Padayatra 2023 - Annual Pilgrimage to Tirumala

Tirumala Padayatra 2023

Welcome all to this year edition of 'Tirumala Padayatra Event' writeup / photo blog.

This year, the Padayatra began on Saturday, December 9, 2023, at Chennai, and ended on Tuesday, December 12 2023, at Tirumala, with the darshan of Lord Malayappaswamy. 

Day 1 

Saturday, 09 December 2023 

Breakfast Session

In keeping with our tradition, we started the Padayatra from our Naicker Chatiram Residence. 

As planned, all the participants arrived to this start location by 7:00AM and after having breakfast, started the pilgrimage by 8:00 AM from here.

This year we hired new catering team for food preparation for all 3 days. They arrived on the previous evening itself to our start location, so that they can prepare the breakfast early in the morning followed by lunch preparation.

 

Caterers on work...

Banners are getting ready for display 

There had been a power cut in the morning while preparing the breakfast but caterers managed to get the food ready on time. Around 7:30 breakfast was served and immediately after breakfast pilgrims started their Padayatra.

This year too we had 4 dedicated service vehicles as - separate catering vehicle for utensils, grocery, gas and cylinders etc., a Baggage Van for transporting the pilgrim bags and providing water supply during entire pilgrimage and 2 service cars for the service & support of the pilgrims throughout this 3 days padayatra. 

For service and support alone we had totally 15 members, as such, 4 Service Members, 1 Chief In-charge / Liaison for Catering, 5 Catering staffs, 3 support assistants for loading & unloading, cleaning etc. and 2 drivers for catering vehicle and baggage van respectively.

The count of participating pilgrims this year were 60+ and importantly we had many new participants including 3 female pilgrims and a youngest kid of 13 year old. 

With all set, we started our this year Tirumala Padayatra.

Due to the heavy rain & storm during the first week of December, we were bit worried about the weather, route & break point conditions since if it is water logged or in a unusable condition it will become a tough time to patch up things at this last moment. However except in few places enroute, we never had any hardship due to the previous week storm.

Around 10:00 AM, buttermilk was served to the pilgrims as a refreshment, to keep them hydrated, on the way to the Lunch Point.

Lunch Session

Pilgrims reached the Lunch location, 'Sri Govindha Bhavanam Trust Hall', in Kannigaiper village & relaxing.

Around 12:00 noon, Lunch was served

Evening Session

After the lunch, some pilgrims took rest for a while and others continued immediately for the next break location. Before the night halt location, pilgrims will be served with Tea and snacks somewhere in between.

From Kannigaiper, Service vehicles reached the night halt location, Jessy Mahal, Latchivakkam, by 3:00 pm so that evening tea & night dinner can be prepared on time.

Grocery, utensils & Bags are getting unloaded from the Utility vehicles. 

At night halt location we unload all bags & belongings of all pilgrims. It will be collected by the respective pilgrim when they reach here and again handed over to us on next morning before they leave. We should make nothing is getting missed or mixed or left behind at any location. 

Meanwhile tea was ready and we went back few kilometers and served the tea for the traveling pilgrims. 

Tea break at roadside, near the village Tandalam.

Pilgrims arriving at the night halt location, Latchivakkam.

Around 7:30 PM dinner got served & pilgrims having their food

Day 2 

Sunday, 10 December 2023 

Around 2:30 AM all pilgrims woke up & got ready for their day's walk

Pilgrims having their morning tea before starting their day

And onto the road

Pilgrim bags need to be loaded into the Bag Van and reach the breakfast location soon, so that, if pilgrim want to take bath there and change clothes, it should be available there.

Morning Tea break at Surutapalli, Andhra Pradesh.

We had arranged a special morning pooja at the Surutapalli Temple, on behalf of our Padayatra Trust. Since most of the pilgrims reach this place much earlier to temple timing, only few who stayed back till temple pooja timing were able attend this pooja and others started their walk as soon as they had their refreshments.

Breakfast Session

Pilgrims reached the breakfast location, Sai Baba Temple, Nagalapuram, around 7:00 AM 

Breakfast being served and pilgrims having their food

After breakfast, pilgrims had some rest and then started their walk. Some of them went to the famous Vedanarayanaswamy Temple at Nagalapuram town and had darshan. 

Meanwhile the Service team reached the night halt location, 'Sri Bhadravathi Sametha Bhaavanarushi Function Hall' at Palamangalam village, next to Pichatur town. From here, pre-lunch refreshment, lunch will be prepared and sent to the lunch location and evening tea refreshment, snacks and dinner will also get prepared at this location. 

All grocery and utensils got unloaded and lunch preparation got started 

Meanwhile, Lemon Juice is getting prepared for morning refreshment. 

Unfortunately the ice we bought earlier & kept in the ice box got melted completely, so we went in search of ice to the Nagalapuram and Pichatur town and finally found a ice making factory in the By-pass road behind a 'Weigh Bridge Office' and got the ice for the lemon juice

We filled the chilled lemon juice in big container from Palamangalam, kept in our service car and started distributing the juice to the pilgrims walking in between Pichatur and Nagalapuram all the way.

