Hair dyes stain Lord’s coffers

Tirupati, Dec. 15: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) that administers the famous temple of Lord Venkateswara is facing a bit of hair trouble. The temple has an annual income of Rs 700 crore and of this, around Rs 150 crore comes through the sale of hair which is "sacrificed" by pilgrims through ritualistic tonsure.

However, of late, there has been a drastic fall in the sale of "white hair" (another name for grey hair) which is much in demand. Though the income from hair sales is expected to double next year, the TTD officials are still worried.

"There is no grey hair nowadays because of the use of hair dyes and trendy hair sprays," said a senior official. "This has brought about reduction in quality and has lowered sales." he said. Around one crore pilgrims tonsure their heads in the temple every year and revenue through its sales has increased manifold in the last one decade.

For instance, the revenue was just Rs 6.88 crore in 1998-99 and it has increased to Rs 150 crore. This is also an indication of the massive increase in pilgrim influx to Tirumala. According to the TTD marketing officer, Mr Munirathnam Reddy, hair had been classified into five varieties.

The first variety is called Remi or Black Gold, which is more than 16 inches long. The second variety is 10-15 inch long. While the third variety is between 5-10 inches, the fourth category called "Thukku" is short hair which is used to make toys. Though officials refused to divulge the rates at which they are sold, it is learnt that the first variety fetches around Rs 11,000 per kg, the second variety Rs 5,000 per kg and the third variety Rs 3,800 per kg. The fourth variety costs Rs 50 to Rs 75 per kg.

The most coveted variety is grey hair. It usually fetches Rs 10,500 per kg. There is much demand for grey hair in the global market where it is used to prepare special wigs.However, in 2007-2008, the TTD had to be satisfied by auctioning only 625 kg of grey hair at just Rs 7,100 per kg.

"Bidders are not ready to quote higher prices since use of hair dyes has affected the quality of grey hair," said a senior Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams official, who works at the Kalyana Katta Complex in Tirumala. Foreign firms also procure grey hair from their own saloons but in limited quantities. It has good market in Italy, Germany and Southeast Asian countries. There have also been complaints that the careless handling of hair at Tirumala had affected its quality.

"Pilgrims offer their hair to the Lord because of their faith," said an official. "We cannot ask them not to use hair dyes. But we can appeal and at least a section of pilgrims would respond to us."

Tonsure facilities improve

Tirupati, Dec. 15: The TTD is sprucing up tonsure facilities to meet the needs of the increasing number of pilgrims arriving at the temple for the ritual. In earlier days, there was just a Kalyana Katta (tonsuring centre) with barbers as Mirasidars. Now, there are two Kalyana Kattas and tonsure is also performed at the three pilgrim amenities complexes as well as the ANC cottage. Besides, the TTD barbers are also pressed into service at all the guest houses to perform tonsure on the pilgrims.

The deputy executive officer, Mr K. Bhaskar Reddy, who is in charge of the tonsure centres, told Deccan Chronicle that 750 barbers, including 70 women barbers, perform duties in shifts round the clock. "As and when required, we also bring private barbers," he said. On an average 30,000 male pilgrims and 10,000 female devotees offer hair to the Lord daily.

Grade I and II hair and grey hair would be preserved in the specially created godowns at the Kalyana Katta and the remaining varieties would be sent to a Tirupati godown. Based on grades, the hair would be auctioned annually by calling for open bidding. Companies who regularly take part in the tenders are from Chennai, Bengaluru and Eluru (in Andhra Pradesh). The TTD is planning to initiate global tenders from the next financial year in view of the growing demand for human hair. This will help it to double the revenue.

Devotees only paying off debt

Tirupati, Dec. 15: Pilgrims offering their hair to the deity as a token of devotion has been a common ritual in Hinduism for centuries. Available records show that the tonsure at Tirumala dates back to the 9th century AD.

There are several legends attached to the ritual. One legend says that it originated in connection with the wedding of Lord Venkateswara with princess Padmavathi (the daughter of King Akasaraju). The story goes that the Lord was in dire need of money for the marriage expenses. So he approached Kubera, the god of wealth.

Kubera agreed to provide a loan but wanted to know how the Lord would repay it. Lord Venkateswara then said that he would incarnate on the Seshashaila (the mountain on which the temple stands now in Tirumala) and devotees coming there to have darshan during Kali yuga would offer him gold and money and he would use this to repay the loan. However, Kubera wanted more.

The Lord then said that the devotees would also offer their hair and this could be used to pay back the interest of the loan. Another legend says that there was a bald spot on Lord Venkateswara’s head and devotees were offering their hair to fill it. A widespread belief among the Maharashtrians is that the Lord himself asked his devotees to offer their hair to him by tonsure. According to them, the directive, "Bal Lao Ji" later changed into Balaji.