culture

The people of Tirupati speak mostly Telugu and Tamil though Hindi, Kannada and English are understood. The residents and visitors can be seen in both traditional attire like pancha, Lungi and chira and modern attire. Practices of Tonsure and using Tilaka are commonly seen. Songs and prayers of Lord Venkateswara like Annamacharya kirtanas can be heard all over the town.


Festivals
Elephants Welcoming Lord Srinivasa

The town celebrates most Vaishnava festivals including Vaikunta Ekadasi, Rama Navami and janmashtami with great splendor, while the Brahmotsavam celebrated every year during September is the most important festivals in Tirumala, when it receives millions of devotees over a short span of a week. Rathasapthami (Magha Shuddha Saptami) is another festival, celebrated during February, when Lord Venkateswara idol will be taken procession around the temple chariots.[4]

Another local festival Gangamma Jathara is also celebrated as a major festival. The Goddess Gangamma is offered animal sacrifices and also pongal and other offerings by the devotees. She is considered as the sister of The Lord Almighty, Govinda.

Religious Attractions
KodhandaRamaSwamy Temple at Tirupathi

There are many temples in Tirupati and Tirumala. Some of them are:

* Alamelu - Alamelu Mangamma Shrine in Alamelumangapuram also called Thiruchanoor.
* Padmavati Temple
* Govindaraja Swamy Temple
* Kodanda Rama Swamy Temple: The Temple is so beautiful in architecture. Lord Rama, Seetha and Lakshmana were present in a beautiful form in the temple. Lord AnjaneyaSwamy was seen near the foot of Lord Rama. The Temple is in the heart of the city. There is also another temple dedicated to Lord Anjaneya Swamy opposite to KodhandaRamaSwamy Temple. Prasadams were offered daily to pilgrims.
Kapila Theertham Temple Entrance at Tirupathi

* Srinivasa Mangapuram
* Kapila Theertham (Lord siva shrine, the only Shaiva Shrine in Tirupati): This Temple is Dedicated to Lord Shiva and Parvati. There is a beautiful waterfall near the Temple.
ISKCON Temple at Tirupati

* ISKCON Lord Krishna Temple - The Temple is recently renewed and has its own style of architecture. The tower is coloured in Gold and White. The inside decorations are extremely attractive. The carvings of Lord NarasimhaSwamy, Lord VarahaSwamy and Krishna Leela were marvellous. Glass painting works on the windows depicting Lord Krishna's playful act and the ceilings decorated like Tanjore Art reveals the colourful masterpiece in art work. Each pillar is decorated with Ten Avatars of Lord Vishnu. The temple inside sanctom has Lord Krishna with Gopikas beautifully dressed. Prabhupada's deity is also kept in the Temple. There is a beautiful park surrounded with lot of flowers, ponds, fountains and with Krishna Leela idols. "GOSALA" is also maintained. The Temple is on the way to Tirumala Hills.
Akasha Ganga in Tirumala

* On the way to Tirumala, World
* Hanuman Temple at Tirumala is where Hanuman's mother Anjana did penance.

Waterfall in Tirumala
* Other small waterfalls and sight seeing is present.
Museum in Tirumala

* Museum at Tirumala is one of the tourist attractions.

The water fall on the way down the hill
* Avanakshamma Temple-42 km from Tirupathi,
* Sri Venugopalaswamy Temple, Karvetinagaram, 40 km from Tirupathi
* Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy Temple-Narayanavanam, 48 km from Tirupathi
* Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Swamy Temple-Appalayagunta, 20 km from Tirupathi

There is also another small temple for Lord Vishnu. The place is on the foothills of Tirumala. Giant Nandhekeshwar Statue is seen at the entrance of the Temple. There is a rock garden in Tirumala called as Shilatoranam

[edit] Hospitals

SVRR government general hospital(known as Ruiya hospital) with attached SV medical college is one of the known hospitals besides SVIMS, a Super Specialities Center with modern facilities and S.V.Ayurveda college hospital run by TTD to providing health services to the poor and needy patients even at free of cost[citation needed], BIRRDS an orthopedic center catering for physically handicapped where surgeries are done free of cost treating polio, cerebral palsy and many other congenital anamolies. Numerous small- to mid-sized hospitals exist in private sector. SVRR government hospital has minimal infrastructure and lacks an institution policy.