Our "pilgrimage" to tirupathi.

In the final leg of our college days in the VII semester( our class considered VII sem as the last and not the VIII). we friends decided to go on a "pilgrimage" to tirupathi for the betterment of our grades.(கண் கெட்ட பின்பு சூர்ய நமஸ்காரம் ). This idea was mooted by kadi the plan organiser.( he has the experience of going to tirupathi more no of times than his age). Seconded by koka ( he basically is from andhra so he has the right to go to tirupathi).
So we organised our friends into a group.(Aju, naga, varun, kadi, koka, and myself).

First the logistics, no of days it would take to complete the "tour", amount required, materials to be packed, etc,
the "gurusamy" kadi was of immense help in chalking out the plan.we will see his propositions and how they back fired.

1. going to tirupathi will not take more than 24 hours from chennai.
2. everything would be free in thirupathi and no need to carry cash of more than 200.
3. the timing between downstream processing and protein engineering end semester exams would be the apt time of the tour.(4 days was the gap).

Much to the irk of fellow hostelites we left for tirupathi( இந்த ibt பசங்க அலும்பு தாங்க முடியலே )
We left for tirupathi in bus messaging our progress to those left behind.(reliance kar lo thuniya mutti mein).
The first blow in the proposition was the news that the temple would be closed for 12 hours due to eclipse. so our plan would be delayed by 12 hrs minimum. The plan of getting tokens at the base of the complex was forbidden by the seasoned thirupathi followers k.. and k..
We decided to walk uphill. as the blessings would be greater if we worshipped the deity by walk. As this decision was taken insitu, it did not prevent us from having a sumptuous dinner. Those of you who have trekked would know the difficulties walking on full stomach. On the way we clicked many wildlife photographs of deer.(though they were aplenty in our college itself...)
When we reached the upper temple complex it was 2 in the morning. If we had to book rooms we had to wait till 6 in the morning!! So we waited while the kadi koka duo were fixing the procedural knowledge prowess they possessed about thirumala tirupathi devasthanam. It was like Alwarkadiyan and the sivanadiyar fight in ponnein selvan.
When we finally settled in our rooms it was 8'o clock.
now we had to stand in queue to enter the temple complex. After all the checking process was over we found that phones were not allowed and no safe custody was provided. Again back to square one. returned to the room to leave the phone. And then back to the queue. When we entered the huge waiting hall we were allotted we found that it would not be until tomorrow morning we could have the darshan. And now came the prisoners dilemma to wait or not to wait. With the squalor of the waste food particles and the drying cloths no sane person would wait. but kadi and koka remained stubborn. we had to part ways.
the rest of the gang bought tokens (spl darshan) for the next day  morning.when we were back in the room we saw our k and k back to the pavilion. accepting their defeat.
Then the darshan was event less, except for the minor "sight" seeing adventures in a holy place.
Now the shopping spree for memorabilia. Only during this stint that we recognise that as we had over stayed for a day we were short of money(devoid actually). After the assessment of the financial status it was found that we were in possession of Rs.400 only (bus ticket back home -40*6=240 so only 160 more for dinner and to go home from the bus stop impossible). we decided to eat in a hotel , to our dismay the cost of one plain dosa was 15.
(15*6=90). we had to be content with drinking the sambhar.
We returned to the hostel by auto so that we can pay by loaning from our friends( already they were irked by our tour). Now the onus of getting proper dinner fell on me. The saviour was Aravindan( kadi's room mate). It was his birthday that night and he was short of money for the customary midnight treat at "hi-look". I tendered to offer help to him. ( Gave 500 as loan to him). Needless to say how our hunger stricken gang went on a rampage.

Now the long forgotten issue -protein engineering exam looms before us. with just 1 day left we had to go through piles of xerox from brandon and touse.



Results:

1. I got a D grade in protein engg.( while 10 failed) Dont know if I could have got a better grade had i not gone to tirupathi and studied diligently for the exam.
2. may be a coincidence but none of the six got admitted to any of the univs we apped in the first instance

I am not an agnostic but...

1.