BADRINATH : Whenever Bhupendra Maithani comes across a child chanting Vishnu Sahasrnamam or slokas fluently, he stops to ask whether he is a south Indian. “In my 30 years of service here, I have only seen South Indians chant Vishnu Sahasranamam fluently. South Indians are more religious than north Indians,’’ says Bhupendra.
The temple in-charge of Sri Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee, who hails from Uttarakhand, has great regard for pilgrims familiar with slokas. According to him, people from southern states, a majority from Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh besides Tamil Nadu and Kerala comprise about 85 per cent of the total visitors. It has been so for decades and the trend seems to be only increasing.
Ask him the reason for the same, he replies: “Based on my experience, I can tell you that south Indians’ belief in God, traditions, puja is far more stronger than those in the north. South ke log Hindu dharm ke mool pracharak hain (people from south are ambassadors of Hindu religion).’’
“People from north mostly come here to enjoy. They drink, smoke or come here for honeymoon. Otherwise, they visit Mana (last village in India, after Mana is China), take pictures and go. But south Indians come here with great devotion,’’ he explains. “Where will you find kids aged 8 or 10 chanting Vishnu sahasranamam so fluently? I have greatest respect for all south Indian parents for instilling such values in children,’’ he says.
In fact, during the Kedarnath tragedy, thousands of pilgrims from south Indian states like Telangana, AP and Tamil Nadu were stranded for days there. Politicians like AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao camped for a few days in Dehradun to supervise the rescue of Telugus trapped here.
‘’Bookings for char dham yatra are always full. At the moment, we already have 5,000 bookings from both Telugu states,’’ an employee of Southern travels said.