Let's Relax, Let's Walk Around Madurai

varalotti · Oct 14, 2006

You set me thinking, again

Dear Kamla,

thanks for the soft words of praise. Any decision in life is a huge trade-off and when we strike the deal we don't know what we will get.

One thing I learnt during these 48 plus years of life covered in 28 years of age is that there is no general cure, there is no sarvaroga nivarani no universal way out of our life's problems. Many of my friends and many of my very close relatives are NRIs. Two things I have observed in them. Most of them are fighting so many odds in a foreign country often without friends or relatives to help them out. Second, and which is more important, is that these people are cut out to be abroad. Their approach to life, their tastes and their values are such that had they lived here there life would have been hell. But any day living outside our homecountry is a huge decision and people are always in conflict. I know about a couple of websites devoted to Indians who are unable to decide whether to return home or not.
And that is why when my collegemate or my friend in profession or my brother in law call from Europe and ask me affectionately, "What gift shall I bring for you, sridhar?" I tell them, "have a pleasant journey back home. That is gift enough for me."
I am pained to see that in some cases a relative living abroad is treated as a Santa Claus carrying expensive gifts every time he comes back to India.
My adoptive father used to say, "yarukku enga bikshaiyo" meaning, where a person gets his livelihood is predetermined.
I shall also narrate an interesting incident. When we had just started our professional practice Govt. audit was lucrative. We tried hard to get some Govt assignments but could not get them. Whereas one of my friends, he is of the same age as I am, used to get a lot of Govt audits. I did not have the heart to ask him how did he manage to get those audits while we were slogging for much less in private audit assignments.
And one day this friend came to see me. He said, "sridhar, I am fed up with these Govt audits. Tell me how to get some private audits." I was stunned. I told him my adoptive fathers words, yarukku enga bikshaiyo.
What happened between me and my friend is happening between Resident Indians and NRIs. Each class wants to be the other.
But believe me staying afloat in this profession in India is no easy task. It requires a lot of skills apart from professional skills. In short it is like driving in our Town Hall Road while a professional life abroad is cruising in autobahn.
I have struggled and I am struggling. But to me it feels that to stay here in Madurai the struggle is any day worth the while.
But I know that to many even to stay here in Madurai is a struggle.
Logho Binna ruchihi. Tastes differ. It takes all the types to make up the world.
regards,
sridhar

varalotti · Oct 14, 2006

Time For Another Walk, Ladies!

Most Gracious ILites,

I dont want to spoil your festive mood by posting about some tragic problems. So this Saturday also we are taking a walk around the streets of Madurai. I have posted the thread. Please read and let me have your views.

I have also posted the scanned pdf version of my story in Ananda Vikatan in the relevant thread (Varalotti sir, You Rock thread)
Have a nice weekend!

Varalotti

nirmala1709 · Aug 18, 2007

varalotti said: ↑

Of late there is a general feeling that I choose rather heavy topics for discussion in my forum. So let’s relax during this Wednesday. Let us just loiter around the busy streets of Madurai where festive shopping has picked up and tourist season has started.

Yes, ILites, that’s what we are going to do this week. A walk around the streets of Madurai.

Every city has its uniqueness, its own signature which cannot be replicated outside its limits. But being a Madurian all my life I can talk only of Madurai’s signature.

As most of you might be knowing there are only 3 seasons in Madurai – summer, summerer and summerest. What we have in April and May is the summerest. We have something between a summer and summerer during this period. October-November.

In Madurai Deepavali is a huge climax to which the everybody would be moving in a frantic pace. Thus if you now walk some where near the temple, let us say the South Chitrai Street and then go on via Dindigul Road, you will see a sea of people. All sorts of people. From Madurai proper, from the surrounding villages, from North India with the sarees worn the other way round and from foreig lands too.

Incidentally the tourist season here is between October and February.
So many people walking and driving all types of vehicles - from the ubiquitous tricycles to two-wheelers, cars, autos etc. Most of the platforms are occupied by the vendors. So people walk up to one half of the road. And the beauty is people from both sides, each walk up to one half of the road, which means that vehicles need to just crawl at the walking speed.

Our vehicle drivers are very ingenious. You know that Britishers drive on the left side of the road, Americans on the right, we drive on all sides of the road.

When you approach the temple from the west side, and walk in the West Tower street you get a direct view of the temple, its most majestic and the most beautiful West Tower at the end of the road.

