Rules behind making of prasadam stall

Chennai: Running a prasadam stall at temples is not an easy task and when it comes to operating the stall for devotees at the ancient hill shrine of Sri Dhandayuthapaniswamy in Palani) the sales target is huge — the lessee should have sold prasadam for over Rs 1 crore in a year besides other stringent conditions that mandate a minimum of 5 years experience in preparing temple prasadam.

Being one of the six abodes of Lord Muruga,  the hill shrine received devotees from far and wide all through the year. Kavadis are the greatest attraction and Thai Poosam and Panguni Uthiram festivals are very famous as large number of devotees throng this 9th century temple.

“Eating out or eating at temples is part of travel. This not only provides an ideal outing experience but also promotes religious tourism in a big way. Moreover, providing prasadam to devotees is an age-old practise followed in the temples where provisions are made for kitchens,” a temple official says.

The stringent conditions of the auction-cum-tender notice, an official argued, pertained to the experience of the participants and relates to the financial capacity of the participants.

These need to be complied as the temple receives one lakh devotees daily and hence only a person with such experience and such financial status alone is capable of running the said job.

There are 47 conditions that have to be met by the caterer to run the prasadam stall. This apart, the slightest disturbance in running of stall for an hour would not only affect the administration but also affect the sentiments of the lakhs of devotees, it was pointed out. Keeping all these in mind, the temple administration had incorporated the conditions.