TIRUPATI: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) on Thursday commenced ‘Sampradaya Bhojanam,’ an eight-day trial run of providing food for devotees at Tirumala using desi cow panchagayva products, at the Annamaiah Bhavan.
The board had earlier resolved to prepare naivedyam to Lord Venkateswara with ingredients made from the desi cow panchagavya products. The decision has now been extended to annaprasadam that is served to devotees during breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Vijay Ram, a natural farming expert from Vikarabad, who has been working to bring awareness among farmers on the benefits of using desi cow products, said that the intention was to restore practices that prevailed centuries ago in India.
"After many decades of waiting, TTD has come forward to encourage this mission. We are confident that this will bring a revolution in natural farming with desi cow products," Ram said.
Food expert Rambabu, popularly known as ‘Millet Rambabu’, who collaborated with the TTD for the project, said the Sampradaya Bhojanam would yield fruitful results including physical and mental fitness.“'In breakfast on the first day, idli and upma made out of healthy rice — Kullakar and Kalabath — were served to pilgrims. For lunch, our chef Gopi has prepared 14 delicacies including purnalu, coconut rice, pulihora etc. This is what our ancestors gave us. But we got used to Western food habits. With the blessings of Lord Venkateswara, the golden old days are back and this is the beginning of the healthiest way of living," Rambabu said.
