Iceman’s Realm

For those who visit Tirupati just for the two laddoos that come free with the darshan ticket, extremely sorry. No more. Be prepared to shell out Rs 10 per laddoo, after queuing for hours together and getting a darshan that hardly lasts for a second. And tell you what, there is a ration of two per devotee. The Thiumala Thirupathi Devasthanam (TTD) has made the change stating that the free laddoos were cutting into the temple’s annual budget of Rs 40 crore. Things became far worse when they noted that there was black marketing. Nearly tow lakh laddoos are prepared each day by the TTD. Over 60,000 devotees visit the shrine every day. The delightful sweet rolls of ghee, camphor and cardamom might rake in the moolah but this recent decision will definitely be difficult for the devotees to digest.