My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
Tirupati is probably the most talked about temple in India, and there isn’t much I can add about either the temple or the deity. There are a number of websites that can give you all the information you require, foremost among which is that of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. The site gives all details of the temple, its history, the deities, the places around it, and most important, the sevas you can perform, the queue details and accommodation facilities. Today, booking is possible online, but a better option is to use the call centre, or better still, call the Office. They are well conversant in English and Tamil, and are very helpful. You can find the complete list of sevas and their details here. Since the website gives all the necessary details, I shall not go into them here, but if any of you have a problem or want any clarifications, please feel free to write to me at anushankarn@gmail.com
Meanwhile, here is a photoblog of our Tirupati trip-
Here are the seven hills as seen from the car as we were going up the mountain......
The next pictures of the temple were taken from the steps opposite the temple. Cameras are not allowed in the temple, and most of the time we left our cameras behind in the room, even when we went for meals. On the last day, I made a special trip to the steps outside the temple to get these pics.....
The main entrance of the temple....
A Closer view of the 3 gopurams
Windmills - always a big attraction for kids.... i remember this was the first place i saw a windmill... i was then in school, and we stopped on the way so that I could stare at them a while longer... now Samhith does the same.....
The food court- the lane opposite the one leading to the temple is full of foodstalls - their pongal is awesome!!!
Roads have been widened all around the temple..
Devotees returning from darshan of the Lord
A closer look at the Gopuram - this was the nearest I could get to the Gopuram with my camera.....
The temple and the Pushkarini - the tank
The Varaha Swamy Guest House - this is where we stayed... at Rs.100 per room per night, it was just great!
Samhith has been to so many temples since he was born, and has been hearing so many stories from Indian mythology; he loves to hear the stories of the temples he visits. At Tirupati, the prakaram surrounding the main sanctum has panels depicted the story of lord Venkateswara. He refused to leave the temple till I had read out each and every one of them! Then, he made me repeat the story to him again and again till he had the story firmly fixed in his mind. I told him the story so many times that I decided to write it down. So, coming up next are a series of posts where I shall relate the story of Sri Venkateswara or Srinivasa, as he is popularly known.
Meanwhile, here is a photoblog of our Tirupati trip-
Here are the seven hills as seen from the car as we were going up the mountain......
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| From May 2009 Vacation -2 |
The next pictures of the temple were taken from the steps opposite the temple. Cameras are not allowed in the temple, and most of the time we left our cameras behind in the room, even when we went for meals. On the last day, I made a special trip to the steps outside the temple to get these pics.....
The main entrance of the temple....
A Closer view of the 3 gopurams
Windmills - always a big attraction for kids.... i remember this was the first place i saw a windmill... i was then in school, and we stopped on the way so that I could stare at them a while longer... now Samhith does the same.....
The food court- the lane opposite the one leading to the temple is full of foodstalls - their pongal is awesome!!!
Roads have been widened all around the temple..
Devotees returning from darshan of the Lord
A closer look at the Gopuram - this was the nearest I could get to the Gopuram with my camera.....
The temple and the Pushkarini - the tank
The Varaha Swamy Guest House - this is where we stayed... at Rs.100 per room per night, it was just great!
Samhith has been to so many temples since he was born, and has been hearing so many stories from Indian mythology; he loves to hear the stories of the temples he visits. At Tirupati, the prakaram surrounding the main sanctum has panels depicted the story of lord Venkateswara. He refused to leave the temple till I had read out each and every one of them! Then, he made me repeat the story to him again and again till he had the story firmly fixed in his mind. I told him the story so many times that I decided to write it down. So, coming up next are a series of posts where I shall relate the story of Sri Venkateswara or Srinivasa, as he is popularly known.
Anu - It should have been very hot out there, the overcast skies are a little confusing though, was it raining !!
ReplyDeleteAnu, finally I can read your blog.. It works!! Yay!!
ReplyDeleteI've been to Tirupathi when I was little (years ago!!).. All I remember was the temple and the crowd! For some reason.. it was really crowded when we went.. .and there was lots of pushing... & bribery to enter the temple !! Which I wasnt particularly impressed with.. ie. My dad had to pay for us not to queue!! The food even then was awesome!!
Really. Its very good news and nice to hear. I am planning to go to tirupati in this season but i thought this is peak season. Now i got confidence to plan for tirupati trip. Thanks for sharing this nice information.
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Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing a great post!
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