TIRUPATI: The temple of Lord Venkateswara is all set to dazzle with flowers of varied hues. Ahead of the nine-day ‘Salakatla Brahmotsavams' scheduled to begin from September 11, devotees across the country have come forward to donate flowers worth Rs.40 lakh to richly spruce up the inner precincts befitting the annual festival.
It is estimated that a whopping 2.5 to 3 metric tonnes of flowers, including the traditional as well as the modern ones, will go everyday into the decoration process. The conventional flowers grown by the TTD at Tirumala go exclusively into the garlands to adorn the presiding deity and the processional deities, besides for decorating the sanctum sanctorum and the sub-temples inside the complex.
However, the practice of using modern flowers like oriental lilium, Asiatic lilium, orchids, anthurium, bird of paradise, carnation and jerbera for decorating the temple precincts started a decade ago. The idea of involving devotees in the decoration process caught up well and led to a deluge of flowers in the form of voluntary contributions.
The ‘Garden City' of Bangalore sends a lion's share of flowers to Tirumala. “Apart from procuring flowers from Ooty, Kodaikanal, Bangalore and Coorg, we also import exotic varieties from Thailand and New Zealand for decorating the Tirumala temple,” says B. Srikanth of Om Sri Sai Flowers, a Bangalore-based wholesaler.
Besides executing orders from devotees, Mr. Srikanth personally donates flowers worth Rs.4 lakh every year.
According to the TTD's Deputy Director (Gardens), S. Srinivasulu, the services of 250 workers from Kolkata (reputed for their artistic nuances), Bangalore and Hyderabad will be utilised to decorate the inner walls, ‘Dhwaja Sthambam', ‘Bangaru Vakili' and other points in the temple.
The flowers are replaced every third day to give a refreshing look and pep up the festive mood throughout the nine-day fete.
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