To the Richest Temple in the World

Though we had to start at 3:00 in the morning, the anticipation of this journey pumped us with energy as we hurried into the rented car and settled down. We had a giant vault of snacks to cover the whole trip. It was pitch dark, not a single person at sight. We had pre-booked the Darshan 3 months back as the slots are always full. As the car headed Vandalur, a downpour broke. As we hit a puddle of water, we were afloat while in the car, heads ducked, we barely managed to gain the control back! We drove through the darkness as nothing was visible ahead of us. We were able to temporarily have a glimpse of the road as there were flashes of lightning and roars of thunder. This situation reminded me of the new-born Krishna in the crib, carried by his mortal father Vasudeva in a similar downpour and how the waves of the river made way for his venture to escape the vice of his vicious brother-in-law. The rain steamed the glasses as Vishnu Sahashranamam blared in the stereo speakers.

We stopped by a Shell fuel station in the outer skirts of Chennai and darted to the restroom, credits to Google maps. A fully charged phone and Google maps are that is needed to be a novice navigator. We resumed our journey as the weather had gradually become subtle. As we munched the supplies from the snack vault, we started playing games like Antakshari, Word building, Word connections, etc. which made everyone to rejoice. Hunger kicked in as we found Sangeetha, set in the border of Tamilnadu and Andhra. It was quite good and was on par with a typical Tamilnadu style restaurant.

As we closed in toward Tirupathi, we had to figure out the parking spot for the car for the ease of reaching it on our way back from Darshan and decided to park at the foot of Srivarimettu. Aliperi and Srivari Mettu are the two routes to Tripathi if we are to reach there on foot. Srivari Mettu is the shortest route to Tripathi and recommended for all the first-timers. It would take approximately two and a half hours to reach Tirupati through Srivarimettu as the latter would take around 5 hours. We had to leave all phones in the car as the temple prohibits as sorts of gadgets. One can still endure the long queues and use the vault/storage provided by TTD(Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam) for storing electronics/bags just before entering the temple. It was very fortunate as it was drizzling, and due to that, the weather was chill and humid. These conditions were a boon while climbing the stairs as the difficulty would be twice to climb these ever-ascending stairs under the hot Sun. These stairs that led to the legend were initially easier to climb but got steeper and breath-taking as we went on and on. The semi-dried stones of the stairs flowed with the handprints of turmeric and kumkum. The devotees climbed the hill with cautious steps as hot camphor flared on the verge of every stair. I was left speechless as some extreme devotees climbed each step on knees as an offering to the Lord.

The astringent breath of the woods enriched the divinity. There were camps of arranged stones that lay on either side of the stairs. As determined as the devotee's prayer, folks brought glucose to fight the exhaustion and water to keep hydrated. Whenever I stopped for a breath, I heard '' Yedukundala Vada...Venkatraman...." "...Govinda..." "Govinda...." and I would feel a surge of energy spawning in me. Few quick snacks like raw mango peppered with spicy chat, freshly-cut cucumbers, pineapples, and steamy legumes were available throughout the stairway. Tripathi runs a mega kitchen for Annandham (free food), Chathiram for stay, and a laddu factory for all the devotees. We were awed by the view full of greenery as we glanced back occasionally.

Tripathi Hills

Tripathi hills

It was sheer joy as we reached the top of Tirupathi. Everything looked so small from the peak. We enquired about the entry points where we were supposed to enter the temple. There are few restrooms where we can change to traditional attire as that was the dress code. As we stood in a queue and we anticipated it would take two to three hours to complete the whole Darshan. Alas! As we proceeded we came to know due to continuous rainfall, our slot barely had any devotees. We were waiting outside the main shrine for approximately 30 minutes. Goosebumps and tingly feeling engulfed my whole body as We kept nearing. The rush of the crowd was manageable through some agile movements and swift turns. As I entered the main shrine, I was amazed by the golden glow spreading everywhere. When I saw the main idol, I could not pray for anything. I was looking at him with my hands clasped. I had only a few seconds before the Seva people started pushing me towards the exit. Those few seconds were worth all the efforts we had made. We sat inside the temple as an eternal bliss swooped us in it. We then traced our way to collect our free Ladoos that came complimentary as we had booked a special Darshan.

Sri Vari Mettu

We came downhill by frequently available free buses provided by TTDs. We started the car after one last look at the three insignia of Venkateswara: Sangu, Nama, and Chakra on the crest of the peak, which was visible from the foot of the hill. We were desperately searching for a decent Tamilnadu style food as others were not satisfying the hunger. After a desperate search in Google maps, we found Southern Spices located near Tirupati-Chennai highway. It was the best food that We had on this journey! We resumed our journey in those pitch dark roads chatting and cracking jokes to beat the fatigue and to energize the driver. The exhaustion washed over our happy faces as the car was nearing home.