It was lunch as usual when I overheard a conversation between Polo and Upasana about a possible trip to Tirupati. The idea of a trip itself was exciting, irrespective of the destination. I was pretty jobless with no classes at all for a few days. So I interfered in the conversation and passed the message to our broadcasting channel, namely, Miss Shikha Jain. Soon i get a list of interested people, and in a couple of days I booked the railway tickets.
"But!" said Naveen, "Takloo (dats my nickname for my last hair style), where are the Darshan Tickets???"
I didnt even know we got those tickets from Chennai, and that it was tough to get them. Just a day before we were supposed to leave, we went to the TTD (Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam ) centre only to find that no tickets were available for 7th Feb, the day we had planned to reach the temple. Disappointed, we came back home, and thought about re planning the trip, but Mr. Aanand and Naveen suddenly find out from some political contact of theirs that tickets can be arranged after reaching Tirupati.
13 of us began our journey the next day. Reached Tirupati at about 9 PM, had dinner and then started our trek towards Tirumala. We had to cover a distance of 9 km, walking over 7 hills.
(Photos)
The vehicles were ready...engines howling... fuel meters pointing towards F... 3000 odd stairs was the first target...
We got off to a flying start, each one trying to overtake the other. 300 stairs done...400...500, and suddenly... we ould see the fuel meters nearing E, and every platform after a set of 20-odd stairs looked like a pit stop.
Each of us tried to encourage the others, "Yea yea come on! You can do it... Keep going Keep going!"But everyone who was saying this was refuelling his own engine.
We got divided into 3 groups. Shikha, me and Abhi leading the pack, Naveen, Soumya, Asim, Ravi and Aanand behind us, and The bongs (Agniva, SUV and Polo), the Guju girl Upasana and Mr. Vidith strolled their way up.
Somehow we managed to get past the initial stretch of stairs and came across the first milestone which surprisingly read 7km to go. "What the...," Thats all we said because we had decided to mind our language on the pilgrimage.
The journey uphill was pretty insightful. After every hill was an idol of one of Vishnu's 10 incarnations. Me and shikha were able to recognise a few, we could not recognise the others, so we called up our Dads to ask the names of all of Vishnu's incarnations in the right sequence (http://canuzblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/vishnus-10-incarnations-evolution.html).
Fortunately there were very few stairs for about 3-4 kilometres which made our job a lot easier. Naveen caught up with us while me, abhi and shikha were busy taking pictures of the deer and antelopes on the way.
We reached Tirumala at about 2 AM (we had started around 10.20). Shikha's uncle had booked a couple of rooms in a guest house for us.
13 people, 2 decent sized beds, a few bedsheets and blankets, Wow!!! No one dared to get out of bed because getting out once meant never getting a chance to get back in. Who else would know it better than Ravi. but this guy was a marketting champ guys. He told everybody to get up and change the direction in which we were sleeping so that we were more comfortable.
Next morning all of us woke up pretty early, everyone was raring to go and get a 2-second glimpse of Lord Balaji. Aanand's contact said he will deliver tickets at about 11, so we all got back to bed after breakfast. At 11, we were told the tickets will be delivered at about 1 o'clock. At 1, there was still no sign of tickets coming our way, so we went out for a small city tour comprising of visits to some of the other small temples and religious places around.
At 3 we finally got the good news that tickets were arranged and that we had to rush because the time of Darchan allotted to us was exactly 3. After placing the luggage in the lockers, we managed to get into the queue by 3.40.
Boy!!! Was the place crowded!!! And the ever so disciplined crowd made life a lot easier for us. People kept joining the queue from either side which meant we moved less frequently. We went through various large and small enclosures, merged with other queues, went up and down the stairs, walked into and out of a couple of gates, and we were almost there when we were asked to stop. We were made to stop right next to a huge gate, which we saw opening. we could then hear some music. Some people were running out of the gate as if they were making way for some celebrity or a VIP guest. Little did we know that the guest, the VIP, the celebrity was none other than the Lord thyself. An idol of Lord Balaji was being moved to a stage outside. The scene was beyond description. The vibrations were heavenly. And all of us were ecstatic to get a chance to view this.
