The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : ‘Nijarupa darshanam’

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Tuesday, May 13, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

‘Nijarupa darshanam’

Lord Varaha Lakshmi Nrusimhaswamy, the presiding deity at Simhachalam, is covered with a heavy layer of sandal paste throughout the year and only once, on Akshaya Tritiya Day, His real form is visible when the paste is removed. And this actual form is kept for less than 20 hours which is the reason why devotees push and jostle each other to have a glimpse of their favourite deity Simhadri Appanna as he is called. People of north Andhra make it a point to christen their children after the deity and if one finds so many Apparaos in the region though the name sounds old fashioned, it is due to their ardent devotion.

As it is impossible to enable lakhs of devotees witness the Lord in real form in so short a time, why not keep it for at least three days to enable devotees, asks the founder of Peace Club, Ram Ram Santhibaba. “There can be no objection to this in Agama Sastra. I have been visiting Simhachalam for Nijarupa darshanam since 1947. During those days, the devotees numbered only in hundreds. Now lakhs of them are pouring in every year. Even those who pay a huge amount towards ticket are unable to have darshan without difficulty. After all, the God is here only to provide a darshan to devotee and there is no harm in keeping it open for a while,” he opines.

He also suggests that the Uttaradwara darshanam on the occasion of Vaikuntha Ekadasi should be allowed for three days and argues that when the population increases by millions, rules may have to be relaxed.

Happy days ahead

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has taken Bharat Heavy Plate and Vessels (BHPV) into its fold recently and is committed to give a new lease of life to the latter which was on the verge of closure.

Vexed with the spate of complaints of frequent power breakdowns and power cuts, the Union Minister for Commerce and Power Jairam Ramesh, perhaps, sought to exercise his ‘power’.

“Sometime ago I called the BHEL Chairman and Managing Director K. Ravi Kumar and asked him whether BHEL stood for Bharat Headache Electricals Limited. He promptly replied that it meant: Be Happy and Enjoy Life,” recalled Mr. Jairam Ramesh.

“Now this BHEL has taken over Be Happy and Promote Visakhapatnam (BHPV) and I am convinced that the merger will revive the golden era of BHPV,” he added.

Soft and mild

The decision to shift the Central university, which the Centre as well as the Planning Commission promised to set up in Visakhapatnam, to Kadapa angered the people but not the politicians, except a very few.

The Congress leaders of the district or of the north coastal districts are not ready to oppose the move as they are too scared to express even disappointment as they do not want to displease Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. The Chief Minister’s task has become easy with these leaders and workers and people are certain that he might not have even bothered to tell them that he is taking away the proposed university to his district. In any other district or region the Congress leaders would have protested or prevailed upon the Chief Minister not to deny their area a prestigious institution. But our Congress leaders, particularly Ministers from the north coastal Andhra area, who are close to the Chief Minister are very soft and will never say a word that hurts their leader.

Some frustrated citizens are of the opinion that Dr. Reddy has in fact taunted the north Andhra people by getting the Central university shifted to his backyard at a time when they are raising their voice about the neglect the region is facing, because he knows for sure that leaders and MLAs of his party dare not utter a word against the move. A senior citizen said some time ago that not much can be expected from two (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) of the three MPs from the district, three MLAs, Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Leader of Opposition (TDP floor leader) in the corporation and an MLC as they are not natives of the district and hence not really bothered about its development.

(Prabhakkar Sharma,

B. Madhu Gopal and

G. Narasimha Rao)

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