The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Record turnout for ‘Garuda Seva’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 20, 2007
ePaper

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Record turnout for ‘Garuda Seva’

Staff Reporter

Over three lakh witness procession

Sea of humanity: Devotees in front of the Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala.

Tirumala: The temple town of Tirumala witnessed an unprecedented turnout for the ‘Garuda Seva’ on Wednesday, the fifth day of the ongoing nine-day annual Brahmotsavams.

According to temple authorities, it is estimated that over three lakh devotees witnessed the auspicious ‘Garuda Seva’ -- the most important day of the festival.

Lord Venkateswara, mounted atop the golden Garuda Vahanam, was taken around the mada streets encircling the holy shrine in a divine procession. The processional deity of Lord Malayappa was adorned with precious and antique ornaments -- the centuries-old ‘Makara Kanti haram’, ‘Lakshmi haram’ and other diamond-studded ornaments -- whose history is rooted deep in temple history. The palm-sized emerald which adorned the chest of the Lord was a feast to the eyes of the devotees. Over half-a-dozen caparisoned temple elephants, horses, bulls including the veda gosti, led by the TTD pontiff and the traditional temple band, marched ahead of the procession.

Continuous traffic

While the second ghat road witnessed continuous vehicular traffic since the break of dawn, tens of thousands of devotees reached the shrine on foot. Several areas in the temple town were choked and all parking slots full to their capacity.The traffic police imposed curbs and regulated vehicular movement.

All the two wheelers were stopped atleast two kilometres away from the hill shrine.

Both the queue complexes were full to their capacity and the queue lines stretched outside onto to the roads.

Situation was worse at the cottage and guesthouse allotment counters.

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