As soon as the procession passed by, we were allowed to move ahead. After spending close to two and a half hours in the Q, the moment had arrived. But the rendezvous with the Lord lasted for only about 2 seconds for most. The security personnel just pushed us ahead even before we got to say Hi. I was fortunate enough to get 6-7 seconds.
On the way, I was told that each of us would be getting 2 Laddoos as Prasad. Sweets do not excite me any more, so I promised a few people a share in my laddoos. There was a queue at the exit, where Prasad was being given. I was disappointed to get only 1 laddoo, but then i was told that the 2 laddoos being talked about were to be collected from another window.
Getting the 2 laddoos was not an easy job either. I had to wrestle through a bunch of people to be able to buy a few poly bags for laddoos. And then, as we got those laddoos, i tasted a little bit!!! All i could say was, "Superb!!!" and "sorry," to each one who i had promised a share in my laddoos.
Well, the end to the entire journey was no less eventful, with Polo and Upasna getting lost, and all of us running around to trace them.
All in all, it was a wonderful trip, the credit for which goes to Polo and Upasna for conceptualising the trip, Shikha for spreading the info and getting together interested people and also for arranging the guest house, and of course Aanand and Naveen for making the Darshan possible. A toast for the Entire gang, who rocked all along the trip. Guys, with the kind of schedule we have in the next few weeks, a lot more to come.
Just one concern...I wish those laddoos could last as long as the memories of the trip will. GOVINDAAAA!!!!!!
"But!" said Naveen, "Takloo (dats my nickname for my last hair style), where are the Darshan Tickets???"
I didnt even know we got those tickets from Chennai, and that it was tough to get them. Just a day before we were supposed to leave, we went to the TTD (Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam ) centre only to find that no tickets were available for 7th Feb, the day we had planned to reach the temple. Disappointed, we came back home, and thought about re planning the trip, but Mr. Aanand and Naveen suddenly find out from some political contact of theirs that tickets can be arranged after reaching Tirupati.
13 of us began our journey the next day. Reached Tirupati at about 9 PM, had dinner and then started our trek towards Tirumala. We had to cover a distance of 9 km, walking over 7 hills.
(Photos)
The vehicles were ready...engines howling... fuel meters pointing towards F... 3000 odd stairs was the first target...
We got off to a flying start, each one trying to overtake the other. 300 stairs done...400...500, and suddenly... we ould see the fuel meters nearing E, and every platform after a set of 20-odd stairs looked like a pit stop.
Each of us tried to encourage the others, "Yea yea come on! You can do it... Keep going Keep going!"But everyone who was saying this was refuelling his own engine.
We got divided into 3 groups. Shikha, me and Abhi leading the pack, Naveen, Soumya, Asim, Ravi and Aanand behind us, and The bongs (Agniva, SUV and Polo), the Guju girl Upasana and Mr. Vidith strolled their way up.
Somehow we managed to get past the initial stretch of stairs and came across the first milestone which surprisingly read 7km to go. "What the...," Thats all we said because we had decided to mind our language on the pilgrimage.
The journey uphill was pretty insightful. After every hill was an idol of one of Vishnu's 10 incarnations. Me and shikha were able to recognise a few, we could not recognise the others, so we called up our Dads to ask the names of all of Vishnu's incarnations in the right sequence (http://canuzblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/vishnus-10-incarnations-evolution.html).
Fortunately there were very few stairs for about 3-4 kilometres which made our job a lot easier. Naveen caught up with us while me, abhi and shikha were busy taking pictures of the deer and antelopes on the way.
We reached Tirumala at about 2 AM (we had started around 10.20). Shikha's uncle had booked a couple of rooms in a guest house for us.
