From Here To Kingdom Come
National Geographic Traveller India|November 2017

Lord Venkateswara Swamy reigns over Tirupati. A visit to his court serves as a reminder of both, our collective strength and fragility

Akhila Krishnamurthy
From Here To Kingdom Come

Tirupati isn’t a destination; it’s a mindset, an emotion, an experience. It’s a journey of journeys, a journey within journeys. A trip to Tirupati is as much a personal proposition as it is a celebration of the spirit of collective consciousness. The whole act of congregating in a single file with a humungous number of people, walking along under a series of roofs and rooms that finally lead up to the golden enclave, is a statement in the power and potential of faith; that we are all inherently different and yet our destinies bind us together in prayer.

Perhaps, on a more philosophical note, this collective journey culminating in a darshan—20 seconds to a minute, at the most, depending on who you are—right in front of the majestic idol, is symbolic of a quiet, inevitable surrender to the universe, at large. That in the face of a larger, supreme being, we are, after all, so fragile, so vulnerable.

I remember shedding a tear or two myself a couple of times after a darshan of the gloriously adorned Lord Venkateswara Swamy, an avatar of Vishnu, also known as Srinivasa, Balaji, Govinda or Perumal. Let me quickly clarify, I’m not the religious type. I was raised in a god-fearing household no doubt, but exposure and experience had the better of me, allowing me to reflect upon and craft for myself, a uniquely personal relationship with god.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 2017 من National Geographic Traveller India.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 2017 من National Geographic Traveller India.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

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