Is TTD Facing The After Effects Of The Pandemic?

15 August 2022
Is TTD Facing The After Effects Of The Pandemic?

I went on Tirumala Tirupati pilgrimage during 30 July – 2 August this year.

Here are some updates on my first trip to the Holy Shrine after Covid.

#1. DARSHAN WAITING TIMES

Here’s how long my two darshans at Tirumala took on 1 August.

Darshan 1: Rs. 300 Sheegra Darshan

Darshan 2: Rs. 500 Sahasra Deepalankara Seva

#2. WATCH CHECK

TTD does not allow pilgrims to carry mobile phone into the temple. This is probably to prevent people from taking pictures and videos inside the temple. For the uninitiated, TTD has its own television channel that telecasts many sevas.

I’ve always wondered what’d happen if pilgrims with smart watches clicked pics and videos (and recorded audios) of various sevas, and posted them online.

For the first time ever, the security guards inspected my watch this time. I’m guessing it’s to stop smart watches from being taken inside the main temple.

#3. CONFUSING SIGNAGE

When I last visited Tirumala in 2019 – I just realized I hadn’t posted updates of that trip – I was happy to find that the Rs. 300 Special Darshan had a separate building.

The gate to that building was shut this time.

The darshan ticket told us to report at “ATC Circle”. We could not find a single sign for this place.

On the other hand, I counted five places marked with the sign “Rs. 300 Special Darshan Entrance”. Not one of them was.

We asked around at the facilitation center and at a couple of other places, and finally found the right entrance. Ironically, it didn’t carry any sign.

Last time, we handed in our footwear and mobile phone at the Luggage / Footwear / Mobile Counter inside the said building.

Since that building was shut this time, we asked around what to do. I found out by chance that the procedure had changed.

We were told to store our footwear in unattended shelves near the aforementioned building but carry our mobile phones into the queue and hand them over at another counter on the way. None of this was posted anywhere (at least not in English, Hindi or Tamil.).

The problem of inadequate / misleading signage was exacerbated by severe language problem. Barring a handful of people, nothing other than the local language Telugu worked.

#4. ONLINE VERSUS OFFLINE RS. 300 SPECIAL DARSHAN

When we were asking around for directions, many people inquired if I was referring to “online 300 rupees ticket”. I was a bit puzzled by this question because the Rs. 300 Special Darshan ticket can only be booked online. My intrigue deepened when I saw a sign saying “Online Rs. 300 Special Darshan”.

When I asked a few fellow pilgrim, he told me that TTD has introduced another way to purchase the Rs. 300 ticket. Pilgrims can visit the Central Reservation Office (CRO) on the intended date of darshan and throw their hat into a lottery. Winners get to buy the ticket at a physical counter at the CRO.

That explained why authorities and local people distinguished between online and offline Rs. 300 special darshan tickets.

While I don’t see myself ever visiting Tirumala without booking a darshan in advance, I can imagine how “current booking” may work for a lot of pilgrims. Kudos to TTD for introducing this facillity.

#5. UNDERSTAFFING

The ticket scanning counter was severely understaffed. There are around 10 counters but only half of them were staffed.

This reminded me of Germany, UK and other countries in Europe where typically only 50-60% of counters at immigration,  store checkout and other places are staffed at any given time – no matter how long the queue. (Unlike JFK airport in New York where they added staff instantly after the queue started becoming long so that all the counters got staffed in minutes.)

#6. POOR CROWD CONTROL

Pushing and shoving started right at the entrance of the Rs. 300 Special Darshan queue and went on right till the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum of the main temple.

#7. SEVA CHAOS

I’d purchased a ticket (Rs. 500) for the Sahasra Deepalankara Seva.

The venue printed on the ticket was “S.D. Mandapam”, which I took it as short form for “Sahasra Deepalankara Mandapam”. I was right. But I saw no mention of either S.D. Mandapam or Sahasra Deepalankara Mandapam on any of the signs along the way.

When I’ve stood in the darshan queue on my past visits, I’ve seen this seva happening just in front of the main temple. Accordingly, I went near the temple and looked around. The venue mentioned on the official seva website – which is where I’ve seen this seva happen in the past – was shut.

