The fragrance of the flowers that adorn Lord Venkateshwara in Tirumala could soon fill the homes of his devotees.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams officials have planned to make incense sticks utilizing the garlands and 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 to people or discarded. The divine fragrance emanating from these incense sticks, we believe, will brighten up homes of Srivari devotees,” a TTD official told DH.
According to TTD executive officer Dr Jawahar Reddy, Bengaluru-based company Darshan International Limited “has come forward to manufacture incense sticks on a cost-to-cost basis.”
“The plan is to commence the distribution and sales from Independence Day. 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 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 its precincts, TTD is developing several sacred gardens on the Tirumala hill, where marigold, vrukshi roja, lily, Madurai jasmine, Kanakambaram, manu sampangi, tulasi leaves and other aromatic plants are grown.
The TTD also plans to modernise the S V Ayurvedic Pharmacy, while strengthening its product portfolio. While the Ministry of AYUSH has approved 115 of its products, 70 more are under process.
The EO has also directed officials of S V Dairy to manufacture 15 different products from ‘Panchagavya’.
Published 21 July 2021, 16:49 IST