HYDERABAD: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) will organise a `sanathana Hindu dharma prachara sadassu' (convention) at Tirumala on February 3. Sixty 60 heads of peethams/mutts, including Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, will participate.

The sadassu is being held as part of TTD's efforts for protection, preservation and propagation of `sanathana dharma,' B. Karunakar Reddy, TTD Chairman, told reporters here on Tuesday.

It also proposed to form `bhajana mandals' in all districts of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in the next couple of years. Some 1,500 such groups were formed in Visakhapatnam under a pilot project taken up by the Bhagavuthula Trust. Mr. Reddy said that each bhajana mandal would be provided material worth Rs.3,000. It was conceived as a people-driven programme with inbuilt incentives to encourage children, Dalits and girijans, among others. Depending on the scale and intensity of the involvement of villages, Lord Venkateswara's blessings could be accessed to take up dharmic activities in villages with the assistance of TTD.

Competitions

Competitions had been conceived under categories like bhajans, stotras and sankeerthans for different groups such as children and women at various levels. It was also proposed to conduct uninterrupted "akhand nama sankeertanam" at Tirumala. TTD Adviser P.V.R.K. Prasad said the bhajan mandal concept was three-pronged--to make it a people's programme, to counter false propaganda and provide support by training pracharaks and teachers. He said the sadassu would be conducted every year.

A.P.V.N. Sarma, TTD Executive Officer, was present.

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