I found another building nearby. I walked up to it. It turned out to the be right place but the building was not marked S.D. Mandapam anywhere.

A few minutes after I sat down there, it started drizzling. They told us to go to another hall called Vaibhovothsav Mandapam. Thankfully, this was a big hall and had a prominent sign in front. Immediately thereafter, I heard audio announcements on the PA system in multiple languages diverting pilgrims to Vaibhovothsav Mandapam.

However, a few pilgrims who came later went to S.D. Mandapam where they not only found the place shut but there was no one to to guide them to the changed venue. Somehow they asked around and reached Vaibhovothsav Mandapam. They were complaining that, despite booking online for accommodation months earlier, they had to wait in a line at the choultry for an hour and a half to get their online reservation slip scanned and rooms allotted.

#8. DOES SEVA INCLUDE DARSHAN?

All Sevas I’ve attended in the past happened in the sanctum sanctorum of the main temple, so seva automatically included darshan.

However the seva I attended this time didn’t take place inside the main temple. According to the aforementioned website, Sahasra Deepalankara Deepa Seva is the only seva that happens outside the main temple. So, it was not obvious that it included a darshan. There was no mention of a darshan on the seva ticket, either.

On an off chance, I inquired around and a fellow pilgrim told me that this seva indeed included a so-called “Supadham Darshan”.

The Seva itself was awesome and included a mini music concert. I learned from my neighboring pilgrim that it featured Annamayya Keertanas.

After the seva got over, we were stuck there because it was raining heavily. Finally, after a half hour or so, we left Vaibhovothsav Mandapam and proceeded towards the Supadham entrance, which is very close to the main temple.

The ticket scanning for this queue was quite casual. I handed out my Aadhaar Card mechanically, and they waved me through. I realized only later that the ID Proof I’d specified for this ticket was my PAN Card, which no one asked for!

#9. DECENTRALIZED RECLAIM

After the darshans, I went to the centralized Luggage / Footwear / Mobile Collection Building (“PAC IV”) and collected my mobile phone. Unlike the past, my footwear did not find its way to this  place this time.

I’d to walk all the way to the Rs. 300 Special Darshan Entrance to collect my footwear from the unattended shelf next to it. Thankfully, all our footwear was intact.

(Unlike our experience at the Padmavati Temple in Tiruchanur the previous day, when we could not find my daughter’s sandals at the self-service counter after the darshan.)

#10. TIPS & CONS

The musicians in the main temple were asking for tips from pilgrims.

So were the attendants at the mobile phone handover counter and the priests distributing prasadams.

As if those were not bad enough, the guy at the Laddu Counter asked me to pay for the three extra laddus. This was obviously a con because I’d already paid for them online when I booked my darshan ticket and ordered the extra laddus on the ticket booking website. Obviously, I refused to pay him and he meekly handed the laddus over to me.

I found these solicitations and attempt to cheat quite sad. (That said, per anecdata, other famous temples have even more touts who are out to rip you off if you’re not careful.)

#11. DARSHAN TICKET BOOKING WEBSITE

In the past, I just logged into the TTD website whenever and booked a Rs. 300 Special Darshan Ticket according to availability and convenience.

It was different this time.

When I visited the website, I saw a timer on the landing page. It displayed the wait time – typically 3 to 15 minutes – for entering the main website.

After I got in, I saw a chart with availability for at most one month in the future. Mostly, it showed zero availability. Since I wanted to book a ticket for a later date, I had to keep visiting this website repeatedly to look out for new quotas.

I read a tip somewhere that fresh quotas are released on the first Friday of every month but it didn’t work for me.

It took me around 15 visits over two months before I could buy my darshan tickets this time (as against just one visit on previous occasions).

On the footer of this website, it said “Powered by JioMart”.

Not sure what a retailer is doing with a temple ticket booking website! Wonder if the waiting time is caused by rationing of resources by JioMart!

My darshans went off well.

As they say, all’s well that ends well but the chaotic state of logistics and the behavior of  many people I encountered during this trip gave me the feeling that TTD and the locals in Tirumala are probably reeling under lack of staff and other problems caused by Covid-19.

If so, I hope they’re able to recover from the pandemic’s aftermath soon enough and improve the pilgrim experience ASAP.

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