Hyderbad, May 31: Chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on Monday sprang a surprise by sporting a bald look. While sceptics were wondering what hastened the CM garu to get his head tonsured, political observers believe that it was part of fulfilment of a vow.
As the CM emerged after worshipping at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara, everybody was in for a surprise looking at his bald pate. Unlike his predecessors late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and Chandrababu Naidu, Kiran offered his hair to the Lord.
YSR and Naidu who had visited the shrine several times during their tenure as CMs had never volunteered to get their heads tonsured. “Probably they thought they would lose power if they offered hair to the Lord. But Kiran had other plans. He got his head tonsured before offering the prayers in the morning,” sources said.
Insiders said Kiran was enthused by the assurances from AICC in-charge of AP affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad that there won’t be an immediate change of guard in the state. “So, the CM took the opportunity as a thanksgiving trip and tonsured his head,” they said.
All other chief ministers, including late Marri Channa Reddy, N T Rama Rao and K Rosaiah, had got their heads tonsured when they were at the helm. “In fact, NTR used to offer worship only after tonsuring,” sources said. While Rosaiah offered his hair when he came to launch Brahmotsavams last year, Kiran wasted no time as the annual religious carnival is scheduled to be held in September.
Former President Sankar Dayal Sharma, an ardent devotee of Lord Venkateswara, visited the temple several times and strictly observed the practice of tonsuring his head before offering prayers at the shrine.
Earlier, on his arrival, the temple priests accorded the CM a traditional welcome and conducted him to the sanctum sanctorum. After the darshan of the Lord, Sri Pedda Jeeyar Swamy and chairman of Specified Authority J Sathyanarayana presented him Srivari prasadam, while Veda pandits blessed him at Ranganayakula mandapam.
Kalyana Katta in Tirumala is the place where the devotees from across the globe tonsure their heads in fulfilment of their vows. “It is considered one of the rich offerings, implying total surrender to the Lord from earthly pleasures,” a priest said.
According to the legend, tonsuring has been in practice in Tirumala since 1830. Today over 50 per cent of the visiting pilgrims prefer tonsuring their heads. “Hence, the tonsuring place is considered sacred in Tirumala,” a senior TTD official said.
While the place is called Kalyana Katta, the process of tonsuring is known as `Tirukshavaram’ or `Kalyanapradakshavaram.’ Keeping in view of the increasing pilgrim demand for tonsuring, the temple management set up mini tonsure halls at all the cottages. Apart from the main Kalyana Katta near Annadanam complex, there are over 14 mini Kalyana Kattas in Tirumala.
-Agencies