A legacy @ 100 is no man’s concern

December 07, 2014 10:05 pm | Updated October 05, 2016 09:59 am IST - TIRUPATI:

The Old Huzur Office building in Tirupati. PHOTO: A.D. Rangarajan

The Old Huzur Office building in Tirupati. PHOTO: A.D. Rangarajan

The ‘Old Huzur Office’ behind the Sri Govindaraja Swamy temple in the heart of the city is a symbol of Tirupati’s rich heritage. An imposing structure, it turned hundred on Sunday but is crying for attention.

According to the plaque on the front wall, the building was formally declared open on December 7, 1914 by Sri Prayag Dossjee, then Mahant of Hathiramji Mutt, which administered the Tirumala temple.

The building remained the headquarters of the mutt for 23 years before it went into the hands of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) after its formation in 1937. The Huzur Office not only served as the administrative headquarters of the TTD but also housed the official bungalow of the Executive Officer.

It was the nerve centre of temple-related activity till the late 1970s, when the TTD administrative office was shifted to Kapila Theertham Road.

It has been an age-old practice to conduct ‘Kalinja Thota Utsavam’ inside the step well in the compound, for which the idols of Sri Govindaraja and His consorts used to be brought for the ‘celestial bath’.

The tradition was, however, discontinued in the early 1980s but was revived nearly two decades later, bringing the structure back to the limelight.

It was later home to Hindu Dharmika Pratishtan (engineering wing of the TTD), Local Fund Audit Department and cooperative stores.

The dilapidated building at present houses Dharma Prachara Parishat (DPP), a propagation arm of the TTD, besides the residence of the Revenue Divisional Officer (Tirupati) and the office of the State Archaeology Department.

The building has witnessed several path-breaking decisions taken by the Mahants as well as the TTD. It remained the TTD’s citadel in its initial years of formation, considered “glorious” for any organisation.

Surprisingly, not many in the TTD are aware that it has turned 100 years. The TTD authorities can honour themselves by organising celebrations in a befitting manner.

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