TTD Visit on February 18, 2020

Visit to TTD

It was a very sudden decision to seek the blessings of the Lord of Seven Hills on Sunday, 16^th February…like a spur of the moment thought! Couple of people close to us had advised that we visit TTD and in any case there had been a big gap between this visit and previous one, 5 years back. For our family the Lord is not just Kula Devatha, but Ishta Devatha also.

I have also in the past written a pretty long essay-like blog on Tirumala Sri Venkateshwara titled "Govinda, Govinda Govindaa" and this one hopefully will be a bit different. The ‘Services’ industry in our country has seen many changes in the last decade. We are slowly getting there…although we are streets behind some of our Asian brothers. I hope our most recent experience will offer some insights into the progress we are making as a nation. Unfortunately, Indians themselves either press the brakes hard or derail the progress some of our Services Industry Captains try and bring in, and that indeed is a pity.

Having decided to travel on 17^th Feb for a visit to the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam on 18^th Feb to match my wife’s birthday celebrations, we scouted the internet for a package trip. APTDC (Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation) in conjunction with TTD allow special darshan for a fee of Rs 300 per person traveling in groups. Sugama Travels, based in Bangalore have dedicated 2 numbers of multi-axle Volvo buses to APTDC, making it convenient for a batch of 58 people to travel from Bangalore each night for Darshan on the following day. We were able to book our seats online but having reserved in the last minute we were allotted seats somewhere towards the rear. To my surprise, a couple of hours later I received a call from the Booking officer that he could offer seats in the front as two people had canceled their tickets. He said he was offering us these seats as we were senior citizens…some welcome perks on getting older!

While booking online we need to give Aadhar Card number which also acts as an ID Proof at the temple main entrance. TTD issues a ticket only when APTDC provides these details. Our guide for the package trip hands over the TTD issued special darshan tickets only upon showing him our Aadhar card. The licensed guides take their responsibility very seriously and act as proxy TTD officials. One of our fellow passenger offered his Driving License as an ID proof, although he had mentioned his Aadhar card number at the time of booking. He was singled out and had to go through a tough grilling session. I guess the Guide had to accompany this person to the entrance and talk to the TTD officials into accepting this as a special case. Indians are extremely careless and have a don’t care attitude. Even at the time of boarding the bus at Bangalore the helper kept telling each and every one of us if we were carrying our address and ID proof as mentioned during booking. Each and every person nodded their heads but gave scant regard and dismissed it from their minds.

The multi-axle Volvo was just under 2 years  of age and very well maintained. Each seat had a nice maroon colour fleece blanket and each seat had an A/c vent and reading lights that worked. Each seat was also provided with a USB charger outlet for the phone. New features, where extra care and thought had gone into, while deciding on what amenities to provide to a passenger. People are however ungrateful…almost 50% of the USB chargers are dysfunctional as passengers in their anxiety to disembark yank the cable from these sockets and in the process rip off the chargers from its sockets, making them useless. I understand each replacement costs Rs 1,500. The owner took pains to replace them each time a defect was noticed, but the incidences are so many that the owner has decided to do away with these chargers. Since my wife and myself were the last to disembark, we got into small conversation with the driver and helper. It is their responsibility to keep time and make up in case there are delays in any sector. They were also unhappy that the so-called educated passengers and people on pilgrimage could be so unruly, mean-minded and selfish. He showed us how the people dirty the bus and litter the place with empty water bottles, plastic food rappers and spilt food. One of the passengers had also puked inside the bus; probably due to motion sickness. The helper’s responsibility was to get the entire bus spick and span again for it to start its next journey. The cleaning time window was just an hour and half for him. This pair have to hand over charge to the next pair of driver and helper for the next night. It’s indeed a tough life for the remarkable twosome team.

With just a bio-break during the onward journey at a Reliance Petrol Bunk which also had a toilet facility, the journey took us 6 hours to complete. But just one bathroom for the 58 of us was too much for the washroom to handle. The driver gave us enough time as he had to fill the tank with 260 liters of diesel; it took around 30 minutes for him to complete his transaction and by that time all passengers had finished downloading their individual tanks.

We reached the sprawling city of Tirupati at 4:10 AM. This is where the Guide for our visit to Tirumala, was handed over the baton by our twosome Driver & Helper combination. The guide addressed us over the excellent Public Address system inside the Volvo. He gave us 50 minutes to finish our morning formalities in the rooms provided in the Sri Venkateshwara Lodge. Rooms provided were on twin sharing basis. While its okay for families to share the room, some individual travelers didn’t want to share a room and after a heated exchange between the individual, Guide and the Hotel owner folks came to an amicable understanding and thereafter peace prevailed. At 4 AM in the morning a flower vendor sitting on the steps to the entrance of the hotel was also selling toothpaste, soap, shampoo and coconut oil packets…essential stuff people normally carry but at times also forget when in a hurry. Ever since wearing a dhoti or pyjama has been made mandatory, these vendors have also started stocking and selling dhoti and for those who cannot wrap themselves with a dhoti there is free service provided by these vendors who help in wrapping. This was an unnecessary imposition by TTD making it uncomfortable to many across the nation. I am sure no God ever dictated what should be worn when people come visiting him at his abode.

