thousands of pilgrims went to Tirumala every day, inching along in winding queues to offer gifts to Lord Venkateswara. They gave their weight in money and jewels but mostly they gave their hair, through the practice known as tonsure. Devotees, young and old, crowded into the Kalyana Katta that dotted the hill below the temple to sit with bowed heads before barbers who shaved their heads and passed their hair on to the god.
