Pilgrimage to Tirumala-Tirupati

"Not Now" has been my constant reply whenever my mother talks about going to Tirupati. This time I could not but accept as this was for my daughter's head tonsure in Tirupati. Probably she realized that this would be the only way to convince me!

Visiting Tirumala for Balaji Darshan had always had been an ordeal for our family and the reason could be that we do not do that too often. Tirumala is a place of uncertainties and they make us uneasy. Most of these uncertainties are due to the number of people visiting the temple at a particular point in time, which can go over a 100,000 per day. This varies a lot due to Tirumala specific rituals, religious reasons as per Hindu calendar (auspicious days), long weekends/holidays, season of the year etc. With increasing crowd, increases the uncertainties. In this blog I am narrating my experiences thru which the reader can get past these to some extent.

The following are the key areas that comprise of a Tirupati-Tirumala visit

• Travel
• Accommodation
• Other services like tonsuring head
• Darshan
• Tiruchanoor visit

Our plan:

Having decided to go, we decided for a Thursday, not knowing its specialty. As the following day was Vinayaga Chathurthi, I thought I could get rest after the travel.

Thanks to the newly introduced e-Special Entry Darshan facility, which helped us book Darshan in advance, through internet.

We planned to finish it in a day as we do not want to risk our sleep as our kids may not feel comfortable in a cottage. Our 1-day itinerary was as below.

• Travel by a cab to Tirumala - 5 am to 9 am
• Get a cottage just for the purpose of taking bath and changing after the tonsure - 9 am to 10 am
• Get head tonsured and take bath in cottage - 10 am to 12 Noon
• Have packed lunch - 12 to 1 pm
• Savor Balaji Darshan - 2 pm to 4 pm
• Visit Trichanur for paying tribute to Padmavathy Thayar - 4 pm to 6 pm
• Return home - 6 pm to 10 pm

The Travel:

Tirupati is well connected by Road, Rail and Air (Airport @ Renigunta - 14kms from Tirupati). Tirumala is only reachable by road from Tirupati. As we started from Chennai we took the road by a private cab. We chose a private cab as I am unaware of the parking and other issues at Tirumala, considering the fact that I visited Tirumala almost 10 years before. 

While booking the cab I was told that the Andhra Road permit fee is around Rs.300 for Sedans and up above Rs.2000 for MUV/MPV/SUV. We traveled by a sedan and I haven't seen any evidence of permit fee being paid, though the cabby included that in the final bill. Cabbies normally drive slower even in clean stretches and may even drive through long routes, just to avoid traffic. All these are to maximize fuel efficiency at the cost of the renter's money. More time, More tolls and More distance equals More money. 

So we reached Tirupati-Tirumala junction (bypass to Tirumala via Kadapa-Tirupati Road) by 9 am, taking a full 4 hours, just to reach Tirupati. :-(

We had our breakfast in one of the restaurants which looked good outside, but below standards inside. It is better to get into Tirupati town for breakfast as there would be better choices. After the breakfast we started towards Tirumala through the bypass road. This avoids the Tirupati traffic.

At the entrance of Tirumala ghat road, there's a toll of Rs.25 to be paid for the round trip. There's a security check and hence the cabby asked us to get down and take our bags to the security counter. The toll ticket showed us the time of booking the toll and also the time that it would take to reach Tirumala - around 28 mins. There's a penalty for over speeding if we reach Tirumala before that time! It took us around 29 mins as we were driving cautiously. Actually it should take around 20-25 mins at normal speed.

Once we reached Tirumala, we parked the cab near the new bus stand as there was ample space there.

Accommodation:

Tirumala has lots of cottages to stay and is tightly controlled by TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam), the controller/administrative body of Tirumala temple. Being atop a hill, most of these give a feel of a hill resort. They are also cheap with most cottages available for Rs.50/Rs.100 per night (called TB Cottages). However booking a cottage is not that easy. The e-Accommodation link of TTD website always show that all cottages are booked and none available, even when they are actually available. When you reach Tirumala, you can consult the CRO - Central Reception office, where a display shows the vacancy positions for the cottages. Again easy said than done. Even during lean periods there would be at least a hundred heads in a queue. If you want to return on the same day, there is no point waiting for the booking, as it would take a major chunk of your time impacting your itinerary badly. In such cases, when you want to return on the same day and need an accommodation try A/C rooms that are available for Rs.500 per night. But it may not be guaranteed in peak seasons. We went during a lean period and hence was able to get a Rs.500 per night A/C room thru Sri Padmavathy Enquiry office just behind the Tirumala bus station. The cottage was just decent enough.

Tonsuring head:

Though Kalyana Kattas (Head tonsuring facility) have separate bathrooms for men and woman to get bathed after a tonsure, they are not that convenient. These facilities are made to a minimum to save cost and space. Hence you can find a shower of cold water and nothing else in the bathrooms. However sources say that you can get bucket of hot water through the workers in the Kalyana Katta for a price. Still you should have a mug to use that.

