Madurai: The Verdict

Ok, so it turns out that Madurai is not my favorite place in India. Waiting five minutes didn't change my feelings on that one :) But it's ok: I didn't dislike it, and not every place can be my favorite! (There's a good-sized tie for first place in that category). And to be honest, I don't think either of us where at our finest. For her part, Madurai is a hustling, bustling city, particularly as the temple of Meenakshi has become a huge tourist attraction for foreign and Indian tourists alike. The city (and temple) were extra chaotic as it was a school holiday here in India-- there were huge family groups at every hotel (and it is the high season for foreign travellers). As for me, I just wasn't feeling my best for a few days. Nothing too bad, just low level ick, but enough to taint my mood (and lower my patience).

One great thing: right after I left my first blog post about Madurai, I was walking back to my hotel and saw, you guessed it!!! an elephant walking down the street! A busy, jam packed, noisy, brightly lit, crazy city street. This elephant was in full regalia-- a big, elaborately decorated blanket over its sides and head gear-- and had a boy riding it (and another mahout, or handler, on the ground).

We didn't see much of the temple of Meenakshi. Aside from the massive swarms of people (good reminder why I never want to go to a big temple during one of the major festivals), it is undergoing a complete renovation. They are trying to finish before some big festival next year. The entire place is covered in scaffolding (Indian-style, so long bamboo lashed together) and parts are closed. The gopurams (the towering pyramidal entrances covered with elaborate and colorful carvings) were covered with scaffolding AND palm-thatch while they are repainted. So no pictures (sorry, dad!).

One thing I do love about that temple: it is known for its jasmine flowers. My teacher bought me a string of little jasmine buds to wear in my hair. All day long I was getting hits of that sweet, almost intoxicating scent. Seriously, I think I would have been happy to skip the sightseeing to just sit and smell the jasmine flowers. On a side note, I now carry a stock pile of small safely pins and bobby pins in my day bag. These items are critical if you plan to wear a sari or have blessed temple flowers adorn your hair.

Madurai is full of hawkers and touts. More than I've come across anywhere else in India (though I haven't been north yet, so we'll see). Despite my less than stunning mood, I found them entertaining. Nothing like laughing and walking off from a rickshaw driver (Too much! Too much! I paid half that for the same trip this morning!) only to have him turn around in traffic and follow you down the street yelling "Madam! Madam!" and offering a much better price. Maybe one day I'll dedicate an entire post to my negotiations in Madurai. Oh, and some of the rickshaw drivers there have actual horns-- a metal horn with a rubber bulb that you squeeze. Some of them sound like those sqawking parrot noisemakers. Others make a feeble, coughing sound I doubted any drivers could hear over the ruckus. Don't know if the drivers can hear them, but it turns out I could hear them all night from my 3rd floor hotel room!

The best part of Madurai was visiting the home of my teacher's teacher. Appa, as he calls him, passed away about 15 years ago, but we were welcomed with open arms by his family. My teacher came to India more than 30 years ago as a university student on a semester abroad program. He ended up moving in with one of his professors and living with them as family. We also saw the neighborhood matriculation school that his teacher built. I may write more about this later, not just because of the length of this post, but also because I need some more time to put together my own thoughts on this very touching experience.

The second best part of Madurai was that I went to the train station the day I wanted to leave (during the high season, remember) and despite the computerized system saying trains were full and the hand-written sign saying all trains that day were sold out and the woman at the counter telling me the train was sold out, I managed to score a ticket for that night on the exact train I wanted. Still not sure how it happened. I just kept asking her questions about various train options for that day and the next (which were full, how the waiting list works, etc) and suddenly she gave me a ticket for the train that had been full moments before. I had a backup plan (the bus! or leaving the next day), but the overnight train was definitely my first choice. Leaving Madurai that day was also a priority. I was pretty done with it.