The fragrance of the flowers that adorned Lord Venkateshwara in Tirumala could soon fill the abodes of his devotees.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams officials have planned to make incense sticks utilising the garlands-flowers that decorate the deities in various Tirumala-Tirupati temples every day.
“The innovative initiative makes use of the sacred garlands which otherwise are given away or discarded. The divine fragrance emanating from these incense sticks, we believe, would brighten up the homes of Srivari devotees,” a TTD official told DH.
According to TTD Executive Officer Dr Jawahar Reddy, a Bengaluru based company - Darshan International Limited - “has come forward to manufacture these incense sticks on a cost to cost basis.”
“The plan is to commence the distribution and sales from Independence Day, next month. Initially, these sacred incense sticks will be sold to devotees at the Laddu counters in Tirumala and later on at other places,” Reddy said.
Officials said that aspects like pricing, branding are yet to be worked out.
To provide flowers for the daily rituals of Lord Venkateswara and enhance the beauty of precincts, TTD is developing several sacred gardens on the Tirumala hill, where marigold, Vrukshi Roja, lily, Madurai jasmine, Kanakambaram, Manu sampangi, Tulasi leaves, other aromatic plants are cultivated.
The TTD meanwhile has moved to modernize the SV Ayurvedic Pharmacy while strengthening its product portfolio. While the Ministry of AYUSH has approved 115 products, 70 more are under process. SV Dairy Farm officials are directed by the EO to manufacture 15 varieties of products from Panchagavya.
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