Temples.

I visited several' Divya Desams' recently.Divya desams are temples dedicated to Vishnu or Perumal . The presiding deity has been worshipped by Vaishnavaite saints --Alwars in earlier centuries [before 7th centuryAD ] . They have expressed their immense faith in a flood of stirring poems and songs ,in chaste Tamil.Most of the Divya desams out of the total 108 are found in the length and breadth of Tamilnadu.

I observed that the small temples , tucked away from the glare of the usual pilgrim circuit are clean,surrounded by neat gardens and are well maintained . They are serene and ideal places to meditate .

The big and famous temples drawing huge number of devotees are untidy and disorderly.The sprawling precincts are crowded with shops ,and littered with plastic covers.There is general confusion and disarray.

When I visited Tirumala 20 years back it was also in a similar state.The thick forests surrounding the hills had been completely denuded .Now with patient greening of the slopes and careful maintenance of well laid out flowering and herbal gardens the temple city is nestling once again amidst lush forests and is as enticing as any picturesque European town.

The encroachments abutting the temple have been removed and a battery of sanitary workers are constantly at work in keeping the place spick and span .Considering the volume of devotees who stream in at any given point of time ,it is a Herculean task to maintain such high levels of hygiene.The prasadam given to all devotees inside the temple is delicious and incomparable. Kudos to TTD!

The total absence of monkeys, who were once teeming in troops ,pestering indulgent pilgrims but carted off to scientific labs across the world in pre Menaka days, tugs a little bit at the heart strings.

A trip to Tirumala is a solace to the spirit.