Seers ask TTD to confine itself to Hindu dharma, end NY fete

The decision of the AP endowments department not to allow lavish expenditure on decorations on January 1 at major temples has forced seers and heads of various mutts asking the government and the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) to put an end to the New Year celebrations. They also sought an end to organising festivals of other religions in the TTD-run educational institutions.

Being a board, the TTD has liberty over the activities it wants to perform or discharge, said Swamy Swaroopanandendra Saraswathi, and added that TTD shouldn’t forget its prime responsibility of confining itself to the Hindu dharma. “The TTD has to strictly direct institutions to follow and perform only Hindu festivals,” said Swaroopananda.

The seer asked the government to bring in compulsory rules to be followed in Hindu dharmic institutions. When contacted, A. Suryakumari, Sree Durga Malleswara Swamy Devasthanam executive officer, said that the temple had never been under the influence of the western culture and never followed New Year darshans. “This January 1, we are performing Sri Nataraja Swamy Kalyanam in the temple, and nothing beyond that,” the EO said.

Chilakapati Vijaya Raghavacharyulu, Hindu Dharma Parirakshana Trust secretary, said that the HDPT wants to curb the unnecessary expenditure as per the Gregorian calendar. “I want to clarify that temples shouldn’t spend lavishly on beautification and modification on the eve of January 1,” Mr Vijaya Raghavacharyulu said.