The authorities at the richest temple in India nearly experienced a major embarrassment when the lock of the golden door leading to the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala got stuck minutes before Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and his wife reached for darshan early on Wednesday.

However, keeping in mind the VVIP visit, the temple officials broke open the lock with a saw and the Lankan president managed the darshan without any hitch. The lock was subsequently replaced and the darshan of the Lord by devotees went unhindered for the rest of the day.

The drama happened around 2.15 am when the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) priests arrived to open the 'Bangaru Vakili' (golden door), the last door that opens to the sanctum sanctorum, to perform the Suprabhatam Seva. 'Suprabhatam' is the first daily pre-dawn ritual performed to 'wake up' the Lord.

Since the Suprabhatam Seva is performed at 3 am, the priests arrive about 45 minutes early, open the golden door and clean the premises. Three keys have to be inserted into the specially made lock at the same time to open the golden door. On Wednesday, the first key that was put into the lock got stuck and eventually broke.

Sirisena and his wife Jayanthi Pushpa Kumari were already waiting for the doors to open for the Suprabhatam Seva to be performed. "The VIP couple were at the Mahadwaram before the Vaikuntam queue complex and only the Dwajastambham and Vendi Vakili (silver door) lay between them and the golden door, a distance of about 500 ft," said a witness.

After the priests told the TTD officials accompanying the Lankan president that the lock was stuck, orders were issued for it to be forced open. A saw was then used to cut open the lock and the golden door was opened in time for the Suprabhatam Seva to be performed at 3 am.

"The lock on the golden door worked perfectly well when the priests closed it after the Ekantha Seva at midnight on Tuesday," TTD deputy executive officer Chinnamgari Ramana told TOI. "However, in the morning, it got stuck and we had to break it open."

The TTD authorities claimed the locks for the temple premises were specially made and it was the first time such a problem had been reported. "We'll make sure that such kind of mechanical malfunctioning does not recur," Ramana said. The temple authorities said there was no need for the performance of special prayers because of the episode.
(Times of India)