Temple tour-3: Srirangam

I was allowed, even encouraged, by a priest in attendance to linger on at the Sriranga swami sannidhi for a minute or two longer than the permissible 30 seconds, that too, during rush hour. The queue was long and chaotic. My wife tipped the priest for the previlege. I don't feel comfortable with the arrangement, but I couldn't bring myself to protesting against the idea of having to bribe our way to a hassle-free darshan.

That there is corruption even at the abode of God is bad enough. What's worse is its social acceptability; we tend to condone the practice on grounds of expediency. How many of us would want to go through the hassle of time-consuming dharma darshan, when there are options for those prepared to pay. Every other major temple has ticketed darshan, as a fund-raiser for the temple upkeep. At Srirangam we paid the official entry fee plus 'a little something' to pujari for hassle-free darshan of Sri Ranganathaswami.
You go through seven such gopurams to reach the presiding deity. Srirangam temple, covering 156 acres, is said to be the world's biggest and fully-functioning Hindu temple. The biggest is Angkor Wat, Cambodia, but it is non-functioning.
It is a pity that non-Hindus aren't allowed in beyond this gopuram. And the temple management has blatantly put up notices, banning non-Hindus from entering the world's biggest Hindu temple. I recall Rajiv Gandhi, once on election campaign in Trichy, sought the blessings of Sri Ranganathar. He couldn't get in. Instead, he was met at the temple entrance by the priests, who accepted his offerings and gave him prasadam.
The ban on non-Hindus isn't the only anachronism one finds in this temple town. The agrahara and its residents appear decades behind time.
This house on the street close to the temple belongs to the previous century; it is typical of the dwellings you find in the vicinity. This building houses an coaching centre - Sridhar Institute of Commerce, specialising in typing & shorthand. Wonder who would want to go in for shorthand in this computer age; and if there is market for those trained in shorthand/typewriting nowadays.
Across the street from this typewriting institute is a pay-and-use facility, patronised mainly by visitors to the temple. Local residents can't be expected to shell out Rs.2 for use of the public facility. Neighbourhood traders, hawkers,auto-drivers and beggers are found using an open stretch adjacent to the pay-and-use facility, despite a public notice threatening them with a Rs-100 fine.
I heared someone saying that the the corporation put up that notice at the instance of the contractor who runs the pay-and-use on lease. Contractors have only profit in mind, not public convenience. Why can't the temple management spend part of their hundi collection on maintenance of a free and properly functioning public toilet ? It is in their own interest to do so.

Temple Tour - A matter of belief
Temple tour-2: On road to Srirangam