ABC of AAD

Utilising the break.

Keeping my ear on the rail, i can hear the train coming. A long train. With no breaks. And its coming fast. Chugging away to glory. I realise that before i get on to it, i must do a few things. Well, thats the feeling that i have !

Inbetween jobs, I was at Tirupathi.

When the plans were afoot to get there, i discussed it with friends. And got some wonderful insights. Raghuvir told me that that the Lord Venkateshwara is an income tax assesse & perhaps has a pan number !! And Tirupathi is the second richest place of worship in the world. Second, only to the Vatican !

I was also told that the best way to avoid long and serpentine 4-5 hour queues is to take the AAD darshan arranged through APSRTC ( Andhra Pradhesh State Road Transport Corporation). It costed us Rs. 1000/- per head. (An air-conditioned Volvo bus journey will cost Rs.350/- extra, but we arent comfortable with them(air-conditioned buses). The journey starts from Bangalore at 7.30 PM. (sharp). Reaches Tirupathi by 1.30 in the morning.

They give you a room & an hour and fifteen minutes of time to frehsen up. At 2.45 am (sharp) they ferry you to Tirumala. 4.15 A.M you you are in the queue. And by 5.30 AM you are out after your darshan of the lord. The space , scope, belief levels and sheer energy of the place is something to experience.

Young & old. Rich & poor. Healthy & otherwise. Stingy & lavish. Show stoppers & commoners. Policemen. Shopkeepers. Housewives. Newly weds. Tonsured Heads. Long hairs. Bare chested. Tommy Hilfigers. Illiterates. PhDs. Abishek, Aishwarya, Amitabh Bachan, Anil Ambani. Me & my wife. All have visited Tirupati !

The sheer manitude of the thronging masses is electrifying to me. And by the way, i have prayed for you too ! ( No kidding !) And no you dont have to forward this ip address to 10 people to get blessings..!!

And we were back home at 4.00 PM after stopping by at Padmavati temple, breakfast and lucnh! I would say it is a very good option to go on the Archanantara Darsanam (AAD) & say hello to the lord early in the morning !

Its a little tiring. ( I would imagine that it would be a tougher ask on kids & toddlers). The bus doesnt play irritating music / movie until the return journey, which is bearable. The rooms, clean as they are, can be better, especially if you arent used to the Indian style toilets.

Contact numbers to book for the AAD is (just in case you are interested): (080) 22383361.

That was that.

In a couple of hours from now, i am going home. (Thats the song too). Home to Madurai. For five days. I am looking forward to this trip. I need to get back to the basics !

Wish me luck.

14 thoughts on “ABC of AAD

  1. pria says:

    Wait a minute.. Did you atleast think of your poor bloggies before finishing off the laddu 😉

    An expensive god…..indeed.

    Your next stop at Madurai.. hmm going to temple and chekcing out special murukkus and tasty food ther?? Ghosh missing lots of stuff..
    Have a wonderful trip and do post your travel pics if possible.

  2. Mukunth says:

    Hi Kavi
    Guess you must be taking some time off at Madurai. Good info, on Tirupati. Where is their office in Bangalore?
    Mukunth

  3. Swatantra says:

    Hi!

    I really liked the line, you don’t need to forward to 10 people to get the blessings!! Thanks for praying for all of us!

    Yes it is a great feeling visiting GOD early morning! I believe you feel more connected to him!

    Wish you Good luck, good time with your roots.. Convey the regards to your parents!

    Keep writing!

  4. thanks for the prayers!

    the lord knows your annual salary to the third decimal place and he will place you in the right queue at the right time..

    after all, he knows all!

    🙂

  5. Jeevan says:

    How sweet of u kavi to pray for us 🙂 Thanks. Even I have visited thirupathi;) for 3 times and one was at Tamil Nadu tourism, must tell it’s a memorable one (that was going in a bus on hills). Have good times at Madurai, situation songs too. Hum… superb.

  6. Kavi sar! what a trip and tip. Missed you…one day I will come there and visit Thirupathi appa.

  7. I’ve never been here actually but I’ve always wanted to. Well sometimes they are all the same right? Tirupathi, Guruvayoor…All the supreme almighty!!

  8. Keshi says:

    u know Kavi…I really wanna go to Tirupati some day!

    Nice music here…

    Keshi.

  9. shark says:

    hey.. thanks so much for the prayers… and best of luck to you to start from the basics 🙂

  10. Kavi,

    I have experienced the same. There is Tirupathi Devasthanam office in T.Nagar and there are buses which leave from there in the morning around 5.30 a.m. They take you to tirupathi by 11 or so and you can have a Darshan of Lord in the afternoon and return back to the place at TNagar by night around 10.00. p.m. Food and breakfast are arranged by them and the travel is by Volvo Air con bus. There are people who roll their towels and block the AC saying it is very cold. There were people with Sweaters and Shawls wrapped around them inside the A/C bus. I had a seat on the last row, and frequently my head touched the roof of the bus. I repeat it was a Volvo & all the latest shock absorbers technology and stuff.

    The greatest satisfaction is the darshan, though a lady staff allowed me to be there for extra few seconds seeing few notes which I had them in my hand to be dropped in the Hundi. I held it firmly and walked away and the Lord was still looking at me.

  11. Jam says:

    Hey there Kavi,

    A nice post on your Tirupathi trip, the fact that this was probably your first visit there explains how well you have captured all the sights, sounds and experiences that the Seven Hills are all about !!!

    Good that you are going home, and thanks for putting up that song on the blog, one of my current favorites this one.

    Go home, chill out, relax, take a break, recharge your batteries, rejuvenate, and in case you get too bored, log on and read ‘mahabore’ (pun intended).

    Jokes apart, enjoy your time off. All the best in your new job mate.

    Cheers………Jam

  12. KK says:

    Wow! thats great information!

    Hope you are having lots of fun at Madurai 🙂

  13. Kavi says:

    Pria: Could have only a portion of them..was distributed to all and sundry..!! And the murukkus..yes, had a few. Have a few for you too !

    Mukunth: The office is on race course road, at the Swiss Complex ! Yes, Madurai was good

    Swatantra: yes..thanks for the kind words..and parents, they conveyed their appreciation for all that you do too !

    Sundar: The lord and CTC !! That gives me some ideas for a new post !! Yes he knows !

    Jeevan: Thanks for the wishes ! Yes..situation song !! LOL !

    GP: Its a deal ! I will come along with you !

    Life rocks: At all times they are one. At Guruvayoor. At Nagore. At Jerusalem ! Always. Always one !

    keshi: thank you ! Let me know when you do go..will give you all the tips required !!

    Shark..: Thanks for the wishes. I need all of them. And some more too !

    Balaji: So, the lord was still looking !! LOL !

    Yes, the last seats are a real pain !! In whatever bus !

    Jam: Thanks mate ! I am back in town. Am bracing for the battle ! Thanks for all the wishes. I need all the wishes in the world and some more too !!

    KK: Thanks KK, I am back here..for sometime !

  14. Indian says:

    Hi,

    Could you tell me how long they allow you to pray before the deity in the Archanantara Darshanam?

    In the Tomala Seva which I atteneded 10 years ago, we (around 100 the ticketholders) were to sit in the hall front of the sanctum sanctorum for almost an hour during the seva. We were left to view the swami only for last 5 minutes as a visting AP minister took the entire time 🙁

    I understand a group of 1000 is allowed for the Archanantara Darshanam seva. I would like to know whether you were able to hold the darshan atleast for a minute or is it just the usual “Jargandi jargandi”?

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