He is called the Lord of the Seven Hills-Venkateswara to devotees in south India and Balaji in the north. Thanks to the growing flock of devotees, he has become the presiding deity of an empire with an annual budget of Rs 532 crore, possibly more than that of a few states and Union territories. That makes the Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) managers of the richest Hindu shrine.

GOLD-GLAZED: Darshan is set to become easier.

Yet, getting the brief darshans for obeisance or to make a vow is not easy. Even during rush days, only about 40,000 devotees manage to shuffle through the sanctum sanctorum for a few seconds during the 17 hours that the temple is kept open in a day. But the crowds are getting bigger. "Coping with the growing number of devotees-an increase of nearly 10 per cent every year-and improving facilities for them is a constant challenge," says TTD Executive Officer P. Krishnaiah.

To meet the increasing demands of devotees, the TTD is set to tap technology in an innovative manner. Internet bookings for accommodation and sevas (rituals) and biometrics to regulate entry into the temple are among the technology initiatives planned to manage faith. For this, the TTD relies on www.tirumala.org that offers information on the temple and TTD activities run by the Tata Consultancy Services and www.ttdsevaonline.com that deals exclusively with bookings for seva and hundi (donations).

A major initiative is the "sudarsanam" token system. A computerised and bar-coded band indicating the time of darshan is given to pilgrims at special counters. Once the pilgrim is banded, he is free to go anywhere in Tirumala and Tirupati instead of waiting in the queue sheds for hours.

An improved, sophisticated and foolproof alternative is the biometrics system that began in April. Thumb impressions of devotees are taken at special counters and transmitted to the entry point of the Vaikuntam complex. There a digital check of the thumb impression is carried out to prevent impersonation. This will eliminate touts-who sell a Rs 100 seva ticket for as much as Rs 500. In due course, devotees will also be able to buy seva tickets and book accommodation through the Net. "Ultimately, we can decongest Tirumala and make the worshippers' stay more comfortable," says Krishnaiah. The plan is to regulate entry at Tirupati itself and prevent crowding in Tirumala. The ropeway and cable cars to be commissioned by 2004 will supplement these efforts.

The TTD has also begun a Rs 5 crore project to digitise ancient texts and manuscripts at 17 centres around the world, including nine in India, in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University. The US university has provided 20 computers and two scanners to the Sri Venkateswara Digital Library on Philosophy and Religion in Tirupati. The plan is to store up to one million books in digital format in different parts of the world.

Fortunately, cash is no constraint. The annual hundi collections for 2002-3 are estimated at Rs 188 crore. Sale of ladoos brings in another Rs 50 crore and the sale of hair-a large number of disciples shave their heads-fetches about Rs 20 crore. Today, the TTD has reserve funds of about Rs 560 crore to which about Rs 15 crore is added every year and kept in fixed deposit accounts. The interest income alone works out to Rs 145 crore this year. Gold reserves of five tonnes make some suggest that the TTD motto should be "In Gold We Trust"..

He is called the Lord of the Seven Hills-Venkateswara to devotees in south India and Balaji in the north. Thanks to the growing flock of devotees, he has become the presiding deity of an empire with an annual budget of Rs 532 crore, possibly more than that of a few states and Union territories. That makes the Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) managers of the richest Hindu shrine.

GOLD-GLAZED: Darshan is set to become easier.

Yet, getting the brief darshans for obeisance or to make a vow is not easy. Even during rush days, only about 40,000 devotees manage to shuffle through the sanctum sanctorum for a few seconds during the 17 hours that the temple is kept open in a day. But the crowds are getting bigger. "Coping with the growing number of devotees-an increase of nearly 10 per cent every year-and improving facilities for them is a constant challenge," says TTD Executive Officer P. Krishnaiah.

To meet the increasing demands of devotees, the TTD is set to tap technology in an innovative manner. Internet bookings for accommodation and sevas (rituals) and biometrics to regulate entry into the temple are among the technology initiatives planned to manage faith. For this, the TTD relies on www.tirumala.org that offers information on the temple and TTD activities run by the Tata Consultancy Services and www.ttdsevaonline.com that deals exclusively with bookings for seva and hundi (donations).

A major initiative is the "sudarsanam" token system. A computerised and bar-coded band indicating the time of darshan is given to pilgrims at special counters. Once the pilgrim is banded, he is free to go anywhere in Tirumala and Tirupati instead of waiting in the queue sheds for hours.

An improved, sophisticated and foolproof alternative is the biometrics system that began in April. Thumb impressions of devotees are taken at special counters and transmitted to the entry point of the Vaikuntam complex. There a digital check of the thumb impression is carried out to prevent impersonation. This will eliminate touts-who sell a Rs 100 seva ticket for as much as Rs 500. In due course, devotees will also be able to buy seva tickets and book accommodation through the Net. "Ultimately, we can decongest Tirumala and make the worshippers' stay more comfortable," says Krishnaiah. The plan is to regulate entry at Tirupati itself and prevent crowding in Tirumala. The ropeway and cable cars to be commissioned by 2004 will supplement these efforts.

The TTD has also begun a Rs 5 crore project to digitise ancient texts and manuscripts at 17 centres around the world, including nine in India, in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University. The US university has provided 20 computers and two scanners to the Sri Venkateswara Digital Library on Philosophy and Religion in Tirupati. The plan is to store up to one million books in digital format in different parts of the world.

Fortunately, cash is no constraint. The annual hundi collections for 2002-3 are estimated at Rs 188 crore. Sale of ladoos brings in another Rs 50 crore and the sale of hair-a large number of disciples shave their heads-fetches about Rs 20 crore. Today, the TTD has reserve funds of about Rs 560 crore to which about Rs 15 crore is added every year and kept in fixed deposit accounts. The interest income alone works out to Rs 145 crore this year. Gold reserves of five tonnes make some suggest that the TTD motto should be "In Gold We Trust"..