There’s something about the final day of a meaningful gathering. It doesn’t fade out. It sharpens. Becomes clearer. The urgency is quieter but deeper. That’s exactly how Day 3 of ITCX 2025 felt as I walked into the Asha Convention Centre in Tirupati.
From the very first session of the morning, both our stages – the Main Stage and Manthan – were alive again. Panels rolled one after another, touching on topics that had not just relevance, but edge. This wasn’t surface-level dialogue. These were conversations born out of lived challenges from temples across the country. How do we manage rapid footfall with limited staff? How do we implement tech in small-town temples without losing spiritual intimacy? These are the questions that kept coming up – and the answers, honestly, were just as thoughtful.
What stood out for me personally were the temple case studies shared by delegates. Practical, honest, and surprisingly forward-thinking. From financial restructuring to eco-friendly renovations, these temples showed us that innovation doesn’t need to be high-budget. It just needs intent and alignment with purpose. And this is the kind of learning that ITCX was built for – peer to peer, practitioner to practitioner.
In between sessions, the expo stalls remained a huge point of engagement. I watched delegates spend time there not just browsing, but actually questioning, understanding, and taking notes. Everything from temple accounting software to crowd management tools and energy-efficient lighting solutions were on display. It was a learning lab in motion. Real tools for real problems.
And then, we reached the final stretch of the day. The room was full, anticipation in the air. Shri Nara Lokesh ji, Minister for Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, and Human Resource Development, Government of Andhra Pradesh, took the stage. His insights weren’t just about governance. They were about possibilities. About how temples can lead the way in adapting clean technologies, building local economies, and becoming digital-first without losing their spiritual roots.
His words gave the day a sense of elevation. Not a conclusion, but a launchpad.
Meanwhile, the last set of delegates made their way to Tirumala for darshan, coordinated once again with the generous support of TTD. For many of them, this visit wasn’t just spiritual – it felt like a reward after three days of soaking in knowledge, ideas, and connection.
As I looked around the venue one last time before leaving, what I saw wasn’t fatigue. It was fulfilment.
We had gathered to talk temples. We ended up laying the foundation for their transformation. And for me, this is just the beginning of where ITCX 2025 will take us.
