Source: South China Morning Post
INDIA, July 27, 2002: One of the country’s richest and oldest Hindu temples is planning a global hair tender in a move to cut out middlemen and get the best price for thousands of pounds of shorn locks donated daily by devotees. Authorities from the Tirupati temple, in Andhra Pradesh, said notices would be published in newspapers abroad, including Hong Kong, inviting international bids for tons of hair used by wig makers. This year, the temple has already earned several million dollars after selling over 450,000 lbs of hair to middlemen, who are regular suppliers to the booming business of false hairpieces in India and abroad. The hair offered to Lord Venkateswara by millions of pilgrims as penance or for fulfilling their prayers is exported to wig makers in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the U.S. and Western Europe. The hair brings in huge profits and also makes a tidy sum for the middlemen. “We have been at the mercy of middlemen for far too long and now we have decided to eliminate them for good,” Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams executive officer P. Krishnaaiah said. “Henceforth, we will float global tenders to get the best prices for the commodity in the international market.” The hilltop Tirupati temple attracts 10 million devotees annually. Up to 1,200 temple barbers working around the clock shave the heads of about 15,000 pilgrims every day.