Golden Jubilee celebrations begin at Hyderabad’s Birla Mandir on February 24

Hyderabad’s Birla Mandir will celebrate its Golden Jubilee from February 24 with special pujas, cultural events and a Shobha Yatra. A new lift facility has also been installed to improve access for elderly and differently abled devotees.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad’s popular Birla Mandir is all set to celebrate its Golden Jubilee with a three-day programme starting February 24.

Executive officer of Birla Mandir and secretary, Birla Archaeological and Cultural Research Institute, Shyam Kothari, told ‘Telangana Today’ that the celebrations would include special religious events, cultural programmes, and community activities, featuring the Hindusthan Charity Trust, Kolkata.

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On February 24, the celebrations will commence with Vishwaksena puja and Ankurarpanam. Rituals including Veda parayanam, special homams, and Abhishekam with 108 Kalasalau will be held during the celebrations, which conclude on February 27, with a 3 km long Shobha Yatra.

New lift facility

As part of renovation taken up on the occasion is the installation of a new lift that will take visitors directly to the hilltop shrine, eliminating the need to climb the remaining 20 steps that earlier posed difficulties for elderly and differently abled devotees.

Birla Mandir is located on top of Kala Pahad, a twin hillock of Naubat Pahad, at a height of 280 feet on sprawling 13-acre land. White Makrana marble, a material historically associated with imperial and royal structures in Rajasthan and North India, imbues the temple.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu in the form of Sri Venkateswara, with the presiding deity made of granite and is 11 feet tall. Swami Venkateswara’s consorts, Padmavati and Andal, are worshipped in adjoining separate shrines.