Income from Hair! Know how Tirupati Temple earns a Huge share of its income from sale of Human Hair!
It is a common fact that daily thousands of followers donate their hair for blessings whenever they visit Tirupati Balaji. Have you ever wondered where this hair goes to? Is it thrown away or does it have any other purpose. It definitely has a purpose and is converted into huge amount of money. How? Let's find out!
Offerings of Hair!
The temple is visited by 30-40 million people anually on an average and aprroximately 50,000 visit everyday.
The hair worn by the idol of lord Balaji is believed to be completely real as it remains to be silky smooth and tangle free for years. Every year when people visit the shrine they offer their hair in return for blessings. The story behind this reason is, Lord Balaji lost his hair due to an unexpected event during his time on earth. Neela Devi, a Gandharva Princess cut a portion of her hair and offered the same to lord Balaji. Touched by this, the God accepted this kind offering and promised that whoever visits his shrine and offers their hair will be blessed.
Now the hair that is offered by the devotees, the government has made good use of it by converting it into revenue with the help of auctions.
Why the Sale of Hair?
The demand for human hair for wigs and hair extension has risen over the years. Many countries have converted this into a multi-crore business. With the demand rising, the government decided to put these hair into good use by exporting them and generating revenue out of it. In the year 2011-12 The Tirupati Temple earned nearly 200 crore out of its total revenue that was 1,949 crore. seeing this huge revenue being generated, the officials opted for e-auctioning to invite a large number of potential buyers. In the first year of e-auctions, 49 traders across the world participated with huge amounts for various categories.
The Human hair is divided into six categories depending on their length and color. The long hair which is called the remy hair has the biggest market in Europe and the US. The non-remy or short hair has a huge demand from China, who in turn convert these into wigs and sell it in the African market. Overall the temple earns about 11-12 crore on a monthly basis with auctioning up to 145 tonnes of hair.
Where do these funds go?
The temple earns millions of funds not only by the sale of hair but also from huge donations. A numbers of schemes and trusts are set up wherein these funds will be used to help the poor. One of these trusts aims in providing life medical facilities to poor patients who are suffering from life threatening diseases like cancer. The service provided to them is free of cost and open to all poor patients irrespective of their caste, creed or religion. Another trust fund is used for provide free meals to pilgrims in Tirupati. 30,000 pilgrims are fed in a day and the number goes up to 50,000 during festivals.
Other Purposes of the Human Hair!
Not only the hair serves purpose for making wigs but also the Amino acid present in the human hair becomes a major part of selling point. Union Surface Transport Minister, Nitin Gadkari has stated that major orders have been received for human hair for the Amino acids present in it. Amino acids play a Major role in plant growth and is commonly made out of vegetables and poultry feather. The human hair is a way cheaper option for procuring amino acids and hence a huge quantity bid required by companies. In a way hair from Tirupati could play a major role on contributing to the national income of the country.
When money is made out of waste and converted into the welfare of the country then that business is good business and that remains the focus of the government to turn waste into wealth and make India a better place to live in.
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