Thimalaa

Had a day trip to Tirumalai yesterday (Dec. 24).

Satish triggered the idea, Ajay and Kaushik quickly moved it - so it was well planned to catch Saptagiri on Dec. 24. A quick change in plan was done, Satish proposed an overnight travel from CMBT - we all said bye-bye to home members, got an auto to Pillar and then took a 114 Volvo to CMBT. Alas! He thinks otherwise, none of the buses were there - the existing one or two were for Kadapa and Nellore and they had 50 each on top. So, we had to return back by taking a D70 back to Pillar and an auto back home - semma bulb to begin with!

After a round of cards and some office talk ;) , we hit the bed at just past odd hour. The alarm went off at 0245. As expected, it was stopped and sleep continued. Kaushik, having been awake all night, dozed off a bit and woke me up at 0330 while we had planned to catch the first train at 0420. After a quick round of refresh, we got the first unit at Saidapet and were able to get seats comfortably in Saptagiri - as we were at 0450 in MAS. I got my favourite Emergency Window, Business End, Front facing seat :D Rail-related details will be available in www.wdg4.blogspot.com

We were in TPTY at 0950. Had some light tiffin in the platform, took an auto to Alipiri Gate and started our climb. Start 1050, end 1450 - 4 hours exactly.

The stairs were interesting, I have been once through them but only from Tirumalai. Climbing up for the first time was really exciting for me! With a prayer to Him in front of the First Gopuram, to bring us safe to Tirumalai, we started the journey. Cool breeze of Margazhi kept the scorching sun at bay. First hundred steps were easy to begin with. The real ascent started at 250 steps (Mysore Gopuram). Idols of Dasavatharam were installed enroute - Narasimha murthy at 1000 steps is where the steep incline starts - and carries on upto 2200 where Gaali Gopuram is.

A total of 4 lemon sodas, one bottle of water, mango and pineapple pieces, bourbon biscuits kept us walking, walking and walking.

After pushing foam out of our tongues, we reached Gaali Gopuram. It is a saying that it is almost the temple entrance if you are at G.G. TTD has initiated a very good scheme called Divya Darshan for pedestrians who take the longer route (either through Gaali Gopuram or through Chandragiri paadhai). We had our faces scanned and a receipt issued. This entitles to a quick darshan for us directly through Vaikuntam Queue Complex - I (maximum wait of 1 hour!!), free accommodation at Pilgrims Amenities Center - II and a free locker facility in Madava Nilayam. It was gentle ascent and long walk-ways after G.G upto Narasimhar sannidhi. This is where one has to get the receipt stamped. This place marks the end of Narayanadri and Vrishabadri hills - we now proceed to go to the other side of Anjanadri hill. A Down - Up - Down sequence, we catch the Down-Hill road and get the first glimpse of His own 7th hill - Venkatadri. The serpentine Up-Hill road and the hair-pin-bends-filled Down-Hill roads become visible and the Mekkaalu Mitta (Muzhangaal Murichaan) Gaali Gopuram fills the foreground.

Panaromic views of the Nallamala hills of Eastern Ghats keep us engaged enroute. Having made to walk on a plain surface (with gradients here and there), we make our strides faster to reach MMG Gopuram. By this time, one is exhausted to the core and I prayed Ramanujacharya to give me the power to climb those challenging 300 steps without breaking my knees. It was such a great sight to see people taking a vow to climb those 300 steps alone by walking on their knees! The very sight of buildings atop Venkatadri hill and audio streaming all the way from Saptagiri channel and songs of Paruppalli Ranganath (Srinivasa Govinda Venkata Ramana Govinda, Sri Venkatesam Manasa Smarami) were the ones that helped us climb the final frontier - made us reach the magical mark of 3550th step.

We deposited our belongings in a locker and had a sevai within 2 hours (at 1730). Saw Uthsavar having dolai in Mysore Mandapam. Being a Friday - I was blessed with the Thirupadha sevai (Nijapadha seva). Saw uthsavar again near Pushkarini.

We started our descent at 2000 hrs - it was equally difficult on the way back. Had superb doasas and idlies near GG to munch. Finally reached Alipiri gate at 2300 hrs. Took an auto to RTC Bus Stand and there was a 911 UD just waiting for us to board - He made sure that our trip back home was comfortable. It was a faster trip back in the bus (2350 - 0250, just three hours for TPTY-TRL-Maduravoyal-CMBT). As though we were the luckiest on earth, we even got a prepaid auto at CMBT at wee hours (0300) to Saidapet for 4 just for Rs. 150!!

Overall, an enthralling trip!

As I got up at 9 this morning, appa casually gave me Dinamani Deepavali Malar that he brought from the library today. The first page drew my attention as it had a photo of Writer Sujatha -- and the most interesting thing is that they have printed it to highlight one of his stories, 'Thimalaa', printed in the Malar as an amarakaviyam. Needless to say, I got goosebumps immediately :) What a coincidence! ('Thimalaa' is a short story of Sujatha which describes how Tirumala will be in Year 2100).

Other points:

1. TTD had boards all over announcing ban on plastics, while they sell Laddu bags for Rs. 2 on a mass scale.

2. Why people do not consider visiting lesser known temples (with due respects as an addition to their Tirumalai visits) like say Thiruvelliyangudi or Irumbai Makalam - just to try and experience the power those Gods have?