.
Some interesting things that I noted about Tirupati:
1. One must book all the Seva’s, Rooms, etc well in advance. Its always crowded, and difficult to get a chance at the nth minute. You can get the List of Seva’s that you can offer at the temple’s website.
2. I was told that the surroundings of the temple used to be very dirty couple of years back. But when we went this time, the old timers were surprised. Everything seems to be well maintained now! Clean and Neat!
3. The free toilets in the Tirumala area are clean, and very well maintained.
4. Lot of security systems are in place, after an incident in which a Former Chief Minster was targeted in a bomb blast by Naxalites when he was on the way to Tirumala Hills.
5. Within the main temple complex, lot of security cameras have been installed to prevent corruption amongst temple workers! And we saw it working :)
6. The entire Tirumala Hills is a no smoking zone. No alcohol too! You are not allowed to take, nor will you get any cigarettes in the Tirumala town.
7. The temple uses finger printing technology to identify the people who would perform the various Seva’s!. This is mainly to prevent corruption/bribes etc.
8. Everything goes as per the schedule. Right on the dot.
9. Due to the security measures, you are not allowed to take any device like camera, mobiles etc inside the temple. I could not click any photos since I had to keep my camera back in the car.
*Garbagudi - Inner most area of the temple.
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November 1st, 2005 at 11:53pm
We are all set for our trip to Tirupati tomorrow. Around 16 of us from our family would be part of this trip. We would be going by two Toyota Qualises. The plan is to start early morning at around 5.30 AM, have breakfast at Hassan, and lunch at somewhere near Kolar. As per our schedule, we would reach Tirupati tomorrow evening.
Total distance between Mangalore to Tirupati is around 642 kms (398.92 miles).
i.e., Mangalore to Bangalore is 357 kms + Bangalore to Tirupati is 285 kms.
So, its going to be quite a lot of travel. If everything goes as planned, we should be back by monday.
Will try to click some good snaps and post it here.
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October 28th, 2005 at 10:50pm
Me back from the two day temple visit trip. It was a mini-pilgrimage kind of trip along the west cost of south India. We visited around 15 temples in all.
We started on Wednesday morning at around 7.00 AM. We had hired a Toyota Qualis for the trip. Although our primary intention was to visit our Kuladeva’s temple in Goa, we did visit quite a lot of temples on our way to Goa.
Our first stop was at the Bappanadu temple at Mulky. Its just next to the National Highway (NH 17).
Mulky Bappanad Temple (Click to Zoom)
This is the Famous Dhol or Drum at Bappanad temple.
Mulky Bappanad Dhol or Drum (Click to Zoom)
Our next stop was at Udupi for breakfast at one of our relatives house at around 8 AM. After our breakfast, we visited the Kadiyali temple at Udupi.
Kadiyali Temple at Udupi (Click to Zoom)
From Kadiyali we headed north. We briefly stopped for a while at a place called Amunje to visit one more relative of ours. After that we continued our travel. Our next stop was at Saligram. Saligram is in between Udupi and Kundapur. We visited two temples in Saligram. Shree Anjaneya Temple and Shree Guru Narasimha Temple.
Shree Aanjaneya Temple at Saligram (Click to Zoom)
Shree Guru Narasimha Temple at Saligram (Click to Zoom)
Our next stop was at Anegudde Shree Vinayaka Temple at Kumbhasi, near Koteshwara (Kundapur). I have been to this temple couple of times.
Anegudde Shree Vinayaka Temple - Kumbhasi (Click to Zoom)
After Annegudde, we further continued our trip. Our next stop was at Hattiangadi. This time, at Shree Ganapathy Temple at Hattiangadi. Hattiangadi is on the way to Kollur.
Shree Ganapathy Temple at Hattiangadi (Click to Zoom)
Our next stop was at Shree Kollur Mookambika Temple. This temple is pretty famous. On the day we reached there, it was quite crowded. It was Navami on that day, and there were quite a lot of devotees. There were long queues (5 to 6 hrs!) for God’s Darshana. We prayed from outside, and continued our travel. Here are some snaps of Kollur Mookambika Temple.
Outside the temple one can find lot of shops where the devotees can buy quite a lot of stuff related to Shree Mookambika Goddess. From Photos to Audio cassettes to CDs. There are quite a lot of shops targeting the kids.
