Govinda....

Govinda... Thats Lord Venkateshwara... The money God... Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam... In terms of money this place ranks after Vatican in the worldwide ranking... That should say something about the number of Venkateshwara devotees...Tirupati is just about 250 kms from Bangalore, where I am currently... And so Tirupati trip happened on feb 25 - feb 26 ' 2006...
It was some experience...
I am a believer in God.... though not a strict devotee...
For a fleeting (2 seconds if u are really lucky !) glance at the Lord's statue, one needs to
brave around 4 hr (Rs.50 q) long queue...
U learn a lot of things standing in the queue...
Patience...Money...That you really need to struggle to reach God... trying to be polite in the
queue for darshan gets u nowhere, just lands you in trouble...
for somebody trying to analyse human psychology ,it would be an interesting place... U get to see so many kinds of people n all... The 'laddus' which you get as blessings in the end, i put under the criteria of 'really needed'...
U really are physically drained after the queue experience though your mmind refuses to acknowlege it.... and the laddus taste awesome !
After roaming in and around Tirupati (The town at the base of Tirumala hill) and Tirumala (the
hill where the temple is actually located) , i also thought that our concept of cleanliness needs
to be redifened....There's a long way to go yet...
Me and my friends actually walked up from Tirupati to Tirumala (11 kms, took us around 3 and a half hrs, at a comfortable pace)....The climb was good... To begin with steep slope (though there are good stairs) tests you... As you move on it becomes easier...
Teaches you about life... The beginning is always tough !
The walkway takes you through a deer park n all... Makes the climb interesting...The clouds and nature around are also mesmerising... I also found the 'Gopurams' peeking out through the greenery fascinating...
guess i am moving towards spirituality !!
Since one of my friends has actually put the detailed trip in words, I take the luxury of just
putting up a weird collection of thoughts here... :)