Travel Stories - India

It is quite a fuss and chaos for the station of the city "Turipathi" when I buy a bus ticket there. There are ten buses that go to the pilgrimage "Tirumala" and I choose one that is half full. A very big man enters the bus and sits next to me, while there are plenty of other places available. His head is shaved, and on his forehead I see three white stripes. Not so remarkable when you consider that the city is a pilgrimage for the Hindus. Just before the bus leaves, a man comes in with a silver bowl in his hands; there are a number of small almonds with incense and in his hands he has a stick with lots of different colors of feathers. With this stick he puts everyone in the bus gently on his head. After everybody is blessed drives the bus away and we drive to the mountain where the holy town is built. 

Before we arrive at the end of the stop, we drive past numerous expensive hotels, stalls and lots of parking places. When we drive up the mountain we enjoy the view that stretches for miles over the landscape which is green here, forest! The road is perfectly fine even with these hairpin bends and along the road there is an endless number of temples and altars. Three quarters of an hour later we get out of the bus and walk into the circus that has been erected here. There seem to be about 40,000 pilgrims a day on average; the staff alone counts 12,000 people.

Thousands of people, hundreds of stalls, both shops and eating and drinking stalls; there are even signs with the different locations written down on them - unique in India! I understand very little of the signs and since I think there are dozens of holy temples I follow the crowd. Finally, after a long road with little squares, streets, stairs, I see a large square with on the other side a roof of a golden temple with a meter-high wall around it. That must be the famous "Venkateswhara" temple where thousands offer their hair as a gift. On this side I stand on a staircase of a tribune where a place is reserved for praying; there is a large black incense candle holder and everyone is trying to light one. I decide to walk to the Golden Temple because there is a possibility (I have read) that you can enter as a tourist. This temple seems to attract more pilgrims than Rome, Jerusalem and Mecca together!

From a guard of the temple, I get a piece of paper stating what you have to do to get in here and now I see people crowding along the wall. All shaved men with a yellow paint on their heads and dressed in black - people who fasted somebody told me before. They walk around the wall in a sort of golden cage, waiting in turn for permission to enter. One thing is certain; I'm not going to queue in this chaos because if something happens (what you often hear and see on TV) then it's over with you because you can’t go anywhere anymore. At the ticket box it is also chaos. You have to show you’re passport, fill in a form, leave you’re bag in a safe, take you’re shoes off and then stand and wait in another row. Together with a few Westerners we understand little of it and when I see the other row then you are still far from the turn and long away from the entrance of the temple. Not even with a VIP ticket it’s going fast. It will have been a good experience to make a wish, it’s a shame, especially because now I’m here, but I give up. Sitting on a stone wall, enjoying a fresh pineapple juice, I understand why so many stalls sell hats - to protect all those bald heads against the bright sun. I try to absorb the chaos in me, but I see so many things and different people that it is quite a task. I also understand that it is a special weekend because "God Vishun" has engaged. Personally, it will all be my worst who has betrothed where and with whom - I have seen more than enough and take the bus back to quieter places.