Alipiri Footpath, one of the trekking pathways to the hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara, reverberated with religious chants and bhajans, in the early hours of Monday, as a large number of Dasa devotees took part in the auspicious ‘Thraimasika Metlotsavam’ fête.
As many as 3,000 bhajan devotees, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka, gathered at 4 a.m. near Alipiri and took part with religious fervour in the hour-long preliminary rituals. They later walked the flight of steps singing compositions of the Kannada Dasas in praise of Lord Venkateswara.
Also known as the ‘Festival of Steps’, the fête is conducted by Dasa Sahitya Project, one of the propagation arms of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). Joint Executive Officer (Tirupati) Pola Bhaskar performed pujas to the steps before starting their holy trek. Dasa Sahitya Project Coordinator P.R. Ananda Theerthacharya and other officials took part.