A nearby coffee vendor, and a resourceful one at that, was quick to grab the opportunity to sell coffee…he provided room service too! We were all ready, not at 5 AM but 5:30 AM. I guess the Guide had kept this extra 30 minutes time, knowing that very few amongst Indians are actually punctual.  Our first stop was at Padmavathi temple – we took the blessings of Lord Venkateshwara’s wife before commencing our climb to the hill top.

Thankfully there was no ‘Q’ at Padmavathi temple and we were able to glide in and out within 30 minutes. The next halt was for breakfast. The package tour cost includs breakfast and lunch. Sugama Travels and a few others have a fixed arrangement with this Udupi hotel which caters to mass crowd in a very organized and efficient manner. It was a buffet breakfast consisting of Idly, Vada and Pongal. It was served by a team of hotel staff with sambar and chutney. Coffee/Tea was also served before being given some additional time for a bio-break.

We were transferred from our Volvo to the TTD managed mountain bus as we reached closer to the gateway of the hills. These are small 38 seater buses and people have to squeeze themselves in the cramped space. The guide plays a very important role as he is the bridge between TTD Management of the bus fleet and APTDC/Private travels. 58 members need to be split between two buses, also keeping in mind who within our bunch would want to get their heads tonsured. The guide accompanies us in the mountain bus and there is a grueling check at the entrance to the ghat section. We are asked to disemabark, individually frisked, luggage goes through a scanning/X-ray machine and then we board the same mountain bus again. It takes an hour to reach the hill top and our teams assembly point is shop number 69 at Ram Bageecha bus stand. We need to deposit our mobile phones and chappals for a small fee at this shop and this is the place where we meet once again after the darshan is completed.

Having completed all these formalities, the guide ensures the folks who had gone for tonsuring also rejoin the team and leads us to the temple entrance. The entrance for the special Rs 300 ticket is a separate one and should not be confused with the Dharmadarshan ‘Q’. This is where our Aadhar ID proof is checked with the Tickets issued by TTD to APTDC and if it is in order, we are allowed to enter the long and winding journey into the sanctum sanctorum. From this point onwards the guide is no more with us and we are on our own.

Being a Tuesday and a month before the school and board exams, the crowd was relatively less. There was no waiting in any of the cages, but we did have to go through another round of ID proof checking plus frisking. Three ‘Q’ gets merged at the south-east corner of the encaged pathway to the temple entrance. This is the last leg to the main sanctum sanctorum and this where the struggle begins…one really doesn’t have to walk…we get sucked into the moving humanity, much like the entrance to any Mumbai local in the peak hour. If you are smart and position yourself correctly, you will get funneled in, but if you remain in the periphery, there is a good chance that you will encounter a human wall that will not allow you even an inch of space.

Each time I have visited TTD and how much ever the struggle to reach the main entrance, once we are inside and you see the Lord himself in all his glory, every struggle is forgotten. We remain in awe in the small duration of time that each one gets in front. And as the Guide kept reminding us, don’t close your eyes while praying at the inner sanctum sanctorum…we need to keep our eyes wide open to see and feel the Lords presence. It has a strange calming effect as if the Lord has been waiting for your visit and is willing to listen to your hearts content and the monologue is only between the two of us. This is the moment of joy we eagerly look forward to and after this electrifying experience, the rest of our journey happens in a trance. The image remains etched in the mind for a long time and we try and relive the precious few moments we got in his home.

The guide is back at the assembly point to receive us post our visit inside the temple with the famous TTD Laddus. Post Jan 20^th this year, TTD has modified the Laddu rules. Instead of two for each Rs 300 ticket, it is only one. However, whoever is interested can proceed to the Laddu counter and buy as many as they want, each costing Rs 50. We were then led back to shop no 69 to collect our mobiles and slippers. It was 12 noon by the time the entire team of 58 returned to board the mountain bus to be ferried back to the base station and for a sumptuous and tasty lunch back at the Udupi hotel. One just cannot undermine the role played by the guide. Right from the time he received us at 4:10 AM at the lodge till the time he brought all of us safely back to the base camp and got us transferred to Sugama Travels Volvo, he took care of everything. Hats off to this gentleman for conducting the temple visit in such an exemplary manner.

But for the coordinated tasks each member carried out in the chain of events that slowly unfolded in front of our eyes, a visit to the temple town at such short notice could not have happened in such a comfortable manner. Each member amongst the service providers have a specific role to play and each of them played their part beautifully well, much like the way one would see in a symphony orchestra. Not one wrong note was played and it was joyful music at its very best!

We wish to take this opportunity to thank all the people for the services rendered and while we prayed to the Lord for all our desires, we also prayed for all those people who orchestrated each event with perfection, and for having made our journey so special, memorable and comfortable.