Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (SP)
Bangalore, Jun 12: State's tourism minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy on Thursday June 11, presented a diamond-studded crown to Lord Venkateshwara, popularly known as Lord Timmappa in Karnataka, of the famous pilgrimage centre Tirumala in Tirupaqti, on Thursday June 11.
Reddy donated this 30-kg crown to the Lord of the Seven Seas, Venkateshwara, on the occasion of his birth day. He said, the crown was offered, seeking His blessings for Brahmani Steel Plant that he has set up in Andhra Pradesh, employing over 20,000 people from Cuddapah and neighbouring districts there, to flourish with time. While the minister was reluctant to reveal the actual cost of the crown, it is said, the crown, made by skilled artisans of Coimbatore in nine months, costs around Rs 45 crore. Some put the cost at Rs 42 crore.
Entrepreneur Janardhan Reddy,who owns Obalapuram Mining Company in Andhra Pradesh and is close to AP Chief Minister Rajashekhar Reddy, went to the Tirumala Hills on Thursday in the company of his family members and offered special prayers to the Lord. Later, he handed over the diamond-studded crown to Tirumala Tirupati Devastanams (TTD). TTD sources said, the crown will adorn the original idol of the Lord, after observing customs as necessary.
Reliance Guest House, where the minister and his family members stayed, had been provided with tight security and the crown had been kept in this guest house before being donated to the Lord. Reddy family sources said, this was a small service offered by the family, which has been enjoying riches, fame, power and position due to the blessings of the Lord. When the media men asked his brother MLA Somashekhar Reddy as to whether this was an offering to the Lord, beseeching Him for the Chief-ministerhip for Janardhan Reddy, he gave an evasive reply, by noting that no one knows what is in the God's mind.
TTD, as per an estimate, has stocks of 11 tonnes of gold ornaments. The crown now donated is the eighth, with seven devotees having already offered different crowns for the Lord. Janardhan Reddy's family has already donated a few kilograms of gold towards the TTD's plans of providing gold plate covering to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. It is said, once this project is completed, the temple will overtake Golden Temple Amritsar, which presently boasts of having used highest quantity of gold to cover its premises, in terms of total gold used for the temple building.