Travel Series - Part 1

I did some travelling over the last few weeks. Will talk about it -

The first trip was to Tirupathi to see Lord Venkateshwara - a.k.a. Balaji. It was a one-day trip organized by TamilNadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC). It was impressive overall. Since this was government based, I was not too happy when my dad suggested that we go through them. I was in for a surprise. The customer service was spot on. When I called, the travel agent gave me dates when tickets were available – “accurately”. There were no online booking so had to go to the booking office in person. The booking office was pretty decent and I was all the more surprised to learn that it was open 24 hours. I take pains to mention all this because Indian customer support in general is disappointing. When government gets involved (TTDC was a government thingy) then you have to reset your expectations to negative percentage – as in be prepared for the truly worst. However, things here were the other way round and hence all my amazement.

Photo source : Indian Trip advisor web site

For the non-Indian readers - Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is a famous Hindu Temple located in the hill town Tirumala, amidst 7 hills, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, is one of the most popular places of worship. The temple is reportedly the richest and the most visited place of worship in the world. About 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims daily visit the temple.

There were two buses starting at 6AM from Chennai and surprise led to a state of shock when they started on time. Each bus had a guide – I could easily say that the guide who accompanied us was very able and experienced. At the main Venkateshwara temple, people are not allowed to carry handbags / backpacks / cameras / cell-phones. So TTDC also had a guesthouse booked at Tirumala where people could leave all their belongings and backpacks and freshen up - very sensible and intuitive. Surprisingly again, restrooms were very clean (for Indian standards) at places where there was a stop.

There was a substantial wait at the temple queue (approximately 3 ½ hours). There was one sore incident that I wish could forget. The temple was nice enough to serve all the waiting pilgrims with free fresh hot food. There was definitely no shortage of food and there was more than enough for everyone. However the way people behaved there reminded me of the National Geographic episode of African desert series - Survival of fittest / quickest. People rushed and pushed like they had never-ever seen food before in their lives. The unfortunate ones waiting in queue were looked down upon like they had lost their mind (I was one of the few douchebags standing in the queue). It was sad to see elders and little ones suffer in the process. In the past, on TV, I have seen guards with sticks / batons regulating pilgrims. Was force really necessary there? Yes – it might probably save lives some day. We Indians complicate the simplest of things in a way it can never be complicated and then blame everything else other than ourselves for a sheer lack of discipline. (Exceptions apply and this is my opinion – there are few ultra disciplined souls that make up a 1.73447% of general public and this is directed at the remaining 98.xx%).

Conclusion here – following rules and being disciplined could get you into trouble and if warning signs are not heeded – tragedy lurks in the proximity.

(Travel Series -  Part 2 to follow soon ...)