The temple city of Tirupati has witnessed several pageants in the past like the procession of deities, motorcade of political parties during road shows or demonstrations by working classes, but this one surely was different.
The procession of books from Mahati Auditorium to Sri Venkateswara High School Grounds marked the beginning of the ninth Tirupati Book Festival organised by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Tirupati Kendra on Saturday. It gave an altogether new dimension to the way books are viewed: they were equated to something divine and a must-possess. Religious and spiritual books including Srimad Bhagavatham and Sri Venkateswara Mahatmyam, along with a portrait of goddess Saraswati, were carried on a flower-bedecked palanquin by book enthusiasts to the venue, where Collector Siddharth Jain inaugurated the nine-day event.
The sprawling ground has over 87 stalls.
Religious and spiritual books including Srimad Bhagavatham and Sri Venkateswara Mahatmyam, along with a portrait of Goddess Saraswati, were carried on a flower-bedecked palanquin by book enthusiasts including Bhavan’s Director N. Satyanarayana Raju to the venue
