Tirupati City in Andhra Pradesh. As I enter into the holy land from the train, an untold excitement engulfs me. Even though little tired after the night long train journey. Slowly I pick up my bag and hail an auto rickshaw to the hotel. As I enter the hotel, stink of public lavatory pierces my olfactory nerves. Anyways, I collect my keys from the hotel reception and head to my room.

After freshening up and having a delicious South Indian thali at the hotel restaurant, I went out for a stroll around. Nice otherwise, I found the city literally stinking like an open lavatory. Curious, I enquired at the local pan shop. He explained – sir, so many people come here every day. There is not enough public lavatories around. Where the pilgrims will go. So the roadside. It’s very common. I wished the administration spent more on making public infrastructure for a city which generated so much of revenues from religious tourism. This was few years back. Hope the infrastructure is improved now, I heard that it is being developed as a smart city by the govt.

Tirumala, the Lord’s abode, is up the hill and a bustling township little away from Tirupati city. A melting pot of different caste, states, languages, rich and poor alike, Lord is merciful to everyone to give a glimpse of Him after some wait, which usually runs from an hour to few hours depending on the time, the day and ensuing pilgrims. Everyone stands in the same queue and proceed slowly for a few seconds of darshan of the Lord. Necessary infrastructure is available inside the temple premises for convenience of the pilgrims. Women have separate queue and other facilities inside the premises.

You need to buy a ticket for the darshan, it is available at Tirupati as well. Tickets also can be booked online. There are few categories of tickets based on the kind of darshan you want. I had bought a general ticket for few Rupees, I don’t remember and it was not much though. After waiting for around two and half hours, I was able to go to the sanctum sanctorum and to have a glimpse of the Lord before I was driven aside to make space for the next visitor.

There is VIP darshan as well, it comes with some special privilege like quicker access to the sanctum sanctorum etc, I didn’t enquire much though. It seems if one has more money or special social status, he or she can have a faster access to the Lord. I guess Lord might be smiling from above seeing the evolution of His own creation.

I heard that Tirupati temple is the richest in terms of material wealth in the world. People donate right from hair to cash, gold, diamond, ornaments etc. I heard that human hair is exported for various uses like wigs etc. I wondered hair donated might end up in some wig at Macau or Las Vegas! Who knows!

As I sit in a bench at Tirumala enjoying the early morning breeze, I wonder why would one donate valuables to the Lord and seek favors in return! As a kid, I didn’t know to give anything to my mother, always staying at peace at the simple sight of her. I believed that she knows what is good or bad for me, nothing can happen to me as long as she is around. I would kiss her out of affection, not expecting that she would kiss me back or probably would give few soothing hugs which came automatically.

Probably there are more profound thoughts to it, but is it possible to just love the Lord without asking for anything, I wondered, Lord might be looking for some true love now while people kept offering deals to Him.

~ Mr. Saumitra Chakraborty is an entrepreneur and a writer based in Mumbai. An avid traveller and a keen observer, he passionately endeavours to know different people, their cultures and way of their lives.