What... When... Where...

When I visited Tirupathi...

Tirupathi, a holy place of the Hindus, is a must-visit, if one is an ardent Vaishnava follower. I have been visiting this holy place now in Andhra Pradesh since I was a little girl. It is the abode of Lord Venkateshwara also known as Lord Govinda amongst hundreds and thousands of other names given to Him. It is a half a day drive from Bengaluru. 

I have had a miriad experiences while travelling and visiting this place and every time a few experiences stayed the same. Earlier when the temple was not so crowded there were not many places where we could stay at the hilltop - Tirumala. We were dependent on mathas like Rayara matha, Uttaradhi matha and the likes . The good thing about these mathas were they used to provide us with satvika food which was enough for us to survive the crowded queue and bear the heat to get a glimpse of Lord Thimmappa. And the worst part of staying in these mathas (well, I am talking about 30 years ago) was the bad hygenic conditions of the bath rooms and toilets. I used to dread using these bathrooms and toilets as a child.

Now, 30 years from then, things have improved a lot. A lot of good hotels have replaced the free inns in which people , used to stay (again shall I say in very bad hygenic conditions) with good hotels, lodges with better facilities , like proper drinking water facilities, good toilets, good bathrooms, and changing rooms.

Then, in my formative years I was under the impression that if the management provide good facilities, things would turn out to be better and our living conditions will improve and we might stomp towards becoming a developed country like the Europe, or Canada or the USA. How lame was I!?

Just two days ago I came back from Tirupathi with the same feeling of nausea that I used to have as a girl 30 years ago. I was surprised and bewildered at the same time. My family and I had booked a comfortable 3 bedroom apartment with a good view of Tirumala, beautiful scenery, good hygenic or rather lavish bathrooms with good toilets. The road to Tirumala was so good that I did not feel nauseous while climbing up the hill, but rather so engrossed with the beauty of the mountain range. And the hope of getting a glimpse of Sri Tirupathi Balaji atleast for 10 seconds. The darshana of Tirupathi Balaji was also a successful one. So then, what did go wrong and why did I get a sense of nausea at the end of the day? Things had changed for the better. The Pushkarni, The Kalyani from which the water is drawn for the daily abhisheka was so clean, the steps to the well were so clean and not at all slippery like it used to be 30 years ago. Still, why the nauseating feeling? I kept on wondering for 3 days when suddenly it dawned on me that I had not considered the people around me. The other visitors of the temple. 30 years ago also there were thousands of visitors and now too, Tirupathi Balaji gives darshan to thousands and sometimes lakhs of bhakthas per day. Yes. The Bhakthas. They were the one who were making me nauseous. Please do not get me wrong. I have nothing against the Bhakthas who come to visit Lord Balaji. But I have a dread towards those who really dont care about the cleanliness of their surroundings while visiting holy places. Tirupathi is a place visited by thousands and Lakhs of people per day and the management has done a tremendous job of providing all kinds of facilities to make the stay of the bhaktas as memorable and as convenient as possible. But what I observed was , it is the Bhakthas who need to change their mindset about these kshetras. Nothing can change till we change our attitude towards these Holy places. 

Let me explain what I mean. I was in the Supatham queue for the sheegra darshana and ,observing the carvings of the temple that we find in all the south indian temples. Suddenly my daughter drew my attention to a piece of biscuit in between the crevice of two stones which was done by a naughty little brat. I bet the little one might have had an elder with him and he sure had turned a blind eye to this act of keeping a biscuit between the crevice of two stones. It might look insignificant and you as a reader might think, what is so important that  I am insisting so much about. Just think, my dear reader. It is a collected act of such negligent adults that will lead to dirtying such a holy place. And another person might think it is alright for little boy to keep the biscuit in the crevice of the temple stones. And the other person might sanction the action of another person trying to dirty the premises. And this act will turn into an avalance which might destroy the sanctity of such a holy place. 

I will give you another example. The Swami Pushkarini, the sacred water tank is a holy water well which is believed to have all the holy rivers in it. Hence people take baths in this holy water tank to gain Punya and remove the paapa they have committed in their lives. Also in recent years, using chemicals like soap, shampoos is banned here while taking bath. Also washing clothes is also banned. Despite clear instructions that keeps on repeating on the microphones people still were washing clothes in the pushkarini, which was disgusting to see, and i could also see a couple with a little child throwing the baby's diaper on the embankment even though there were many dustbins ( both wet and dry) without a care for the world or the people who were looking at disgust at them. I who was there to get a prokshana of the holy water was in a dilemma if i had to get into the waters or not. 

These scenarios and examples are not just in this kshetra but all other places of public interest both, religious and non religious. So, how can I stop people from besmirching public places, religious places and places of interest? Is it alright to just complain and do nothing about it? What can we as citizens do to maintain the sanctity of such places of natural beauty and religious importance? Nothing much.

So, now you , my dear reader might think I have gone nuts. After all that complaing, am I saying we need to do nothing much about it? Yes. I insist. Nothing much. And the little we do is enough to maintain the cleanliness of these holy places and places of special interest. So, what am I suggesting?

Consider the places you visit your own. OhOh...don't get me wrong. I am not asking you to claim that place(lol). Just use the facilities available. But try to follow basic rules of the kshetra to maintain a clean environment. For example if the instructor shouts on the microphone to not wash the clothes, we should not wash there. There are rules for a reason. Irrespective of whether we know the reason or not, if we follow the instructions we will be doing ourselves and others a favor. This is very easy right? Almost nothing at all. Every place has a sanctity to maintain for the smooth running and these little rules help maintain them. New problems need new solutions. The usage of diapers for babies and older people makes our travel and visits to holy places more tolerable. But the disposing of these diapers pose a problem all the same. With time all these kshetras have also evolved and one can find proper disposing areas for such sanitary wastes. People should avail such facilities to keep the surrounding clean. Simple. Isn't it?  And if such a facility does not exist, we can always carry a newspaper cover of a platic cover and collect these wastes in them and dispose them when such facilities are available. Doable. Isn't it?

Again, you, dear reader, might tell me that it is easier said than done. True that. But karma has always a way of finding its way back to us. If we do a good deed today a good deed will in turn happen to us. Similarly, put a little effort in following simple rules of the kshetra and just look at the transformation around us, if all of us follow them.!!!

So, as a thankyou gift to you for reading this far, I will summarise what all I have in bulletins. Keep them in mind when you go out to visit kshetras, places of interest, holy places, scenic places or just a home stay.

If I have caught your attention till the end then Hi! I am Nischala. 

I talk about life's small pieces and try to bring all the puzzle pieces together.

Stay healthy, stay happy , keep reading and keep travelling.

Summary

* Keep your kshetra surroundings clean by throwing garbage in the designated places.

* Maintain the sanctity of the place by following the rules of the land. Because rules are made for a reason.

* Consider the places of worship as your own and keep the places serene and tranquility will follow you.