There are mini Kalyana Kattas available near the cottages/guest houses. These are much cleaner and less crowded. Though these are meant for people dwelling in the cottages, other pilgrims too can use it for a price. As we stayed in the cottage, we used the mini Kalyana Katta for tonsuring and had bath in our cottage. My daughter was looking very good in her "mottai" and it did not make much difference for my father. But when I looked into the mirror, there was somebody there, mimicking my gestures!

Darshan:

Its a very good move by TTD in introducing the e-Special Entry Darshan. You can now book tickets/tokens in advance for the Darshan thru www.ttdsevaonline.com. We booked tickets thru this for Rs.300 per head. Please have your scanned photos and Id proofs like a PAN card, handy for booking. You need not buy tickets for children below 12. When we booked, there were only two slots - one at 2 pm and another at 3 pm and we chose the later. All pilgrims should carry valid identity proof and should visit the temple in traditional Indian clothes - Shirt and Dhothi for men, Saree/Salwar with Duppatta for women.

We have to present ourselves an hour before the Darshan time (i.e.) 1 PM for 2 PM darshan, 2 PM for 3 PM Darshan. We cannot take mobile phones inside the temple, hence we left them locked in our baggage in the cottage. This opens a problem - how we call the cab when we finish our Darshan? Hence we asked the cabby to have his car parked near the new bus stand which we knew very well, without minding the distance. We regretted later about this decision. 

Though our Darshan reporting time is 2 pm, they allowed us inside by 1:30 pm. The whole Darshan took just an hour and half. Of course it was a Thursday and hence the crowd could have been lesser than a Saturday/Friday. My friend visited a day before (Wednesday) and he had much better experience as the crowd was even more lesser. On Thursdays you get to see the deity without much alankar and is known as Netra Darshan. 

After the Darshan, we went to get the Laddoos as per our ticket - 2 Laddoos per 300 Rs. ticket. You have to buy a plastic bag in one counter (if you don't have one) and Laddoos in another. It takes anywhere between 30 mins to 1 hr to get the Laddoos. If you need extra Laddoos there is a separate counter and there were hundreds of people waiting in queue. We did not buy any extra Laddoos as it may add at least an hour to our itinerary which was already jam packed. 

From the temple entrance there are battery operated vehicles for aged/handicapped pilgrims to reach the nearest bus/taxi stand. As our cabby had his car parked near the new bus stand, I left my aged parents at the taxi stand and walked to the new bus stand. It takes at least 20 mins to reach that place. Its a mistake as the cabby could have parked in the taxi stand just opposite to the main entrance where the battery operated vehicles stop. The cabby did not know anything about Tirumala, which defeated the whole purpose of booking cab which was for avoiding such delays. Finally we started by 4:30 pm from Tirumala towards Tiruchanoor. Again at the toll gate they scan the ticket to log the start time and the estimated time at the foot hills is around 40 mins. We reached the foot hills in 35 mins, but to our surprise, it was not checked.

Tiruchanoor:

Every time we visit Tirumala, we visit Sri Padmavathy Thayar Temple in Tiruchanoor:/Alamelumangapuram, as well. It takes around 15-30 mins from Tirupati to Tiruchanoor, depending on the traffic. There is a parking lot just opposite to the temple (parking fee Rs.50). For the Darshan, there are 4 options. Free Darshan, Special Darshan (Rs.20), VIP Darshan (Rs.100) and Kunguma Archana, costing Rs.200 for a couple. By availing Kunguma Archana one can get closer to the deity and have a special archana done. As there was not much crowd we took the Rs.20 ticket. In the evenings from 5:30 pm to 7 pm, there could be a special seva during which pilgrims may not be allowed inside the temple. Hence its better to visit Tiruchanoor before 5pm. We encountered this problem as we went into the temple by 6pm. Luckily the seva got finished quicker and we were allowed by 6:15 pm. It took just 15 mins in the queue to have the darshan. For the Rs.20 ticket a free Laddoo is given in the Laddoo or Laddoo cover counter. 

Back home:

We started from Tiruchanoor at 7 pm and came through Nagalapuram/Periyapalayam. We had to face large craters and potholes near Vadamalpet in this route. Hence the Tada/SriKalahasti route is better. We reached our home around 12 owing to the cabby mostly cruising between 60 and 80 kmph and the traffic snarl near Tambaram due to the long weekend. Cab charges came to around 6K that includes permit fee, driver charges (for two days as the time had crossed 11 pm) and the km charges (Rs.10 per km). He claimed that Verito is a premium cab and hence charges are high!

Overall, by Lord Balaji's grace, we had a memorable trip without much major issues.