CHENNAI: Go by the book, you will have to stand in the long queue for hours; buy the book, and you will still be in the queue, but just for minutes.
Tens of scores of devotees, irrespective of whether they know the language or not, are buying Tamil spiritual books at the Arunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai to have a quick darshan of the presiding deity.
The ‘book-for-darshan’ practice, introduced informally by the temple administration two months ago, is helping the temple register an additional daily revenue of lakhs of rupees.
After entering the temple through the Ammani Amman Gopuram using the special darshan route by paying a Rs 50 ticket, and following the designated path, the devotees will reach the main gate used by temple staff — an entry point that allows for faster darshan.
When they request entry through the gate, the staff stationed there direct them to buy books placed on a nearby table. These books are sold by registered volunteers at the temple entrance for Rs 250 to Rs 300, regardless of their maximum retail price. The titles include ‘Pattinathar Padalgal’, ‘Vadanattu Thirupathigal’ and others.
During weekends and holidays, the purchase of these books allows devotees to complete their darshan in just 30 minutes, while otherwise it takes three to four hours even with the Rs 50 special darshan ticket, and more than four hours through the regular queue.
A section of devotees told TNIE that more than 90% of visitors buy the Rs 50 special darshan ticket, and as a result, buying these books has become the only way to a quicker darshan. After walking six to seven hours on the girivalam path, devotees arriving at the temple prefer a faster darshan.
‘Books introduced to eliminate bribery’
They are willing to spend Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000. This is mainly because children, the elderly and women find it difficult to wait for two to three more hours in long queues during weekends. Additionally, numerous devotees from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana prefer to return to their hometowns the same day, adding to the demand for quicker access.
Each book purchase is accompanied by a plain slip mentioning the number of people permitted for the ‘quick dharshan’. Only those carrying both the books and slip are allowed into the fast-track lane. For instance, two people can gain entry by purchasing two books worth Rs 250, for which no receipt is provided.
Defending the practice, HR&CE officials said the books are officially procured by the department and sold through the temple’s bookstall. “These books are authorised for use in the quick dharshan scheme, introduced to eliminate bribery,” said an official. However, the official refused to explain why no bill was issued to devotees. The joint commissioner of temples could not be reached for comments.
“I can’t read or write Tamil, but I bought three books for Rs 300 each for entry for myself, my wife and child,” said S Srinivasan, a devotee from Machilipatnam. Some devotees told TNIE that they take these books home, while others leave them on the temple premises.
“Instead of Tamil books, the authorities should consider offering spiritual books in Telugu or English, which would better serve the intended purpose,” said another devotee S Ramaraju, a resident of Srikakulam. One section of devotees expressed their dissatisfaction regarding HR&CE’s decision, stating using spiritual books as tokens for faster temple entry is disrespectful both to the authors and the sanctity of the institution.
A temple volunteer told TNIE, “Taking advantage of the huge demand, a few residents, in collusion with temple staff, have collected thousands of rupees from devotees. In this backdrop, the department has introduced the sale of books for quick dharshan,”
According to sources, about 60% of devotees who visit the temple during Pournami Girivalam are from AP, Telangana and other parts of the country, and this figure rises to 90% during weekends and holidays.
