Trip to Tirupati

Since the time I met up Santosh I have always known him to be a very hardworking guy in front of the computer. I had gained very little knowledge about him. Now I know, he is equally steady while putting long hours in front of the dashboard, orchestrating the gears, accelerator and brakes. Spinning the steering for miles does not make him sleepy even during the night. Had I not responded to the proposal of Vineet to join them for a Darshan of Lord Venkateshwara, I would not have ever come to know about this avatar of the serious-looking techie. In no time I convinced Sugesh, who had been looking for an opportunity for last two years to visit Tirumala, to be a part of this pious pilgrimage.

Sometimes, we desist from showing-off our male-egos during a confrontation with the tear-laden eyes of a femme-fatale. Hence, I do not wish to deny that I have not been broken down by that weapon. May be, that is the reason why I and Sugesh could not say “No” to our wives’ insistence to be part of this almost-unplanned trip. Because of the unforeseen risks I was not very keen to tag my wife along. But, may be because of my craving for a sight of Lord Tirupati boosted me with the mental-power, I managed to get ourselves ready in less than half-an-hour. In a span of three hours the team of three had stretched to seven. We packed ourselves inside a Xylo, lately crafted by the Mahindras to suit the rough terrain of India and possessed by Mr. Santosh DS (this is not an acronym to us, anymore).

After finishing a quick dinner at ITPL we zipped past the limits of Bangalore and entered the darkness and emptiness of a high-way.

Murugan seems to be a serious guy, but when he whacks out all his naughty tricks on people it becomes a far more enjoyable sight. This time, he started insisting Santosh to drive faster with all his efforts. His sarcasm made Santosh resolute about driving faster. After Kolar, the road became quite smooth and desolate. To save himself from the lampooning of Murugan he put all his attention towards spinning the wheels of this huge beast. When in possession of such a car poised with power, control and technology, you feel like flaunting it by driving faster. We must admit that the trick of Murugan came out to be quite effective.

No sooner had we touched the terrains of Andhra Pradesh, we found out a joint eagerly waiting to serve snacks, tea etc. A midnight coffee is what we were dying for. Rest of the path was full of laughter and songs. The collection loaded in Sugesh’s USB and Vineet’s Blackberry were really good. We reached Tirupati at around 1:30 am.

After a journey of six hours we all were feeling sleepy.
Hotel Chakrie (we recommend this hotel to be a perfect value-for-money) offered a peaceful stay of 3 hours. After a nap of two hours we all woke up to Santosh’s call. Later we came to know that it was Murugan’s apparently-divine feat (In a state of sleep he was pushing him hard and blabbering something claptrap) that tossed Santosh out of the bed. The early morning bath washed away the sleep out of our almost-red eyes.

We were ready to go uphill for a divine glimpse of the Lord of Saptagiri. It was an amazing sight to find the mountains coming out from the snuggling clouds. The meandering roads took us to the top of Tirumala. It was 6 am and we all queued up for the Darshan. I could feel the fantasies and emotions of all the human beings present there. We did not have to wait for hours. Sigra Darshan made the whole process quicker. The ecstatic chants of “Govinda” had made the whole environment vibrant with positive energy flowing.

Then came the moment of achievement and sense of fulfillment; the serenity amid the fury. People were jostling with each other and running towards the sanctum. Time had stopped for few seconds as my eyes were glued to Him. The Lord had an out-of-the-world glow coming out of Him. I cannot explain that in words.

After collecting the Laddus we rushed towards the restaurant as fasting had made us voracious eaters. We gorged on the Idlis, Dhosas, Vadas and what-nots. Driving down the hills after satisfying our stomachs was such an awesome experience. The quips from Murugan had transformed Santosh from an average driver to an aggressive racer. The best of the lot was “Drive like an adult, not like an infant.” As a result of all these Mr. Santosh overtook six vehicles while taking turns on the hair-pin bends. A detour to Padmavati (wife of the Lord) temple and coming back to the hotel took an hour more.

Time to go back to Bangalore! People fell asleep as soon as we came out of the periphery of Tirupati. The scorching Sun was creating havoc as we were bidding adieu with a solemn reclaim. Hats-off to the stamina of Santosh, the lonely soul was whizzing past, taking care of the passengers comfortably snoring under the blast of AC! I was awake and giving him company although my heavy eye-lids were about to come close.

Filter coffee that you get from the sidey-tiffin shops of Bangalore cannot be compared with any barista coffee. I am a hardcore connoisseur of the coffees served by these not-so-popular tiffin shops in an ordinary steel glass. The experience becomes extraordinary. Rain can be the perfect catalyst for a better experience though. As soon as our car entered Karnataka we found the whole sky enveloped with clouds. We stopped at Kamat (near Hoskote) and had filter coffee, served in the traditional Chinese potteries. It was feeling like a very rare respite. I think that was the perfect way Bangalore could welcome us with a fun-filled drizzle.