The Tirupati temple

Hyderabad, June 3: Globalisation has caught Lord Balaji in its sweep.

The sacred Tirupati laddu, for which tens of thousands queue and jostle every day, is set to go global as soon as it receives a patent from the Registry of Geographical Indications (GI), Chennai.

The Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam, which runs the temple, says there is a worldwide demand among Lord Venkateshwara’s devotees for the laddu, which has fallen prey to blackmarketeers and counterfeiters even at Tirupati.

Some 1.5 lakh laddus are made every day at the temple, with one given free to each of the 50,000 pilgrims who come for a darshan. Each is allowed to buy two more, at Rs 10 per laddu. The price is doubled if made on demand from VIPs.

A temple official said: “The demand is so high that revenue from the laddus has been soaring every year. It was Rs 75 crore in 2006, Rs 103 crore in 2007, and is estimated to be Rs 125 crore this year.”

The 100gm laddus are prepared by the archakas (hereditary temple priests) in the potu (kitchen) of the temple in keeping with a tradition said to be 200 to 300 years old. A super-sized variety called Kalyana laddu weighs 500gm.

The ingredients — besan, sugar, ghee, cardamom, raisins and cashew nuts — are bought from the auction at the Commodities and Spices Exchange in Kochi, and lifted into the kitchen by crane.

Despite close monitoring, blackmarketeers stand in queue for the laddus, often creating a shortage, and sell them to devotees at a higher price in the town guesthouses.

The application for a geographical indication — a patented brand name that carries the name of the place where a product is made — was cleared by a national-level experts committee. If the GI Registry gives its nod, the “Tirupati Laddu” will be globally recognised on a par with brands like the Bikaner Bhujia, Agra Petha or Kolhapuri Chappals.

Some of the conditions for a GI are: the product should be of the finest quality, be distinctive in character and should be made at a particular place and region. Balaji devotees will vouch for the oily and tasty Tirupati laddu meeting all these criteria.

V. Natarajan, assistant registrar at the GI Registry, said the Devasthanam application would be taken up soon and the process completed by August.

Devasthanam executive officer K.V. Ramanachari said the gold coin made in Tirupati, from 5-20gm of the pure metal, too has been sent for a GI.

Temple officials said they planned to apply for GIs for several other temple products, such as the daddojanam (special curd rice), pongali (a dish made with rice, dal and ghee) and sweet pongal.