Staff Reporter
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Tirupati: The acclaimed "Veshti Assembly & Maintenance Award" was conferred upon veteran blogger(If i say so myself! :D) T.S.Gowrishankar late on Tuesday(9th May,2006).Mr. T.S.Gowrishankar successfully completed the gruelling examination which is not just merely securing the veshti in a failsafe manner but also involves an arduous obstacle course. He was asked to begin his veshti quest at the foot steps of the Tirupati temple, attend a special seva* and then make his way by standing in a 2hour long queue to pray in front of Lord Venkateswara and return safely. The queue which starts out as a number of people decently stacking up behind each other usually transforms into a mini-stampede as we get closer to the deity.This is then followed by collection of prasadam** which is also a relatively long queue.Such conditions can be disastrous when one is wearing a loose flowing piece of garment which can be stepped on/tugged at easily. Such tugging leads to myriad counts of embarrassments which often leave long lasting mental scars on the individual.
Several attempts were made by Gowrishankar himself to avert this test but constant support,words of encouragement and a very strict order from his parents succeeded in finally changing his mind. The media was kept away at a safe distance and in spite of speculation that a photo shoot would be held later in the evening, the photographers(primarily his relatives) were grossly dissappointed. Even though we couldn’t get a photo of Mr. Gowrishankar with the veshti we managed to get a file photo of a similar veshti (shown above).He wasn't available for comment, but reliable sources say he was both relieved and excited on receiving this award.
Veshti, also known as Dhothi in North India is the original and timeless garment of men's wear in India. A rectangular piece of unstitched cloth, it is wrapped in a complex manner about the waist and legs. It is usually white or cream in color, although colourful hues are often used to create more vivid ensembles. There are more than 60 different ways of draping this garment, that is more than 60 ways of it untangling at the most inappropriate moment to embarrass you.
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*Seva-Special darshan carried out at an auspicious time.
**Prasadam-Small offerings of food which is first offered to the Gods and then to you, believed to be blessed by the Gods.
While researching for this article(*Cough) I was shocked to find this small snippet of information. I heard that Tirumala temple is one of the richest temples in the world but this definitely was news to me.
Tirumala temple is the richest temple in the world after Vatican City. The popularity of the temple can be judged by the annual income which is around six billion rupees.(12Million Dollars).I have just decided to quit my engineering studies and pursue a job at Tirupati.
Trivia courtesy of Wikipedia
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This article has been edited due to the persistence of my friend Arjun Rajkumar(R$Y) who kept insisting that it is "Veshti" and not "Vaishti".After some serious threats from him over the phone/orkut messages , I found it in my best interests that I remove "Vaishti" and replace it with "Veshti".Sorry for the inconvenience.Any anger,hatred, long suppressed ill-feelings towards me maybe vented out on Arjun.Please message me privately to get his residence address.
Tirupati: The acclaimed "Veshti Assembly & Maintenance Award" was conferred upon veteran blogger(If i say so myself! :D) T.S.Gowrishankar late on Tuesday(9th May,2006).Mr. T.S.Gowrishankar successfully completed the gruelling examination which is not just merely securing the veshti in a failsafe manner but also involves an arduous obstacle course. He was asked to begin his veshti quest at the foot steps of the Tirupati temple, attend a special seva* and then make his way by standing in a 2hour long queue to pray in front of Lord Venkateswara and return safely. The queue which starts out as a number of people decently stacking up behind each other usually transforms into a mini-stampede as we get closer to the deity.This is then followed by collection of prasadam** which is also a relatively long queue.Such conditions can be disastrous when one is wearing a loose flowing piece of garment which can be stepped on/tugged at easily. Such tugging leads to myriad counts of embarrassments which often leave long lasting mental scars on the individual.
Several attempts were made by Gowrishankar himself to avert this test but constant support,words of encouragement and a very strict order from his parents succeeded in finally changing his mind. The media was kept away at a safe distance and in spite of speculation that a photo shoot would be held later in the evening, the photographers(primarily his relatives) were grossly dissappointed. Even though we couldn’t get a photo of Mr. Gowrishankar with the veshti we managed to get a file photo of a similar veshti (shown above).He wasn't available for comment, but reliable sources say he was both relieved and excited on receiving this award.
Veshti, also known as Dhothi in North India is the original and timeless garment of men's wear in India. A rectangular piece of unstitched cloth, it is wrapped in a complex manner about the waist and legs. It is usually white or cream in color, although colourful hues are often used to create more vivid ensembles. There are more than 60 different ways of draping this garment, that is more than 60 ways of it untangling at the most inappropriate moment to embarrass you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Seva-Special darshan carried out at an auspicious time.
**Prasadam-Small offerings of food which is first offered to the Gods and then to you, believed to be blessed by the Gods.
While researching for this article(*Cough) I was shocked to find this small snippet of information. I heard that Tirumala temple is one of the richest temples in the world but this definitely was news to me.
Tirumala temple is the richest temple in the world after Vatican City. The popularity of the temple can be judged by the annual income which is around six billion rupees.(12Million Dollars).I have just decided to quit my engineering studies and pursue a job at Tirupati.
Trivia courtesy of Wikipedia
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This article has been edited due to the persistence of my friend Arjun Rajkumar(R$Y) who kept insisting that it is "Veshti" and not "Vaishti".After some serious threats from him over the phone/orkut messages , I found it in my best interests that I remove "Vaishti" and replace it with "Veshti".Sorry for the inconvenience.Any anger,hatred, long suppressed ill-feelings towards me maybe vented out on Arjun.Please message me privately to get his residence address.
