At the well-known Guruvayoor temple in Kerala, devotees wanting to perform the costliest 'puja', or religious service, will have to wait until 2046.
Such is the demand for the special 50,000-rupee Udayasthamana Puja, which is performed only 130 days in a year at the Sree Krishna temple, that the faithful have coughed up booking amounts for the next 42 years.
Indeed, the temple, near Trissur, sees hundreds of devotees queuing up from midnight for a glimpse of the deity when the doors to the sanctum sanctorum open at 3.30 a.m.
Temple official Vijayan Nambiar told IANS the number of devotees visiting the shrine on auspicious days had crossed the 100,000-mark.
The crowds are ballooning rapidly and it has reached a stage where it has become difficult to manage the throngs.
"The donations have gone up from Rs.6.5 million (about $145,000) a month to more than Rs.10 million," said Nambiar.
"Devotees stand in the queue from midnight to have the first 'darshan' (glimpse) when the temple opens at 3.30 a.m."
Though there are several types of 'pujas', the Udayasthamana Puja is the most expensive. It has to be booked by paying the full amount.