Memorabilia from Kollur Mookambika Temple (Click to Zoom)
Toys for Kiddos @ Kollur Mookambika Temple (Click to Zoom)
After Kollur, we traveled further north. We didn’t visit Murdeshwar and Shirali since it was already afternoon and the temples would be closed during that time. We stopped for lunch at Kamat Hotel at Honnavar. Had a heavy lunch, and the sleep followed naturally. By the time we woke up, we had reached Karwar. Karwar is the border town of Karnataka State.
Guess what do you first see when you cross the border and hit Goa ? Yes. Its the liquor shops. Liquor is cheap in Goa and widely consumed. Also, the cost of fuel is pretty low. i.e., Diesel is cheaper by around INR 2.5 and Petrol is cheaper by around INR 4! So, most of the vehicles fill in the fuel once they enter Goa. Same is the case when the vehicles come back.
We reached Ponda, Goa at around 8 PM. Shree Ramanathi Temple that we were supposed to visit is located in Ponda, Goa.
Shree Ramanathi Temple at Goa (Shanteri Kamakshi) - Night Shot (Click to Zoom)
Shree Ramanathi Temple at Goa (Shanteri Kamakshi) - Morning Shot (Click to Zoom)
We stayed at one of the Mutts (Kavale Mutt) for the night. The rooms were pretty good. The next day, we got up early, and went to the Shree Ramanathi Temple again. After God’s Darshana, we went to our Kula Deva’s temple. i.e., Shree Devaki Krishna Ravalnatha temple at Marcela, Goa. I had been to this temple when I was around 9 years old I guess. We had to perform something called “Vara Bheti”. Its a ritual that is performed when married couple go to the Kula Devastana for the first time.
Shree Devaki Krishna Ravalnatha Temple at Goa (Click to Zoom)
Shree Devaki Krishna Ravalnatha Temple at Goa (Click to Zoom)
We also visited the nearby Shree Laksmi Ravalnatha Temple
Shree Laksmi Ravalnatha Temple at Goa (Click to Zoom)
Next we went to Shree Balaji Temple.
Shree Balaji Temple at Goa (Click to Zoom)
Ashta Lakshmis around the Dwajasthamba at Shree Balaji Temple at Goa (Click to Zoom)
Our next stop was at Shree Mangeshi Temple
Shree Mangeshi Temple at Goa (Click to Zoom)
By this time, we were hungry. So, we had some light snacks just outside the Shree Mangeshi Temple. After Shree Mangeshi Temple, we stopped at Shree Mahalasa Narayani Temple. I had visited this temple too when I was young.
Shree Mahalasa Narayani Temple at Goa (Click to Zoom)
The Deepasthamba (a tall post which has lot of lamps or diyas on it) at the Mahalasa Narayani temple is really beautiful. I have clicked a couple of snaps of the same.
Deepasthamba at Mahalasa Narayani Temple at Goa (Click to Zoom)
Carvings around the base of the Deepasthamba at Mahalasa Narayani Temple at Goa (Click to Zoom)
Carvings around the base of the Deepasthamba at Mahalasa Narayani Temple at Goa (Click to Zoom)
The Base of the Deepasthamba supported by horses and elephants at Mahalasa Narayani Temple at Goa (Click to Zoom)
Shree Mahalasa Narayani Temple at Goa (Click to Zoom)
The last temple that we visited was Shree Lakshmi Narasimha Temple.
Shree Lakshmi Narasimha Temple at Goa (Click to Zoom)
Pond at the Lakshmi Narasimha Temple (Click to Zoom)
One interesting thing that I noted was the architecture of almost all the temples in Goa were similar. Almost all the temples that we visited in Goa had a similar layout and design!. Compared to it, the temples in South Kanara (Dakshina Kannada) are pretty different. They have a different design altogether!!
So, after all the temple visits, we came back to Shree Ramanathi Temple and attended the Maha Aarathi at around 1 PM and had our Prasadam. After that, we started back. We had our lunch at a hotel called Abhiksha. Very good hotel. The food was very good. Just like the previous day, we had a heavy lunch. By this time, it was around 2.30 PM. It was getting pretty cloudy, and it rained heavily. The return trip was basically nonstop travel.
We stopped in between for a couple of minutes for a small tea break at Bhatkal. Throughout the return journey, it as kind of raining lightly. We reached back Mangalore at around 10 PM.
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October 14th, 2005 at 11:50pm
