Splendour, gaiety mark Tirumala Rathotsavam 

TIRUPATI: There was a flurry of activity on the penultimate day of the nine-day  Salakatla Brahmotsavams when the Lord in full majesty rode the chariot during Rathotsavam. TTD officials, staff and priests were on their toes and many may have missed a wink for the mega event that was conducted grandly on Thursday.  

After the conduct of special rituals such as ‘Punyavachanam’ and ‘Navagraha Dhyanam,’ the processional deities of Sri Malayappa Swamy, flanked by His two Consorts, Sridevi and Bhudevi on either side, were ceremoniously mounted atop the giant wooden chariot amidst chanting of Vedic hymns by the temple pundits.

Tens of thousands of devotees from different parts of the country participated in the divine procession all along the four Mada Streets. The chariot was tastefully decorated with different varieties of flowers, flags and festoons. As is customary, the Golden Umbrella was tied atop the mammoth chariot. The chariot rolled majestically down the thoroughfares of the hill shrine preceded by temple paraphernalia, including half-a-dozen caparisoned elephants, horses, bulls and followed by cultural and bhajan troupes besides a contingent of Vedic pundits led by the temple priests. 

TTD EO Anil Kumar Singhal, JEO KS Sreenivasa Raju, Board Members Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, Sudha Narayanamurthy, Ashok Reddy, Addl CVSO Sivakumar Reddy, VGO Ravindra Reddy, temple DyEO Haridranath and others were also present.

2L devotees offer hair to Lord Venkateswara in one week

Tirupati: In the last one week from September 13 to 19 during the ongoing Salakatla Brahmotsavams, 1,89,826 pilgrims offered their hair to the Lord. “Most of the devotees, who throng Tirumala to have darshan of Lord Venkateswara, feel it is mandatory to offer their hair as a sign of total surrender to the Lord,” said Kalyanakatta DyEO Nagaratna. During the media briefing in Tirumala on Thursday, the DyEO said that from September 13 to 19, as many as 1,89,826 pilgrims offered their hair at nine Kalyanakattas in Tirumala, including the main Kalyana Katta Complex (KKC). “Among them, the main, PAC1 and 2, SPRH and SVRH KKCs work round the clock while the Nandakam and GNC Mini-KKCs work from 3 a.m to 5 p.m, HVC and Saptagiri KKCs between 6 a.m and 6 p.m,” the DyEO said. She said that 1,397 barbers are working in KKCs which include 279 women barbers. “We are supplying quality blades, Dettol antiseptic lotion, sandal pills and masks to barbers to help them and the devotees avoid contracting infectious diseases,” she added