Lunch Session

The Sivan Temple at the Pichatur Lake is the lunch location and most of the pilgrims reached around 12:30 noon. 

The lunch arrived by 1:00 PM and it was served to the pilgrims. 

Evening Session

After lunch and some rest, pilgrims started walking towards night halt location, Palamangalam Village. 

Around 6:30 PM most of the pilgrims arrived at the night halt location & they were provided with refreshment of tea and snacks.

With all the pilgrims gathered, as usual, we all had a small meeting - started with the introduction of new members to this pilgrimage group, explaining about this padayatra, things done through our Padayatra Trust, about our blog & its reach, improvements planned for the padayatra and those achieved, a feedback session etc.

This year we had many new members joining to our Padayatra Group, in that, many of them came to know about this Padayatra Group through this official Blog 😀👍

After the meeting, dinner was served and everybody had their food and retired for the day.

Day 3 

Monday, 11 December 2023 

Around 2:00 AM pilgrims woke up & got ready for their day's walk. Being a long stretch of morning walk they were provided with tea before leaving. 

Near midway, around 4:30 AM the pilgrims were provided with refreshments of Water, Tea & Biscuits on the roadside. It will take another 2 hour for them to reach the breakfast location.

Breakfast Session

Pilgrims reached Karthik Marriage Hall, located in the Punami Junction at Puttur bypass end around 6:30AM. All got refreshed there and had breakfast.

Breakfast getting served

After having breakfast pilgrims started their walk immediately, so that they can cover the maximum distance in early morning sun itself before it start scorching.

Lunch Session

This stretch of padayatra will be one of the longest & hardest between the break points due to the route and timing. At this stretch, even the morning 8 AM sun will be scorching. In spite this being a scenic route, snaking between the mango groves, there will not be any shade to rest and also weather will be humid & sultry, unless you are blessed with cloudy or rainy morning.

At this stretch of travel, we decided to provide the morning refreshment twice, so that pilgrims can manage the distance and the heat. So at one place tender coconut was provided and then buttermilk at another.

Before 12 noon, pilgrims reached Appalayagunta, temple village. Some of them were able to have a darshan of lord Sri Prasanna Venkateswaraswamy at the TTD temple of Appalayagunta.

Near to the temple, Sri Vaibhava Lakshmi Marriage Hall was arranged for the pilgrims to rest and have lunch.

Those reached early had a good rest before having their lunch.

Lunch was served around 1 pm

After lunch, pilgrims started another scenic stretch of walk winding between farm lands, hillside, streams and few villages.

Evening Session

This time the destination is Alamelumangapuram aka Tiruchanur, the last point of this padayatra before Tirupati, which is around 10 km from Appalayagunta.

Around 5:30 pm, members started arriving at the last destination of Alamelumangapuram. On the way, they were served with hot snacks and tea as refreshment near Brahmanapattu Village.

After reaching the temple town, members refreshed themselves and went to have darshan of 'Sri Padmavathi Ammavari' at the Tiruchanur Padmavathi temple.

Around 7:30 pm hot food was served. This is the last place till which our catering team will prepare and serve food and at this point they - catering team - will start back.

Also this is the last point till the baggage van will accompany the pilgrims. From here, pilgrims need to carry their baggage on their own to the foothills,  then to Tirumala, then back home.

Day 4 

Tuesday, 12 December 2023 

Morning around 5:30 am, pilgrims started towards the last break location - Balaji Woodlands Hotel, opposite Tirupati Main Bus stand where all will have the food together one last time .

Breakfast Session

Almost all pilgrims reached Balaji Woodlands Hotel around 7:00 AM. They can choose and have any food in  the restaurant and handover the table bill to any of us organizers, so that it will  be taken care of. 

From here, after breakfast, all will proceed at their own convenience according to their darshan & accommodation & return booking. However since darshan would have been booked for a common 'Seva' or 'timing', most probably some of them will get a chance to meet some others in the darshan queue, otherwise for many, this will be the last chance to say 'Good Bye'

Pilgrims started moving towards Alipiri, which is the start of the Tirumala footpath. It will take another hour for the pilgrims to reach Alipiri from here.

At Alipiri (foothills)

On the way to Tirumala... 

Reaching Tirumala...

After this pilgrims will go to their accommodations if already booked or join with others who have accommodation for refreshing themselves, have lunch somewhere, do tonsuring if planned or go directly to darshan according to their darshan tickets. After darshan some return back immediately, some stay over night & return home following day by whatever means they have already planned.

So, with this, we come to the end of this narrative of year 2023 Padayatra Pilgrimage to Tirumala from Chennai.  

Started in 1988 by our pioneers with around 10 members, and immediately joined by us from 1989, this Padayatra is being successfully conducted and completed for 35th year consecutively, without any break, even during times of COVID travel restrictions.

Thanks for the support of all the Participants, Organizers and Admin Groups, Service Members, Catering Teams,  Convoy Drivers, Sponsors & Patrons and other service and product providers etc. for their tireless efforts and coordination for making this yearly pilgrimage a successful event.

Also thanks to all those participants who shared Padayatra photos in our WhatsApp group.

Meet you all again during the next year 2024 Tirumala Padayatra, until then Good Bye.

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Scroll down to see some more photos & details from our pilgrimage...

Early Birds

Officially, the padayatra started on Saturday 09-December-2023 at 6:30AM from our Naicker Chattiram residence. Some pilgrims start their walk from their own residence and reach our start location on the previous evening itself and stay there overnight. Thanks for adjusting with limited amenities there at our residence for the overnight stay and bearing with mosquitoes.

Service Members & Service Vehicles

Catering Team

Reconciling Daily Accounts & Work

Loading & Unloading Baggage & Supplies

Though sounding easy but still crazy, loading and unloading of participants baggage and other supplies at every night halt location is a tedious, redundant and meticulous job. 

Have to make sure none is left behind or loaded in wrong vehicle. Some participant have more than one bag or have something tied or side-stuffed into the bag, which we should make sure not being missed or separated or misplaced. 

Also loading and unloading of 70+ bags requires sizable manpower and time, in spite which, from the service side we make sure bags are readily available to the participants and pilgrims are not made to wait for their belongings at the pre-specified locations.

However though, we always request the participants to travel light, do not carry extra baggage except for which those essentially required. Also, they have to carry their luggage from Tiruchanur to Alipiri to Tirumala and way back home, hence the lighter the better.

Arranging Food Plates 

Again, though sounding easy but still crazy, arranging the food plates of all members of this group at every meal location is a tedious, redundant and meticulous job. 

Since the time of COVID we moved on to the food plates instead of banana leaves for serving food which we were following from the time we started. Actually banana leaves are more hygiene, user friendly and most importantly they are expendable  and makes the work lot easier. The reason behind this moving to plates were - due to travel restrictions at COVID lockdown, we were unsure of meal locations - whether we will get a comfortable place or not to properly serve food. So we decided to go for plates instead, using which we can serve food even on roadside. But fortunately that year things never went that far such that we were able to book most of the meal locations we use currently. However we went ahead as decided with the food plates from that time onwards. 

At the COVID year we had total group of less than 40 members, so pulling out their own plates which has their name from 4 stacks of 10 was never an issue. However following that year the size of the group has doubled and hence the catch point is arranging the plates before every meal time so that it will be easy to identify ones plate without going through the whole lot.

So before every meal time, all plates were separately stacked by the service members according to the group the member belongs and each group had a group code. Just the participant should know his group code and search his plate from that stack alone.

After every meal all plates will sent for cleaning, drying and storing and again for the next meal it will be sorted and stacked group-wise. Also we made sure for every member there is his /her own plate with their name written on it.

Food Plates being checked and new names being written on them

Food Plates stacked & arranged in groups on the table 

Participants taking plates from stacks

However, this time we had instances were plates were changed and taken due to urgency or inadvertently, so that some participants ended up with somebody else plates. So we repeatedly requested the participants to thoroughly check the group code and names written on plate and then to take the plate so that no embarrassment for anyone.

Blisters and Burns

Along side with other physical discomforts of venturing 'padayatra' is blisters forming in the foot. Due to constant and continuous rubbing of skin against footwear and / or excessive heat, some parts of the foot especially between toes, heal and sides fluid blisters form and bulge. For some, it will be bearable but for others it will be extremely painful and make it difficult to walk any further. Usually it forms, bulges, grows big & ruptures, releasing the fluids on its own time course. 

To avoid or lessen the chances of forming blisters, we advise to use proper socks, especially cotton socks with toe, that can be used with all footwear, apply dusting powder before wearing socks every time, use ventilated footwear with soft sole instead of the ones that completely covers the foot.

Still if it forms, then put a cotton packing and micropore plaster over it or wrap with sterile gauze to avoid it getting further rubbed.

In extreme conditions where the pilgrim is unable to walk due to such painful blisters, we choose to remove the fluids and patch it up with antibiotic.

Once this is done the pain get relieved and blister will not be any hindrance while  the pilgrim continue walking.

Social Welfare Activity

On behalf of our Padayatra trust, this year we have sponsored various events, as follows

• Samarpana (Old Age Home), Siruvapuri lunch on 9.12.23 for old age people 
• Vasantham (Challenged Children Home), Mugapair lunch on 10.12.23 for special children’s
• Food packets of 50 numbers distributed at Surattapalli  Village
• One bag rice given to Palamangalam Krishnaiyar for food for Children / Locals.
• Paid for Annadhanam at Japala Aanchineyar Temple – Tirumala.

Also at Surattapali temple we arranged special pooja for all our padayatra members on the day we visited the temple.

All the above sponsorship were done on behalf of our Padayatra members.

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Some more memories & our scenic route, to cherish...

(Most photos were shared by our Participants)

On the way to Jappala aanchaneya temple, on the following day

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Below are some feedback & credits shared by our wonderful participants

Audio Link