Only an unlucky few return from Tirupati without visiting the famous temple. Last week I would have been one of those unlucky few but for some quick thinking on the part of my hosts. Luck was on my side and I got an opportunity to worship at the temple early in the morning. Not only that I also got to taste the most wonderful dosa of my life at Tirupati.
I had not really expected to visit Tirupati when I was told that I have to go to Chittoor district on yet another visit to the farmer’s fields. So I was mentally prepared for that eventuality and had even thought of how I would begin this post: It was the first time in my life I was returning from Tirupati without visiting the temple. But it was not to be because a day before I was to leave I was told my destination was Puttur, which was less than an hour’s journey from Tirupati. I was accompanying my boss so we booked the tickets to Tirupati for Sunday evening with the hope that there might be a chance to visit the famous temple.
You get to know how important you are by the number of people who turn up to receive you. I was astonished (and a bit embarrassed) to find six people waiting for us at the railway station at Tirupati on Monday morning. An hour later the news trickled in that arrangements were being made to take us to the temple which put me in a good mood.
Puttur is famous for its traditional healers who set right broken bones. I had wanted to see the facility but it was a tight schedule. It was an official trip so I couldn’t indulge in such side trips. One of the local officers who accompanied us was a member of the family of healers but I couldn’t talk much with him. Maybe some other time I might get the chance to get to know more about the place. There were several places which had historic forts and temples but those too I had to give a miss.
After breakfast we left for the villages to visit the fields and talk to farmers. It was hot and we had to trudge in the fields in distant villages. After a while it gets boring asking the same questions to farmers and getting the same replies. Mercifully we had a goodish lunch at a Guesthouse late in the afternoon. We returned to Tirupati in the evening just when it was beginning to get dark. Tirumala, as usual, was teeming with visitors from all over the country. The next day we were to start at three in the morning for the temple so I went to bed early.
The next day, Tuesday we left exactly at three in the morning, all five of us. It wasn’t very cold up on the hill but after a while it got chilly. We had a good darshan at the temple and I felt glad that I was beginning the New Year in this manner. I was here last year sometime in September but we had a restricted darshan. We motored down for breakfast at a place called Manasa and the officer who took us there said the food was really good there. It was, I swear.
The dosa that I ordered turned out to be the best I had in my life. It was soft, thick and very delicious when taken with the chilli chutney. I am not much of a foodie, but I can tell a tasty dish when I see one. We topped off the dosa with hot tea and set off again for the second day’s visits into the boondocks. I was eager to wrap up the trip as early as possible and return home because I was missing two things- my son and Irani Chai.
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