Darshan a Dime

RECENTLY a employee of the Tirupati temple was arrested for taking money from a devotee. But any visitor to Tirumala, where the temple is lo...

RECENTLY a employee of the Tirupati temple was arrested for taking money from a devotee. But any visitor to Tirumala, where the temple is located, will testify that bribes are more the rule than an exception.

8216;8216;If you are going to the temple please make sure to take your purse along with a huge wad of Rs 10. Otherwise, nothing moves,8217;8217; advised a regular visitor.

By the time a devotee finishes a round of darshan he has already paid money to at least ten people for the right to stand an extra two minutes in front of the deity or for an extra helping of prasad.

Despite a closed circuit television network, employees of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams and a majority of its priests have found ingenuous ways of accepting money without being caught.

When Ajay Prabhakar was beckoned by a saffron dhoti clad priest into a granary in the Venkateshwara temple, he followed him without asking any questions. 8216;8216;I thought the priest wanted me to get a better glimpse of the deity. The moment we went inside he put out his palm and demanded money. I was stunned. I had to comply as he did not allow me to move out,8217;8217; says Prabhakar.

Tales such as Prabhakar8217;s are common in Tirumala. Gone are the days when the devotee had to just stand in queue and move forward for a darshan. Today, for a less than 25 second darshan that8217;s what they allow you if you don8217;t pay up, devotees have to strap on the mandatory white electronically checked bands on their right wrists. These bands are available at numerous centres of the Devasthanam. They too come at a price. The band is a must for the darshan.

There is an identification number, date and time engraved on the band. Only on that particular date and time mentioned on the band can the devotee get darshan. So if the band says 4 p.m. the devotee is supposed to join the queue only at 4 p.m. No mobiles or cameras please, say the notices. If you do carry them 8216;helpful8217; employees will safeguard it for you8212;but for a price.

Once in the queue, you have to go through rigorous security checks and body frisking. Laser beams from electronic guns are trained on the band on the wrist for number matching. If it matches you move ahead. 8216;8216;The queues move systematically till they reach the main door of the deity. Here, the Devasthanam employees purposely let people from all sides to rush to the sanctum sanctorum. I gave money to all the employees I saw in that area and I had an uninterrupted five-minute darshan,8217;8217; says Sita Sharan.

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8216;8216;There are six employees of the Devasthanam standing in front of the deity and demanding money. They blocked my view and pushed me when I refused to give them money. I will never come back here,8217;8217; said Rajesh Pandharkar, a resident of Pune. 8216;8216;Did I stand in queue for four hours to be pushed around like this?8217;8217;

One of the priests8212;he refused to give his name8212;has a ready justification. 8216;8216;If devotees want to give money, who are we to stop Goddess Laxmi from coming to us?8217;8217; is his explanation for the money he pockets.

An office bearer of the Devasthanam said on the condition of anonymity: 8216;8216;We are aware of the prevalent corruption. The closed circuit television has helped to check it. But then why should people pay when it is free? They push the money into the hands of the employees.8217;8217;