About 5000 devotees representing 200 bhajan groups from different parts of Tamil Nadu and neighbouring states participated in the 46th Padi Vizha (Steps Festival) organised by the Tirupati Tirumala Steps Festival Trust, Arcot on April 14.
The devotees who reached the foothills of Tirumala by Padayathra (foot journey) from their respective towns and villages on April 13 started climbing the steps leading to the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala on the morning of April 14.
Women applied turmeric and saffron to each step and climbed the steps chanting ‘Govinda Govinda’.
On reaching Tirumala in the afternoon, the devotees took a procession around the four Mada Streets and had darshan of Lord Venkateswara, said a press release from A.C. Narasimhan, general secretary of the trust.
The devotees reached the foothills by Padayathra from their respective towns and villages
