Tirupati temple gets Experience Centre for virtual darshan, history
The idea behind the experience centre also came from a necessity that has become a common feature of the current times – the tendency to take pictures and videos on the premises where it is banned.
Pilgrims to the Tirupati templein Andhra Pradesh share a common grouse with others like them visiting famous shrines across the country: The short window, often only a few seconds long, they get to gaze at the deity they have come to see from far-off places.
They, especially the youngsters, also want to know more about the temple’s history, its deities and the thought behind the complex being set up on the Tirumala Hills.
To address this, the Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Temple has now got a Pilgrims’ Experience Centre, which would not only allow them to watch the proceedings inside the sanctum sanatorium at length, but also help them understand the history of the more than a thousand years old complex.
On Wednesday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the Pilgrims’ Experience Centre besides a modernised Sri Venkateswara Museum in Tirumala. He also flagged off 32 EV buses for the pilgrims.
“Devotees, who usually return home after having ‘darshan’, should visit these newly created centres (the experience centre and the museum) to understand the temple and its rituals better,” the CM said.
The experience centre will also give the visitors a virtual tour of the sprawling campus with the help of 3D technology.
The idea behind the experience centre also came from a necessity that has become a common feature of the current times – the tendency to take pictures and videos on the premises where it is banned.
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‘Several influencers detained in last 5 years’
Officials said that over the last five years, they have detained a number of people, including social media influencers, who tried to smuggle cameras into the temple to show the proceedings and architecture to their followers.
Besides, officials of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the temple, said that of late, many visitors and devotees have complained that after waiting in the queue for hours, they get to have darshan of Sri Venkateswara for only a few seconds only. Officials said that the new, young generation wants to know more about the deities.
“They want to know the history of the temple, the people who built it, the meaning of the rituals, and why this place atop Seven Hills was chosen to build the temple,” said an official. “The Pilgrims’ Experience Centre and the modernised Sri Venkateswara Museum will answer all the questions,” the official added.
CM Naidu said that Tirumala is developing as a global model of spirituality, and the focus is on enhancing the experience of pilgrims while integrating environmental conservation, spirituality, service and modern technology.
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The Pilgrims’ Experience Centre is situated at Vaikuntam Queue Complex-I. The museum nearby, developed at a cost of Rs 104 crore, houses replicas of ornaments offered to Lord Venkateswara by various rulers, including Sri Krishnadevaraya, besides historical artefacts from different periods, and 3D models of crowns and ornaments used to adorn the deity.
TTD Chairman B R Naidu said that requests were received for construction of Sri Venkateswara temples in countries such as Mauritius and New Zealand, and the government was examining the proposal.
Sreenivas Janyala is a Deputy Associate Editor at The Indian Express, where he serves as one of the most authoritative voices on the socio-political and economic landscape of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. With a career spanning over two decades in mainstream journalism, he provides deep-dive analysis and frontline reporting on the intricate dynamics of South Indian governance.
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