Govinda Govinda

Tirupati is a small town in Andhra Pradesh in the South Eastern part of Great India. Here resides Lord Venkateshwara, an incarnation of Vishnu. According to the Hindu Mythology, Lord Venkateshwara was angry with his beloved wife Padmavathi and took seven giant steps back which became 7 hills. It is well known as Tirumala. There is a beautiful temple for the Lord which is decorated with with Golden Dome (Gopura). People throng to see this temple and have a darshan (view) of the lord. For ages, people have been coming in millions to visit this temple. He is considered as Kaliyuga Daiva (God of this new age). It is said that this temple is second richest in this world in terms of revenue.

People come here with utmost devotion (bhakti) and worship the lord. It is believed that he grants all the wishes that one may have. Of course this will continue for a long time to come. The scenario has changed nowadays. Couple of years ago, there was an assassination attempt on former chief minister of AP, Chandrababu Naidu. The temple authorities have enforced strict security in and around the temple premises since then. It all starts at the bottom of the hill. All vehicles heading towards Tirumala have to undergo rigorous security check. You feel that you are visiting the Prime Minister of India and not to see the idol of the lord. Security officers come with metal detectors and check on individual basis. This is the first step. At the main entrance of the temple (Mahadwaram), you will notice security guards armed with guns. There are sand bags laid out here and there and officers keep a vigilant eye on the proceedings. It gives a feel that the devotees are walking through a battlefield. Finally, there are X-Ray scanners to check the contents of the hand bag inside the temple.

Due to the exponential increase in the devotees visiting the temple year after year, the temple authorities have come up with a scheme of issuing tokens mentioning the date and time for darshan. It reminds me of taking an appointment with a VIP. An image of the finger print and a photo of the individual is taken while issuing the tokens. Don't be surprised if a retina scan is made in the near future. This is done to prevent sale of tickets unofficially.

With all this commotion and chaos, does bhakti (devotion) still sustain in people? Only time will tell.

Welcome to India

Finally, my long wait to see my family was over. It was time I packed my bags and left for India, my Motherland. I was very excited and eager to land in my hometown, Bangalore. It all started at 5:30 AM when I took the taxi from Amstelveen to Schiphol Airport. The taxi driver dressed very neatly approached me with a smile and wished me good morning. When I reached the
airport, he showed absolute courtesy and wished me a pleasant journey. It was a feel good factor. I went straight ahead to the check in counter where a beautiful lady with a smile took in my luggage and checked in. I could see smiles everywhere right from the security check to the cabin crew in the flight. For even once did I have a feeling that I was passing through rigorous securitycheck. After a long wait at the terminal, I was in the flight with a long
curve on my face. Two hours later I reached Paris. I was amazed with the way the airport is built. It was a gigantic. I literally took a bus to reach the terminal where my connecting flight was waiting. At the immigration counter, a Frenchman greeted saying "Vanakkam". He could close his eyes and tell that I was an Indian. I boarded the flight to Bangalore. My pulse was racing and I was literally counting the hours left for reaching my destination.

I landed in Bangalore at 30 minutes past midnight. Now comes the interesting part. The aircraft had to wait in the service lane since the terminal was occupied by another flight. We had to wait almost 30 min before we could hit the terminal. Finally, I came out of the aircraft and was really excited to get out of the airport and head towards home. The entire scenario changes when you reach India. People are no more friendly, there is so much chaos around you, rude immigration officers and confusion. I came out of the immigration queue tired. To my surprise I saw that there was literally a fight to collect the baggages. I managed to push through the crowd and stand near the conveyor belt waiting for my luggage. 45 minutes passed waiting for my luggage and still no sign of it. It was very frustrating. Then I heard someone cry out my name from behind. I turned back and noticed a young lad in a suit was carrying my name on a name plate. I approached him to find out that my baggage was missing. I was taken aback. How could this ever happen? He quickly handed over a form to me. Before I could question him, he asked me to fill out the form for claiming my luggage. I spent an hour in the airport to figure out what happened to my luggage and when I would get it back. I felt like tearing my hair off. What a contrast in behaviour of people in India and people abroad?

I handed over the form at the counter and made my way to the exit. I encountered a customs officer at the exit. He asked for my baggage to carry a routine check. I told him diplomatically that he was unlucky that day since my baggage was missing. He put an evil grin on his face and told me " WELCOME TO INDIA" (it all happens here).

I pondered over his statement and got out of the airport.