13 people, 2 decent sized beds, a few bedsheets and blankets, Wow!!! No one dared to get out of bed because getting out once meant never getting a chance to get back in. Who else would know it better than Ravi. but this guy was a marketting champ guys. He told everybody to get up and change the direction in which we were sleeping so that we were more comfortable.
Next morning all of us woke up pretty early, everyone was raring to go and get a 2-second glimpse of Lord Balaji. Aanand's contact said he will deliver tickets at about 11, so we all got back to bed after breakfast. At 11, we were told the tickets will be delivered at about 1 o'clock. At 1, there was still no sign of tickets coming our way, so we went out for a small city tour comprising of visits to some of the other small temples and religious places around.
At 3 we finally got the good news that tickets were arranged and that we had to rush because the time of Darchan allotted to us was exactly 3. After placing the luggage in the lockers, we managed to get into the queue by 3.40.
Boy!!! Was the place crowded!!! And the ever so disciplined crowd made life a lot easier for us. People kept joining the queue from either side which meant we moved less frequently. We went through various large and small enclosures, merged with other queues, went up and down the stairs, walked into and out of a couple of gates, and we were almost there when we were asked to stop. We were made to stop right next to a huge gate, which we saw opening. we could then hear some music. Some people were running out of the gate as if they were making way for some celebrity or a VIP guest. Little did we know that the guest, the VIP, the celebrity was none other than the Lord thyself. An idol of Lord Balaji was being moved to a stage outside. The scene was beyond description. The vibrations were heavenly. And all of us were ecstatic to get a chance to view this.
As soon as the procession passed by, we were allowed to move ahead. After spending close to two and a half hours in the Q, the moment had arrived. But the rendezvous with the Lord lasted for only about 2 seconds for most. The security personnel just pushed us ahead even before we got to say Hi. I was fortunate enough to get 6-7 seconds.
On the way, I was told that each of us would be getting 2 Laddoos as Prasad. Sweets do not excite me any more, so I promised a few people a share in my laddoos. There was a queue at the exit, where Prasad was being given. I was disappointed to get only 1 laddoo, but then i was told that the 2 laddoos being talked about were to be collected from another window.
Getting the 2 laddoos was not an easy job either. I had to wrestle through a bunch of people to be able to buy a few poly bags for laddoos. And then, as we got those laddoos, i tasted a little bit!!! All i could say was, "Superb!!!" and "sorry," to each one who i had promised a share in my laddoos.
Well, the end to the entire journey was no less eventful, with Polo and Upasna getting lost, and all of us running around to trace them.
All in all, it was a wonderful trip, the credit for which goes to Polo and Upasna for conceptualising the trip, Shikha for spreading the info and getting together interested people and also for arranging the guest house, and of course Aanand and Naveen for making the Darshan possible. A toast for the Entire gang, who rocked all along the trip. Guys, with the kind of schedule we have in the next few weeks, a lot more to come.
Just one concern...I wish those laddoos could last as long as the memories of the trip will. GOVINDAAAA!!!!!!
no comments :)
ReplyDeleteWow!! sounds like u guys had good fun!Wish i was there too :(
ReplyDeleteYou people sure had great fun!! and Canu can sure write!! :)
ReplyDeleteI am impressed,, next trip,, I am also in :)
ReplyDeletevivid description! i can only imagine Ravi managing the rearrangement & if he succeded with you lazy bones, he must've been pretty darn good:) Govinda!
ReplyDeletehey.. nice wrap up.. but i remember.. the best part was wen we had finished climbing for more than 2 hours and we saw the milestone.. lol.. it read 3 on our side and 6 to be completed.. we were like.. dude.. this is misprinted, it should be the otherway round. :P
ReplyDeletereadin this was just like living those moments again.....
ReplyDeletereadin this was just like living those moments again.....
ReplyDeleteupload some pictures buddy...
ReplyDelete