Tirupati coming to town, Nehru stadium to be its devasthan

New Delhi: You won't have to go through a long booking process, neither will you be turned away within a few seconds barely catching a glimpse of the deity as Tirupati Balaji is himself going to visit the city soon. For the first time, rituals performed at Tirumala will be held in a 10-day festival starting from October 31 till November 8 in the parking space of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Till now, only three places in Andhra Pradesh have witnessed these rituals outside the Tirumala temple. Delhi is the fourth and first city outside Andhra Pradesh to witness it. And to make the darshan as authentic as possible, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple, is leaving no stones unturned.
The preparation for the festivity, Sri Venkateswara Vaibhavotsavam, have already begun and around 25 trucks carrying different things of the temple have arrived in the capital. The temple decorators have also come from Tirumala. "Apart from the idols, even the temple curtains are being brought from Tirumala. We want the devotees to get exactly the same experience and feeling in Delhi," said Bhanu Prakash Reddy, board member, TTD.
"The famous laddoo, which is distributed after sevas, and the ingredients used to prepare the prasadam would also be transported from Tirumala. The flowers for the deity are being brought from Tirumala and Bengaluru," he added.
Around 160 priests, guards and workers from Tirumala would land to Delhi a day before the vaibhavotsavam starts. TTD has deputed 250 officers from the electricity, security, vigilance and other departments for smooth running of the festivities. The idea of conducting the vaibhavotsavam was the brainchild of Deepa Venkat, managing trustee of Swarna Bharat Trust and daughter of BJP's Venkaiah Naidu.
The pran pratishtha of idols will be done on October 30 and the daily sevas will begin the next day. This vaibhavotsavam would include daily sevas and weekly ones like Visesha Pooja, which is performed on Monday, to poorabhishekam, done on Friday. The idols would be taken in procession daily like it happens in Tirumala.
Reddy said that witnessing poorabhishekam at Tirumala for the general public is tough due to VIP culture and huge queues. "If you apply online to get a slot for poorabhishekam, your turn will come after nearly 20 years. But now devotees would be able to witness the same rituals in Delhi without such hassles," Reddy said.
Union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu has helped TTD with the space. LK Advani, Arun Jaitley and others are expected to come. to the event.