Abhishek, Aishwarya to offer prayers at Tirupati temple

Bollywood stars Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, who tied the knot in Mumbai Friday, are expected to arrive here Sunday to pay obeisance at the temple of Lord Venkateshwara.

The couple will arrive at the Renigunta airport near here at 7 a.m. by a special aircraft and reach the Tirumala Hills by road to seek blessings of Lord Venkateshwara.

After performing special prayers, the couple will return Mumbai at 11 a.m., said sources in the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the affairs of the temple.

This will be the first visit by the couple to any temple after the marriage. They choose the Tirumala temple as a large number of Hindus make it a point to pray here after fulfilment of their wishes, marriage, success in business and examinations or victory in elections.

Abhishek's father, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan had visited the temple April 15 to seek Lord Balaji's blessings. He had also placed the first wedding invitation card at the feet of the deity seeking blessings for the couple.

Amitabh was then accompanied by his friends, industrialist Anil Ambani and politician Amar Singh.

The trio also made a donation of Rs.5.1 million each to the temple trust for education of poor children and treatment of poor patients.

The Bachchans are frequent visitors to the country's richest temple.

Amitabh had visited the temple in December 2005 to offer prayers after recovering from serious health problems. He had then promised to offer diamonds worth Rs.90 million to the deity.

About 50,000 people offer prayers at the temple every day and on special occasions the number cross 100,000.