We awake to our first rain of the holiday, good news is that we will be driving for most of the day and should be nice and dry on the truck. We finally arrive to Tirupathi unload the truck find our rooms and head out for a quick lunch. After lunch we head up the hill to Venkateshwara Temple.
Fun Fact: Devotees flock to Tirumala to Venkateshwara, an avatar of Vishnu. Among the many powers attributed to him is the granting of any wish made before the idol at Tirumala. Many pilgrims donate their hair to the deity – in gratitude for a wish fulfilled.
Ordinary ‘darshan’ requires a wait of anywhere from 2 to 6 hours in the claustrophobic metal cages. We were lucky and purchased ‘Quick darshan’ tickets and got through a little faster. There was still the fun and excitement or should I say we had to brave the gauntlet of the cages, which of course is all part of the fun, kind of .....
Once we make it through the cages into the temple there Venkateshwara sits gloriously on his throne, inspiring bliss and love among his visitors (guess I was an exception). You only have a moment to make a wish and then you are shoved out again. We are then pushed along to collect our delicious ladoo (a sweet made of flour, sugar raisins and nuts). So I collected the sweet but did not eat it, I hope I don’t go to hell (or whatever the Hindi equivalent is), I think I counter acted this by giving my sweet to a local to eat, in doing this I made a new friend for life.
Still raining and not getting any not seeing any sign of the weather letting up, we get back in the car and make our way back to the bottom of the hill, back to the hotel have a warm shower and get dry.
Fun Fact: Devotees flock to Tirumala to Venkateshwara, an avatar of Vishnu. Among the many powers attributed to him is the granting of any wish made before the idol at Tirumala. Many pilgrims donate their hair to the deity – in gratitude for a wish fulfilled.
Ordinary ‘darshan’ requires a wait of anywhere from 2 to 6 hours in the claustrophobic metal cages. We were lucky and purchased ‘Quick darshan’ tickets and got through a little faster. There was still the fun and excitement or should I say we had to brave the gauntlet of the cages, which of course is all part of the fun, kind of .....
Once we make it through the cages into the temple there Venkateshwara sits gloriously on his throne, inspiring bliss and love among his visitors (guess I was an exception). You only have a moment to make a wish and then you are shoved out again. We are then pushed along to collect our delicious ladoo (a sweet made of flour, sugar raisins and nuts). So I collected the sweet but did not eat it, I hope I don’t go to hell (or whatever the Hindi equivalent is), I think I counter acted this by giving my sweet to a local to eat, in doing this I made a new friend for life.
Still raining and not getting any not seeing any sign of the weather letting up, we get back in the car and make our way back to the bottom of the hill, back to the hotel have a warm shower and get dry.
