Old photos, sculptures at TTD stall a big draw

CHENNAI: The third edition of the Hindu Spiritual and Service Fair, which began in the city on Wednesday, attracted the young and the old alike, with over 140 stalls of various Hindu organisations.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ (TTD) exhibition of rare photographs and sculptures of the hill temple was a big draw at the fair at Sri Ramachandra University Grounds, Tiruvanmiyur. The exhibition also had photos of different deities, urchavams and temples around the Tirupati shrine.

Photos of the inscriptions of Telugu poet Annamayya, apart from old photos of the Tirumala temple were the added attractions. “This exhibition gives us a glimpse of the hill temple not only as it is now, but with vignettes of how much it has grown over the years,” said a school student at the fair. Sculptures of Sri Venkateshwara, accompanied by Sridevi and Boodevi, and Lakshmi and Saraswathi, which have been brought to Chennai from Tirumala, were also on display.

Equally enticing was the stall of the Sripuram Sri Narayani Peedam, Vellore, which offered pooja merchandise like incense sticks, incense cones, pooja packages and camphor, apart from models of the temple’s architecture.

Several other Hindu institutions and associations are part of this fair, largely selling religious books.

“Additions to this edition of the Hindu Spiritual and Service Fair include organisations like the Sri Adichunchanagiri Maha Samasthanam, which runs over 40 educational institutions. As against the 98 organisations that participated last year, there are 140 Hindu institutions this year, showcasing the service they extend, in the exhibition that is spread across 85,000 sq ft area,” said Shivakumar Gurumoorthy, an organiser.

The expo is on till January 30, from 10 am to 8 pm.