You can see the intricately sculpted Tower from the other end of the road and it is very difficult not to feel awed by such a artistic majesty right in front of your eyes. It is a symbolic representation of God waiting for us at the end of the road, waiting for us to finish our journey.

You see textile shops all around the temple. The shop boys will stand out on the streets and almost smother you with their loving invitation to walk into their shops. The oldest shop is Hajee Moosa which is near the Eastern Gate of the temple. It was started in the year 1878.

Those people are Muslims and have the biggest building near the temple. They have the courtesy to advertise their shop as “the second best landmark in the town.” The first always and will always belong to our Queen, Madurai Meenakshi. She is our most beautiful and the most compassionate Queen housed in one of the most beautiful temples ever conceived by man.

We have some popular eating joints around the temple. One is a Gopu Iyengar snacks stall which should be more than 50 years old. They would close down by 7 PM every day. They start serving snacks from about 3 in the evening. They have their usual group of customers who would never deign to eat elsewhere. And for less than Rs.20 you can have so much of snacks that you would have to skip your evening dinner.

And they serve a “kara chutney”, my God! It would be so hot (I mean “kaaram”) that you can keep it two feet away and just go on eating your idlies and dosas by just looking at it.

A few blocks before that shop we have the famous “Original Nagapattinam Nei Mittai Kadai” Another 70 year old institution. Kara Sevu, a hot crispy savoury is their trade mark item. Another unusual item they serve is “Kara Urulaikkizhangu” (Potatoes – served very hot with red chillies) This item they will start selling by 10 AM every morning and the sales would be over by 1030, 1045.

Another peculiar feature in Madurai is the “Sundal Vandi”. The trader will have a big push cart (something similar to the ironing cart) and will sell boiled ground nuts and a variety of sundals and sundry items. On a typical day you will find pattani sundal, kothukadalai sundal, payiru sundal all laced with chillies, mangoes, coconut, onions et cetera..

I think all these sundal vandis have an association. Because the price is the same with all the people. The standard unit of any item costs two Rupees. If you eat just about 5 packets then you can’t eat your dinner. They will be so wholesome and heavy.

In the mornings you have carts that sell paruthi pal (juice made from cotton seeds) sukku malli coffee (a concoction prepared from all medicinal items like ginger etc) We also have carts selling Jil Jil Jigarthanda. A cool drink prepared from Faluda Seeds and a host of other items. Murugan Idli Kadai (now they have branches in Chennai) sell this Jil Jil in about three or four varieties.

The area around the Temple will always be crowded. And now festival shopping is in full swing. You see people every where on the road, in the shop, on the pavement, in autos, share autos, cars and all sorts of vehicles.

The typical Maduraiite would be non-chalant in this turbulent atmosphere. In a corner tea shop he would be sipping his “cutting tea” (again a speciality of Madurai; the word cutting refers to the fact that the tea is just cut into half of its regular quantity) with the serenity of the Buddha blissfully watching the flow of life around him.

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Hi Varalotti - I just read your description about Madudrai and the surroundings. It was really interesting to read about Madurai. Actually I am planning to visit Madurai during October this year. I have never been to Madurai though my mother was born there. So now I have the chance to see how Madurai is. Unfotunately my mother died many years ago. My mouth was watering when I was reading about sundal, idli and karam, neimittai. I never heard about Paruthipal so let me try that too. Do you have any suggestion for accommodation in Madurai? I am very much eager to visit the Meenakshiamman temple too. Thanks for posting some information about Madurai. Regards from Nirmala

varalotti · Aug 18, 2007

Hi Nirmala,
Welcome to Madurai. Accommodation in Madurai is not a problem. From Rs.400 per day to about Rs.10,000 per day there are hotels. Quite a lot of them. There is Hotel Aarathy near Central Bus Stand and Railway Station. Reasonably priced.
Hotel Taj Garden Retreat is about 8 kms from the Railway Station. Good but expensive.
You have a hundred lodges near the Station. From there the Temple is just a few minutes of walk. Or you can take an auto rickshaw.
Welcome to Madurai, Nirmala.
regards,

nirmala1709 · Aug 18, 2007

Hi Varalotti

Thanks for your information regarding accommodatin in Madurai. I will be visiting Yercaud first then Trichy (the place where I was born) and then Madurai. I am really looking forward to visit Madurai as it has been my dream since I was a child. So now the opportunity has come and I do not want to miss it.

Regards
Nirmala