Trip to Tirupati after Upanayanam

After my upanayanam we (mom, dad and I) went on the customary trip to Tirupati. We took a train and then a bus that took us up the hill to the tirupati devasthanam. We hadn't bought any tickets ahead of time at tirupati, and the lines were quite long. Ramki's parents knew someone in Tirupati who suggested that we could get VIP darashanam tickets, this would not only dramatically reduce the waiting time but also help see the idol from close proximity. The first thing we did was to manage getting a lodging for ourselves in Tirupati. Then we went to get tickets for the darshanam. There was a long line for getting VIP darshanam tickets for suprabhatam. We got in the line early and barely managed to get them for the next day early morning. Now we had the entire day to ourselves in tirupati. It was almost lunch time and we found a nice south Indian meals place where where they served food in coconut leaves. It was very nice food. After this we walked around the tirupati devasthanam. We had to get up very early in the morning in order to make it to the suprabhatam early in the morning so we decided to have dinner early and sleep it off.

I was woken up at about 2:00 A.M in the morning. We took bath one after the other and I was clad in dhoti and we headed off to the VIP darshanam line. Even the VIP darshanam line was quite formidable and it took a few hours to make to the darshanam. After the darshanam we got the prasadam, which the famous immensely large tirupati laddoo (about the size of a canon ball). It was 5:00 A.M by now. We went back to our lodge and changed into pants and shirts. Dad wanted to find a rental car so we could drive to various places around. Meanwhile me and mom walked about near the tirupati devasthanam area.

We rented a car and drove to nearby holy places. Our first stop was papavinashanam which is not too far. They have built a dam here. Dad told me how in this childhood there was not time and people who take bath in the falls directly. To uphold the tradition they have built an area where people can still take bath in the holy water. Kids were having pure joy bathing in the papavinashanam falls!

Later we also went to akasaganga, which was quite a scenic little hike. The crowd was not overwhelming. After papavinashanam we drove down the tirupati hill. We had come up in the bus two days ago but from the car I could enjoy the scenic beauty much better.