Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam-Day 1

Its been long since i went on a long tour.... What better place than a visit to Tirupati...

Thought of doing some search about the place... which places to visit & where are they located... how to go there, etc... as usual, did not wanted to travel through the same route to and fro, so thought of taking the circular route of Hosur- Krishnagiri(TN) - Kuppam(AP) - Palamner - Chittoor - Tirupati - Tirumala - Palamner - Mulbagal - Kolar - K.R.Puram

Somehow it wasn't inspiring enough to travel so far, some 700 odd kms. that too to a temple (waiting in a Q). So in order to commit myself to the journey i thought of putting it in facebook status message; when you make your promises in public you dont want them to turn false; you keep them. Gradually, the feeling to meet the richest Lord gained scale, with each passing time ;)

By the time i started off the feeling wasn't about proving myself or my passion about biking but more about visiting Lord Venkateshwara. One thing was sure this time, it should not be a one day journey since i need to enjoy the nature, the climate, the sapthagiri hills, the entire route, thoroughly. Hot water @ 4 o'clock took me by surprise. Started off from college @ 4:50 a.m. to reach Hosur by 5:40 a.m. the slow speed is attributed to the cool breeze & the promises made to my friends of not driving at high speeds.

Time to fill bike's stomach and have early morning tea. The drive till Krishnagiri was such a great experience as if i am not driving on Indian roads, minimal traffic, large 8-16 wheeler vehicles, highly bituminous road. Big rocks and soothing breeze at Shoolagiri were tempting me to stop driving and start rock climbing. But, i can come here later with couple of friends, for now i need to move on to Tirupati.

Sudden rains drenched me thoroughly by the time i reached Krishnagiri @ 6:40 a.m. hmm Time to have another sip of tea accompanied by bakery products and ya put my camera and cellphone inside the bag in plastic cover. The sudden heavy rains had taken me by surprise, not giving enough time to put the camera and cell inside, until i found over bridge. Time to take some beautiful snaps and stretch out the muscles for next 5 mins.

Two roads NH219 & NH46 (part of Golden Quadrilateral) diverged and i took the one less traveled by - NH 219. It would not have been fun driving through the GQ... good wide roads, drive you to, driving at high speeds. Its around 7:50, time for a breakfast - Masala Dosa & Idli Vada - just for 12.50 Rs., too spicy, but obvious, since i am now in Andhra. Asked the cashier to call up the girl who was begging around, to give her the change, (in style), as if i am millionaire.

Time to move on to Venkatgirikota my next stop, to watch the animal fair on a Sunday morning. Cows and cows and a lot of them, all standing beautifully dressed up in line. At least 100 chickens devoid of their outer skin were hanging for purchase in dozen shops. The sight after a few seconds wasn't worth giving another look, if i would have stopped there a minute further, definitely i would have puked. The village roads with plenty of greenery both sides owing to sugarcane, coconut & banana fields struck me with awe. For the time being, i thought of returning to my village in Himachal, stop this mundane professional urbane life & chillax in the fields.

But then the MBA mind woke me up, Sain your parents have invested a great chunk of money, not for going back to the fields. You owe them heavily. You will not find lifestyle here. No money, no girl to marry. What about your dreams to head some company? How different are you then from the regular village boy? Few kms. after Palamner the bike started giving troubles. Not taking acceleration, engine stopping abruptly & then not starting easily.

Sain, it is more than a year and 6000 kms. that i changed the engine oil last time. Hmm... under the scorching heat at 11:55 (before chittoor), it is not easy to pull the bike 2.5 kms. away for repair. Found a sole mechanic already engaged in heavy work of 3 customers, a truck driver & 2 car drivers. So it took me an hour to wait for my turn to come. Monopoly is really bad, for the customer. Alas @ 1:25 p.m. i got my bike back in normal condition after the engine oil change and basic servicing.

By 1:50 i was @ Alpiri Gate, the entrance to Tirumala hills. The 45 minute drive on the 1-way road from Alpiri gateway is breathtakingly beautiful, to say the least. By 2:40p.m. i put up all my luggage including helmet, camera & belt in the locker of Pilgrims Amenities Complex. By 3 i was ready to stand in Que for couple of hours after having a sip of tea. One does not feel like eating heavily during long bike rides, so i escaped lunch.

By 6:16 p.m. i had met Sri Venkateshwara/ Balaji, chanting Govinda Govinda in the Q for less than 100 mins. Time to relax for a while. What better than the Nitya Pushkarini pond, adjoining Aadhi Varahaswamy temple. After spending close to an hour over there watching people taking bath, i wandered in the streets of Tirumala, untill i stopped for free meals ;) not because it was free meals but wanted to have an experience of the same, just as we do in case of langar.

By 8:45 p.m. i was back in the pilgrimage amenities complex. Hired a blanket & a mat, gave a call to mother and slept off keeping an alarm of 12:20 a.m. in order to wish a friend. Rest to follow in

next blog...