 "According to the temple administration, the controversy has had no impact on sales. Over four days, the Tirumala temple sold over 14 lakh laddus. ANI")
“Our faith remains unshaken,” says Venkateshwar Rao, a devotee at the Sri Venkateshwara Temple, as he joined the throngs of pilgrims eager to buy laddus at the revered shrine in Tirupati.
Rao is among the lakhs of devotees who maintain their unwavering belief even as a controversy over the alleged use of animal fat in the sacred prasadam at the revered temple grows.
Let’s take a closer look at the history of the prasadam and examine how its popularity has endured the controversy
‘3 lakh laddus, Rs 500 crore sales’
The offering of Tirupati laddus dates back to 1715, marking over 300 years of rich tradition.
Prepared daily in the temple kitchen, known as the Potu, the laddus undergo a strict preparation process called dittam, which is key to their unique taste.
Originally crafted from besan (chickpea flour) and jaggery syrup to enhance shelf life, the recipe evolved to include dry fruits such as almonds, cashews, and raisins for added flavour and nutrition. Remarkably, over its long history, the recipe has only been altered six times.
Each day, a staggering 15,000 kg of cow ghee is used in making these laddus, NDTV reported.
In 2014, the Tirupati laddu was granted Geographical Indication (GI) status, protecting its exclusive name and preventing others from marketing laddus under the same title.
Pilgrims flock to the temple to purchase these beloved treats, often bringing them home as gifts for friends and relatives. Approximately 3 lakh laddus are prepared and distributed daily at Tirumala, contributing to annual sales of around Rs 500 crore, according to a report by Times of India.
The controversy
Earlier, a report by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) caused concern among millions of devotees by suggesting the presence of foreign fats in the ghee used to prepare the Tirupati laddu prasadam. The report identified animal fats like lard (pig fat), tallow (beef fat), and fish oil, in addition to vegetable fats from sources such as coconut, linseed, rapeseed, and cottonseed.
Following this revelation, the ghee supplier, AR Dairy Foods, was blacklisted by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which quickly switched to sourcing ghee from the Karnataka Milk Federation.
The controversy escalated when the lab reports, were made public by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led government. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu alleged that the tainted ghee had been supplied during the previous regime led by the YSRCP, churning a political storm.
YSRCP leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, whose party had lost power in the state polls earlier this year, accused the ruling TDP of “politicising religious matters” and Naidu of being a “pathological and habitual liar”.
Despite the heated political exchanges, it was anticipated that the demand for the sacred laddus would drop. Surprisingly, it did not.
Row over laddus is ’thing of the past’
According to the temple administration, the controversy has had no impact on sales. Over four days, the Tirumala temple sold over 14 lakh laddus.
On September 19, 3.59 lakh laddus were sold, followed by 3.17 lakh on September 20, 3.67 lakh on September 21, and 3.60 lakh on September 22. These numbers match the temple’s average daily sales of around 3.50 lakh laddus, proving that devotees’ trust remains intact.
“The laddus taste even better now. The aroma of pure ghee reminds me of the prasadam from my childhood visits,” Lakshmi Narayana, a pilgrim from Vijayawada, told The Deccan Chronicle.
Ramesh Kumar, a devotee from Bangalore, added, “There’s a noticeable difference in texture and flavour.”
Several devotees also told NDTV that the row over the Tirupati laddus is now a “thing of the past."
Beyond the Tirumala temple, there has been no decline in laddu sales at other TTD-run temples across India. The TTD distributes laddus at its temples in locations such as Rushikonda Hill in Visakhapatnam, Venkatapalem in Guntur district, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Kurukshetra, and Jammu and Kashmir.
A TTD official confirmed to The Hindu that laddus have been supplied to all TTD temples, where devotees continue to queue up as usual. “The TTD has sent 3,000 laddus to Venkatapalem, 4,000 to Visakhapatnam, 2,000 to Vijayawada, 10,000 to Chennai, 3,000 to Bengaluru, and 8,000 to Hyderabad,” the official said.
For many, obtaining the sacred laddus is an eagerly awaited ritual. “The TTD has announced that laddus will be sold daily at its temples. But in some places, prasadam is available only once or twice a week. We eagerly wait for Saturdays when the laddus are available,” V Seshagiri told the newspaper after purchasing laddus from the Venkateswara Swamy temple in Vijayawada.
Meanwhile, TTD Executive Officer Syamala Rao has reassured devotees that stringent quality control measures are in place to ensure the purity of the laddus. “The trust of our devotees is paramount. We are committed to upholding the sanctity of the Srivari Laddu,” he told The Deccan Herald.
With input from agencies