The residents of Tirupati, led by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust board chairman and legislator Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, took out a rally around the inner and outer layers of the four streets that originally formed the old town of Tirupati, to celebrate its 894th birthday.
The event began with Mr. Karunakar Reddy formally paying obeisance at Sri Ramanuja’s shrine and inviting the Pedda Jeeyangar and Chinna Jeeyangar, anointed as the pontiff’s successors.
According to legends, it was on February 24, 1130, that saint Bhagawad Ramanujacharya consecrated the idol of Sri Govindaraja Swamy inside the sanctum sanctorum and laid the foundation stone for developing an ‘Agraharam’ (township) around the shrine.
Thus, the township of Tirupati formally came into existence in the year 1130, first with the name Govindarajapuram and then Ramanujapatnam. The residential township was meant for the priests, who trekked up and down the Tirumala hills to perform daily rituals, to inhabit.
894 years later, the native residents of Tirupati joined the procession with jubilation. The shops in the busy commercial area remained closed till noon to facilitate the procession. With colourful flags and festoons tied all over the streets, the procession included students from Vedic institutions, local schools, artistes from the TTD’s S.V. College of Music and Dance, Annamacharya Project and other cultural bodies. Several dressed up as Lord Venkateswara, Sri Rama, Hanuman, and Emperor Sri Krishna Devaraya.
Modern touch
The municipal corporation laid new master plan roads, widened existing ones, built an elevated corridor ‘Srinivasa Setu’ and beautified several traffic islands by installing aesthetic statues, thus adding a ‘modern touch’ to the ancient city.
Mr. Karunakar Reddy, in the presence of TTD Executive Officer A.V. Dharma Reddy, announced that this day will be included in TTD’s annual calendar of events to ensure continuance. He later felicitated the descendants of Sri Ramanuja’s maternal uncle Tirumala Nambi, considered the first citizen of Tirupati.
Member of Parliament M. Gurumoorthy, Mayor R. Sireesha Yadav, and Deputy Mayor B. Abhinay Reddy also participated in the rally.
