Trip to Tirupati Balaji

This weekend i visited to Balaji Temple for the second time. Friday nite i was in office till 9.00 p.m and then rushed to the movie hall to catch Bunty and Babli. Good time pass. Saturday was off. So got up late and then killed my time sitting here and there. Then i ran to catch my bus at 7.30 from race course road. Finally reached Tirupati at 2.00 in the nite. Everything was taken care by the travels as it was a package tour. Took a bath at 3.00 a.m (first time so early) and then there was a city bus available for the further journey. In the nite/early morning the city was asleep and we were travelling for good. The bus took us from the city to mountains...first time in my life i was scared of the journey..the driver was skillful no doubt but somehow i had a feeling that the bus with fall in the valley and everyone will die. But nothing happened. I saw the city from the ghats and lights from the city appeared like stars from there. I just saw up and there were stars above..it was a beautiful scene...

Reached the temple at 4.00 a.m. Then the guide took us to a long queue. On being asked he told me that this is a special darshan...looking at the queue it didnot appear like special. Anyways almost 2 hrs in that slow moving Q and then finally reached to the main room. hardly 30 sec for it and the police and admin ppl started pushing everyone, coz they wanted to manage the crowd. Came out and then followed the crowd which was going to the "Hundi". Hundi is a big container covered with white cloth and some small windows made for ppl to drop their offerings (money). I dropped my offering as well as my warden's as she gave me a coin covered in yellow cloth for this Hundi. Came back to the meeting point fixed by the guide. So many beggers out there..gosh..

Then started off in the bus and they took us to the Padmavati temple nearby. It was 9.00 when we reached there and pretty hot outside. To be at the safer side guide told us to remove the chappals/sandals in the bus itself. We followed him barefoot to the temple. Roads were burning with the heat of sun and it started hurting us. But then coming so far and not visiting the temple wasnt a wise decision so we moved on. We entered inside, and the fragnance of the ladoos fillled in the whole temple gave a very pleasant feeling. Standing there and waiting for others was a big headache, but thankfully nobody took that much time. While standing there i was wandering. Read a few names on the temple walls scratched and written by some lousy ppl to prove that they visited. Then i saw a board saying " Special Darshanam for 10 Rs". I knew this guide wud have booked the tickets of this row only. Then i saw a second board saying " Darshanam" i guess this was free and huge crowd and local ppl standing out there. But that wasnt end of it. I saw the third board "Quick Darshanam 40 Rs" . I dont understand why these ppl distinguish between darshaan. Who are they to discriminate ppl on basis of how much one can pay? Anyways when my mind was trying to answer these questions to myself i took a position in the special darshaan and some 200 ppl were standing before me in the "Q". The Q was moving slowly. Before i cud reach half the distance the Q stopped. We watied and waited but no movement. It was so hot that ppl started sweating and i felt the sickness in me arousing. The weather was sticky hot and humid. I asked my friend "when will this move?" but it was stupid of me to ask. After another half an hour we got the information that some VVIP has come and he is doing VVIP darshan personally in the temple so others were made to wait...how sick...

Simple darshaan, Special darshaan, Quick darshaan and V.V.I.P darshaan. (In gods place we are being discriminated...and we are democratic)

Somehow we finished it and i ran without taking the prasad coz there was a loooooooooooooooong Q for it and i wasnt in a position to stand any longer. I came out to breathe fresh air. Sat in the bus and it started back for bangalore. Reached bangalore at 6.00.

This was a pending visit which i wanted to do sometimes back. After i go back to delhi coming all the way to balaji wud be little tough so though of finishing it this time :) Felt a peace in me after this. I wish to see Vaishno Devi soon :)