The Tirupati Laddu-An epitome of Faith and Beauty!

I come out from the sanctum sanctorum and join the queue for the Prasadam. I spread my palm in front of the person serving the Prasadam. With lightning speed, he places a small Laddu on my palm.

I look at the sacred piece of spherical beauty. Fresh from the Kadai, it feels warm on my palm. I want to bask in its beauty before it I savor it with devotion.

I wonder what, apart from the grace of God, makes the Tirupati Laddu so famous and revered? What is it that which makes it so unique?

I have only a few moments to think about this before I savor it completely.

The small Tirupati Laddu placed on my palm appears to emanate beauty and grace. It’s perfectly round in shape. Its impeccable shape appears to resemble the Godliness it carries by virtue of its being a Prasadam of the all-powerful God presiding there.

I balance the Laddu in my palm without taking my eyes off even for a second. We get various types of eatables as Prasadam in various temples- Fruits, Halwa, Flavoured Rice, sweet Rice, Kheer and many more. But how is it that none of them has acquired such fame as the Tirupati Laddu?.... I wonder.

The warm soft skin of the Laddu feels good in my palm. Its brownish yellow colour and matte texture makes it look like some artwork. I close my palm securing the Laddu surrounding with my fingers. I can feel a few embedded nuts feeling to my sensitive palm. As I close my palm, I can feel its softness. The warmth of Laddu flows faster into my palm. Small quantities of the pure ghee seep-out from the porous surface of Laddu and spreads on my palm.

I hold the Laddu nearer to me. The aroma coming from it feels divine. The colour looks brighter and lovelier from close. I think about the deft hands which gave the Laddu such flawless round shape.

The look and flavor of the Laddu promise sweetness, apart from the recognition of having accomplished the feat of having darshan of Lord Balaji, one of the toughest things to get. I was just wandering……  -This Laddu serves as a prize, as  recognition for thousands of people who travel thousands of kilometers to Tirupati braving all inconveniences, climb the hill, walk, stand in queue for hours, sometimes  with infants in arms, just for a glimpse of Lord for a few seconds. Although the time they get to see the Lard may be only a few seconds, the taste of Laddus lasts  much longer…… sometimes a lifetime.

Still lost in my thoughts, I take a bite on the Laddu. It melts into my mouth easily. I feel blessed by divinity.

Having finished my share of Prasadam, I am again standing in the queue, this time for the bigger Laddus, which my family, extended family, friends, colleagues, friends’ family, and colleagues’ friends have requested me to bring from them.

I know that these Tirupati Laddus issued at a price at various Laddu counters in Tirupati would be bigger than the one I got after the darshan. These come in sizes ranging from that of an orange to a muskmelon. To me these sacred objects in varying sizes resemble the celestial bodies, in various sizes- from Mercury to Jupiter and carrying the same divinity around them as the planets of solar system.

I handover the Laddu tokens to the gentleman across the counter and wait for the Laddus. The person behind the small window, picks-up six large Laddus in a tray and proceeds to handover to me. Ready with a paperbag in my hand, I slip-in four of them through the gap to the person. He places one Laddu in each and slides the dishes back to me.

Cong out, I open the paperbag to have a glimse of the Laddus. The Sunrays fall on their surface making them shine more. I had never seen Laddus of such large size. Their large size spells grace and magnanimity to me. Placed inside the container, they carry the promise to carry the God’s blessings to them who could not come to Tirupati.

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