President Pratibha Patil on Thursday offered prayers at the Venkateswara temple here along with her husband, Devisingh Ramsingh Shekhawat, and other family members on the occasion of her 46th wedding anniversary.
Earlier, in keeping with tradition, the President's family first visited the nearby Varahaswamy temple, riding a battery-operated car.
At the main entrance of the Venkateswara temple (Mahadwaram), Ms. Patil was received with temple honours and led into the sanctum sanctorum, where she offered prayers before the main deity for nearly 10 minutes.
The chief priest, who honoured her with the ‘Sesha Vastram' of the Lord, explained to her the significance and historical importance of the shrine as she was going round the prakaras.
At the Ranganayakula Mandapam, the temple priests blessed Ms. Patil and her family members. TTD Specified Authority Chairman J. Satyanarayana and Executive Officer L.V. Subramanyam presented her with ‘Vakshastala Lakshmi', a memento, and laddu prasadam.
Earlier, Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan, Chief Minister N. Kirankumar Reddy and other Ministers had reached the temple complex ahead of the President's arrival, and she was accorded a red carpet welcome.
After worship, Ms. Patil inaugurated the TTD's Matrusri Tarigonda Vengamamba Nitya Annadanam complex — the biggest free feeding centre in Asia. It has been built in a sprawling area of two lakh square feet at a cost of Rs. 33 crore.
Then the President attended a musical concert organised by the TTD management in her honour. Ms. Patil, along with her family members, the Governor, the Chief Minister and other Ministers had lunch in the newly constructed free meals complex.
After a brief halt at the Padmavathi guest house, where the President had stayed overnight, Ms. Patil and her entourage motored down to Tirupati. They visited the Padmavathi temple at Tiruchanoor before flying to Mumbai.
