MUMBAI: The city will now witness its first five-day-long programme of puja and seva of
Lord Sri Venkateswara
, after a replica of Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati was brought down to
Somaiya Grounds
in Sion. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the Sri Venkateswara Vaibhavotsavam , organized by Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale and Radha Foundation on Monday.
MP Rahul Shewale said, "There was a waiting list of 14 states who had requested the TTD for the idol. We are glad, that we received it before them else there would have been a wait of 14 years." He told Mirror that the idea had occurred to him when he visited Tirupati a month ago. "In Mumbai, there are so many devotees who can not afford the expenditure to visit Tirupati. This programme is mainly to fulfill their desires," he added.
The programme is scheduled from November 8 to 12 from 6.30 am to 9.30 pm where over 10,000 devotees will be coming to offer their prayers.600 staff members from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) are here to perform the rituals.
Special arrangements have been made for fire brigade officials, doctors, policemen and defense personal. The festival is also expected to attract many celebrities. “In Tirupati, the devotees pay for all the pujas but here they will get everything for free,“ Shewale added.
Earlier, the replica of the Lord Venkateshwara idol, also known as the Vaibhav Murti was placed in Delhi and Telangana. After Mumbai, the idol will be taken to the United States.
"The idols will be soon put up after the cleansing rituals," said Dr Geeta Kasturi, member of the advisory committee, TTD.
All the daily seva rituals like Suprabhatam Seva, Thomala, Archana and special sevas like the Asthadala Pada Padmaradhana, Sahasra Kalasabhishekam, Tiruppavada etc will be carried out during the festival.
“For special sevas, devotees wait for four to five years. Now, many will be getting chance to perform these rituals easily,“ said a TTD member.
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