VIJAYAWADA: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) organised Srinivasa Kalyanam at Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Venkatapalem on Saturday evening. Thousands of devotees witnessed the celestial wedding.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu presented Pattu Vastrams to Utsava deities in a traditional manner at the Kalyana Vedika. Governor S Abdul Nazeer, TTD Chairman BR Naidu, Executive Officer J Syamala Rao, Additional EO Ch Venkaiah Chowdary, State Ministers and other dignitaries attended the celestial wedding, which was conducted under the supervision of Chief Priest Venugopala Deekshitulu and Archaka Sai Swamy. Mukhya Archaka Kiran Swamy was also present. The beautifully decorated Saptadwara-Ananda Nilayam stage captivated devotees, while renowned Carnatic musicians Nithyasree Mahadevan and Priya Sisters enchanted the devotees with devotional rendition of Annamacharya Sankeertans.
The atmosphere was further elevated by the presence of Sri Pedda Jeeyangar and Sri Chinna Jeeyangar of Tirumala along with several other revered pontiffs.
The major highlight of the event was the dedicated service of 1,500 Srivari Sevaks, who assisted in Annaprasadam distribution, crowd management, and providing sacred items like Srivari laddus, turmeric, vermilion, Kankanams, Pustaka Prasadam, and Akshatas.
Divine wedding lights up Amaravati reconstruction
Special teams were deployed to apply Thirunamam to devotees. Over 50,000 small laddus were brought from Tirumala, and under the supervision of the TTD Annaprasadam Department, the Amaravati Akshaya Foundation provided 40,000 packets each of pulihora, curd rice, rava kesari and sweets to devotees.
The stage decoration was another spectacle, adorned with over 4 tonnes of traditional, ornamental, and exotic flowers, along with 30,000 cut flowers. A combination of African oranges, apples, grapes, coconut blossoms, sugarcane, and mango leaves added to the visual appeal.
The TTD Garden Department, with expert florists from Bengaluru and Hyderabad, decorated the venue. Adding to the grandeur, the electrical illumination transformed Venkatapalem into a divine spectacle. Seventeen LED cutouts, featuring Dasavatharams, Maha Vishnu, Lakshmi Venkateswara, Srivari Padalu, Padmavathi Venkateswara, Gopalakrishna, Adisesha, and Ananda Nilayam, illuminated the venue. The setup included 5,000 floodlights, 25 generators, and 18 giant LED screens, allowing devotees to witness the celestial wedding in all its splendour.
TTD Chairman Naidu highlighted that the occasion symbolised the commencement of reconstruction of Amaravati, aligning with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s growth vision. The event concluded with devotional music.