Andhra Pradesh - Others   

Flower contributions flood TTD on eve of `Ugadi'

By G.P. Shukla

TIRUMALA, MARCH 20. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) has received tremendous response to its appeal to flower growers, horticulturists and philanthropists to come forward and liberally donate `flowers' to the sacred hill temple of Lord Venkateswara, Tirumala, on the eve of `Ugadi' festival.

Even though there was an overwhelming response to its appeal on two other occasions in the past, the response this time is said to be unprecedented with devotees from several parts of the country, generously contributing tonnes of flowers, fruits and vegetables.

The TTD garden department, has geared itself to decorate the entire temple complex, in a way reminding the `Baisakhi' festival celebrated in northern India.

While several leading flower growers from Delhi, Bangalore, Pune and Nagerkoil have come forward with huge contributions, more than one hundred designers representing various leading institutions from all the major cities in the country have volunteered to decorate the temple complex and they have been doing it since Friday.

While the growers' associations from Bangalore, Pune, Delhi and Shillong dominated the list of major donors, the local hotelier Srinivasulu Reddy, who runs a chain of hotels both at Tirumala and Tirupati, also contributed several quintals of flowers. Sizeable contributions also came from the Tirumala Sannadhi street shopkeepers.

The donors list also includes the names of the Chief Justice of A.P., Justice Devendra Gupta, and Justice Meenakumari apart from judges of other states. The district Minister, B. Gopalakrishna Reddy, donated five tonnes of sugarcane, paddy, groundnuts, maize and mangoes.

The seven-tier floral `Gopuram', which is being erected outside the temple Mahadwaram, is considered to be the main attraction. According to the TTD gardens chief, P.T.Srinivas, more than 2.5 lakh rose stems will go in its preparation. The seven-tier flower gopuram also symbolises the seven hills of the temple town.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

• Flower contributions flood TTD on eve of `Ugadi'
• Music college to conduct summer camps
• Central team visits Madanapalle
• Free distribution of tomatoes
• Engineering a tiny Gita

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu