India Travel

Hyderabad to: Ahmedabad (4 weekly: 1hr40min): Bangalore (2-3 daily; 1hr); Calcutta (1-2 daily; 2-3hr); Chennai (3-4 daily; 1hr-1hr 45min); Cochin (2 weekly; 2hr 40min); Delhi (3 daily; 2hr-2hr10min|; Mumbai (6-7 daily; 1 hr 15min-3hr); Tirupati (1-2 daily; 55min-1hr 20min); Vishakapatnam (2 daily; 1 hr-1 hr 30min).

Puttaparthy to: Mumbai (2 weekly: 1 hr 20min).

Vishakapatnam to: Bhubaneswar (4 weekly; 55min); Calcutta (4 weekly; 2hr 20min); Chennai (4 weekly; 1hr 5min); Delhi (4 weekly; 3hr 35min); Hyderabad (2 daily; 1 hr-1 hr 30min); Mumbai (1 daily; 2hr45min).

Hyderabad to; Amaravati (2 daily; 7hr]; Bangalore (hourly; 13hr); Bidar (19 daily; 4hr); Chennai (1 daily; 16hr); Mumbai (8 daily; 17hr); Puttaparthy (3 daily; l0hr); Tirupati (7 daily; 12hr); Vijayapuri (10 daily; 4hr]; Vijayawada (every 15min; 6hr); Warangal (every 15-30min; 3hr).

Tirupati to: Chennai (every 30min; 3hr30min-4hn: Kanchipuram (hourly; 3hr30min); Hyderabad (7 daily; 12hr); Mahabalipuram (3 daily; 5hr 30min; Puttaparthy (1 daily; 10hr). Vijayawada to: Amaravati (hourly; 2hr); Guntur (every 15min; 1hr-1hr30min): Hyderabad (every 15min; 6hri).

Hyderabad/Secunderabad to: Aurangabad (1 daily; 12hr 22min); Bangalore (3-1 daily; 11 hr 45min-15hr50min); Bhubaneswar (3 daily; I9hr 50min-22hr 55min): Calcutta (2 daily; 27ht 40min-33hr 15min|; Chennai (2 daily, 14hr 5min-14hr 15min); Delhi (2-3 daily; 22hr 10min-32hr 50min); Mumbai (3 daily; 15hr 35min-i7hr 40min); Timpati (3-4 daily; 14hr-15hr 30min); Varanasi (2 weekly; 30hr 15min); Vijayawada (12-13 daily: 5hr 10min-7hr 45min); Vishakapatnam (5-6 daily; 11 hr 30min-19hr 10min); Warangal (9-10 daily; 2hr 8min-3hr 18min).

Tirupati to: Chennai (3 daily; 3hr 15min); Hyderabad/Secunderabad (3-4 daily; 13hr 20min-17hr 10mm); Tinjchirapalli (1 daily; 14hr 15min|; Vatanasi (1 daily: 36hr); Vijayawada (3-6daily; 6hr 25min-8hr 45min>; Vishakapatnam (2-3 daily; 13hr 25min-19hr 5min).

Vijayawada to: Calcutta (5-7 daily; 21 hr 55min-33hr 20min); Chennai (7-12 daily; 5hr 45min-8hr 50min); Delhi (4-6 daily; 23hr 10min-32br 50min); Hyderabad/Secunderabad (12-13 daily; 5hr 15min-8hr 10min); Tirupati (3-6 daily; 6hr 25min-ahr 15min); Vishakapatnam (12-16 daily; 6hr 5min-12hr 30min).

Vishakapatnam to: Bhubaneswar (5-7 daily; 6hr 45min-9hr 50min); Calcutta (5-7 daily; 15hr I5min-23hr); Chennai (2-4 daily; 12hr 45min-15hr 55min); Delhi (1-2 daily; 34tir 40min-39hr 45min); Hyderabad/Secunderabad (5-6 daily; 11hr 50min-15hr 40min); Tirupati (2-3 daily; 14hr 30min-16hr 50min); Vijayawada (12-16 daily; 5hr55min-i1hr10min).

Born Satyanarayana Raju on November 23,1926 in Puttaparthy, then an obscure village in the Madras Presidency. Satya is reported to have shown prodigious talents and unusual purity and compassion from an early age. His apparently supernatural abilities initially caused some concern to his family, who took him to Vedic doctors and eventually to be exorcized. Having been pronounced to be possessed by the divine rather than the diabolical, at the age of 14 he calmly announced that he was the new incarnation of Sai Baba, a saint from Shirdi in Maharashtra who died eight years before Satya was born.

Gradually his fame spread, and a large following grew. In 1950 the ashram was inaugurated and a decade later Sai Baba was attracting international attention; today he has millions of devotees worldwide, a considerable number of whom turn out for his birthday celebrations in Puttaparthy, when he delivers a message to his devotees. Just 5 ft tall, with a startling Hendrix-style Afro, his smiling, saffron-clad figure is seen on posters, framed photos and murals all over south India. Though his miraculous powers reportedly include the ability to materialize vibhuti, sacred ash, with curative properties, Sai Baba claims this to be an unimportant activity, aimed at those firmly entrenched in materialism, and emphasizes instead his message of universal love. In recent years a number of ex-followers have made serious accusations about coercion and even sexual abuse on the part of the guru himself, which have been vehemently denied. Whatever your feelings about the divinity of Sai Baba, the atmosphere around the ashram is undeniably peaceful, and the growth of such a vibrant community in this once-forgotten backwater is no small miracle in itself.

the nearest railhead, which has good services north and south. There are also two flights a week from Mumbai.

Most visitors stay at the ashram in large bare sheds or smaller rooms if available. Except in the case of families, accommodation is strictly segregated by sex. Costs are minimal, and though you can’t book in advance, you can enquire about availability at the secretary’s office. Outside the ashram, many of the basic lodges are rather overpriced. However, the Sai Ganesh Guest House near the police station is friendly and a good cheap option. The new Sri Sai Sadam at the far end of the main street is great value; all rooms have fridge, TV and balcony with views of the countryside or the ashram, and there’s a meditation room and rooftop restaurant. At the top end, the all a/c Sai Towers, near the ashram entrance charges a lot for its smallish rooms, but has a good restaurant downstairs. Even nonresidents can eat in the ashram canteen, and there are simple snack stalls along the main street.

Deep in the southwest of the state, amid the arid rocky hills bordering Karnataka, a thriving community has grown up around the once insignificant village of PUTTAPARTHY, birthplace of spiritual leader Sai Baba, whose followers believe him to be the new incarnation of God. Centring on Prasanthi Nilayam, the ashram where Sai Baba resides from July to March, the town has schools, a university, a hospital and sports centre which offer up-to-date and free services to all. There’s even a small airport. The ashram itself is a huge complex with room for thousands, with canteens, shops, a museum and library, and a vast assembly hall where Sai Baba gives darshan twice daily (6.40am & 3pm). Queues start more than an hour before the appointed time, and a lottery decides who gets to sit near the front. The museum (daily l0 am-noon) contains a detailed, fascinating display on the major faiths with illustrations and quotations from their sacred texts, punctuated by Sai Baba’s comments.

Practicalities

Puttaparthy is most accessible from Bangalore in Karnataka (see p.1396). from where seven daily buses (4hr) run to the stand outside the ashram entrance. The town is also connected to Hyderabad and Chennai (1 nightly: 11 hr). Regular buses make the 42-kilometre run to Dharmavararn.

The best way of getting to Tirupati is by train from Chennai; the trip can be done in a day if you get the earliest of the three daily services (3hr 30 min). From Hyderabad it takes sixteen hours. An APTDC counter at the railway station (daily 7.30am-7pm) is accessible from the entrance hall and platform 1, where there’s a 24hr left-luggage office and a self-service veg refreshment room. Stands sell English copies of TKT Viraraghava Charya’s History of Tirupati, and there’s a Vivekananda religious bookshop next door. Tirupati’s APSRTC Central bus station - also with 24hr left-luggage - is about l km east of the railway station. Frequent express services run from Chennai (4hr). but the train is far more comfortable. However, if you’re traveling south and want to avoid Chennai, there are hourly buses, three of which continue to Mahabalipuram (7hr). In addition, a useful daily train stops at the Tamil Nadu temple towns of Tiruvannamalai. Chidambaram. Thanjavur and Triehy. Local transport is provided by beautifully decorated cycle rickshaws, with silver backs, colorfully painted, and some covered by appliqued cloth, as well as auto-rickshaws.

A special section at the back of the bus stand has services every few minutes to Tirumala and the Venkateshvara temple. You shouldn’t have to queue too long unless it’s a weekend or festival. An easier option is to take a taxi, best organized through the APTDC tourist counter at the railway station; avoid the unlicensed taxis outside the station as they could be stopped by the Tirumala police. The tourist office also run a tour (10am-5.30pm; Rsl25 not including entrance tickets) which takes in Chandragiri Fort (except Fn) and a number of temples, but does not include the Venkateshvara temple owing to the long queues.

In the sixteenth century, Chandragiri, 11 km southwest of Tirupati, became the third capital of the Vijayanagars, whose power had declined following the fall of the city of Vijayanagar (Hampi) in Karnataka. It was here that the British negotiated the acquisition of the land to establish Fort St George, the earliest settlement at what is now Chennai. The original fort, thought to date from c. 1000 AD, was taken over by Haider Ali in 1782, followed by the British in 1792. A small museum of sculpture, weapons and memorabilia is housed in the main building, the Indo-Saracenic Kaja Mahal. Another building, the Rani Mahal, stands close by, while behind that is a hill with two freestanding boulders that was used as a place of public execution during Vijayanagar times. A little temple from the Krishna Deva Raya period and a freshwater tank stand at the top of the hill behind the Raja Mahal. In the evening there is a 45-minute sound and light show.

There’s good reason for the small shrine to Ganesh at the foot of Tirumala Hill. The journey up is hair-raising and it’s worth saying a quick prayer when embarking on it, but at least separate routes up and down preclude head-on crashes. Overtaking is strictly forbidden, but drivers do anyway; virtually every bend is labelled “blind” and every instruction to drive slowly is blithely ignored. The fearless sit on the left for the best views; the most devout, of course, climb the hill by foot. “When you get to the top, you will see barbers busying themselves giving pilgrims tonsures as part of their devotions. Non-Hindus are permitted to enter the inner sanctum, but for everyone, darshan, a view of the god, is the briefest of brief experiences. Temple funds support a university, hospital, orphanages and schools at Tirupati as well as providing cheap, and in some cases free, accommodation for pilgrims.

The Venkateshvara temple dedicated to Vishnu and started in the tenth century, has been recently renovated to provide facilities for the thousands of pilgrims who visit daily; a rabbit warren of passages and waiting rooms wind their way around the complex in which pilgrims interminably shuffle towards the inner sanctum. Unless your visit is intended to be particularly rigorous, on reaching the temple you should follow the signs for the special darshan that costs Rs 50 (daily 6-10 am ex Fri & noon-9 pm).This will reduce the time it takes to get inside by hours, if not days. You have to sign a declaration of faith in Lord Venkateshvara and give your passport number. There is a seated waiting area.

Once inside, you’ll see the somewhat incongruous sight of brahmins sitting at video monitors, observing the goings-on in the inner sanctum; the constant to-ing and fro-ing includes temple attendants bringing in supplies, truckloads of oil and other comestibles, and huge cooking pots being carried across the courtyard. You may also catch deities being hauled past on palanquins to the accompaniment of nagesvaram (a south Indian oboe-like double-reed wind instrument) and tavil drum, complete with an armed guard. At the entrance is a colonnade, lined with life-sized statues of royal patrons, in copper or stone. The gopura gateway leading to the inner courtyard is decorated with sheets of embossed silver; a gold stambha (flagstaff:) stands outside the inner shrine next to a gold upturned lotus on a plinth. Outside, opposite the temple, is a small museum, the Hall of Antiquities (daily 8am-8ptn).Your special darshan ticket entitles you to enter the museum via a shorter queue opposite the exit and to pick up two free laddu sweets.

Kapilateertham, a temple at the bottom of the hill, has a gaily painted little Hindu pleasure garden at the entrance; after the rains, a powerful waterfall crashes into a large tank surrounded by colonnades, and everyone piles in for a bath, ensuing in typically good-natured pilgrim bedlam.

Between Tirupati and Tirumala Hill, the Tiruchanur Padmavati temple is another popular pilgrimage halt. A gold vimana tower with lions at each corner surmounts the sanctuary, which contains a black stone image of goddess Lakshmi with one silver eye. At the front step, water sprays to wash the feet of the devotees. A Rs 20 ticket allows you to jump the queue to enter the sanctuary. If you’d like to donate a sari to the goddess, you may do so, upon payment of Rs. 1200 . Cameras are prohibited.

Just a five-minute walk from the railway station, the one temple in Tirupati itself definitely worth a visit is Govindarajaswamy, whose modern is clearly visible from many points in town. Begun by the Nayaks in the sixteenth century, it is an interesting complex with large open courtyards decorated with lion sculptures and some ornate wooden roofs. It also houses the Venkateshvara Museum of Temple Arts. The inner sanctum is open to non-Hindus and contains a splendid large black reclining Vishnu, coated in bronze armour and bedecked in flowers. The sanadarsanan (daily 9.30am-12.30pm: Rs5) will let you in to glimpse the deity, and participate in fire blessings at the main and subsidiary shrines. The temple’s impressive tank lies 200m to the east.