Thursday, November 28, 2013

Tirumala - Nityanna daanam - తిరుపతి నిత్యాన్నదాన సత్రం

 
First week of January 2013, I visited Tirupati along with my daughter. Previously, annadaana or free meals tickets were distributed in the darshan Q on our way out. There were limited tickets and the distribution of the food was at certain times only. Thousands of pilgrims visit Balaji everyday. There used to be and even today there are families from lower income who come to the temple walking hundreds of kilometers with their kin and kith. For some it is a visit of lifetime dream. Though we had lots of respect for the nityaannadaanam, we gave out our tickets to such families and people in the que who, we thought deserve them more than we do because of their dedication, faith. We always respected such people who, overlooking their limited resources came for darshan along with their families.

 However, this time, our taxi driver took us to Tarigonda Vengamamba Satram to show us that the 'prasadam' is unlimited. We hesitated a lot and even offered to pay for the taxi driver's meal in Tirupati. But he kept saying how we are saying no to the prasadam. Reluctantly we agreed to follow him, went inside and experienced a divine bliss sharing prasadam with thousands of other devotees.

The place was clean and well organized. The halls were huge and we were told that at one go one thousand people can eat. The building has four such halls. Once a hall is used, it will be closed for cleaning purposes while another hall will be opened for devotees to receive prasadam. The halls and washing areas are cleaned and well maintained. Most of the time, devotees need not have to wait for long times. However, during less peak period, devotees have to que up to enter the hall.

All the people who serve the food are volunteers for the day. Rice, dal, one vegetable, sambar and pickle, majiga were served. The rice was of good quality and the drinking water was clean and sparkling. The food was served with utmost respect. The volunteers were pleasant and very helpful. After many years, I got a chance to witness and experience divinity in one of Tirumala's activities.