Greg's Indian Adventure: Madurai

Photo via WikiCommons

Last week I visited the ancient city of Madurai- it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world- people have been living there for over 2500 years! Folks around here call it an “improved village”. Despite having a population of a million, it dosen’t feel like a city at all, or at least a modern one. Almost all the streets are narrow and tight, with barely enough room for a car to get though. Compared to other large cities in India, who have seemed to embrace change/modernity, Madurai still feels like a city from another era. It’s also the only city I’ve seen in Southern India that still has cycle rickshaws!!!

Gandhi also had ties to Madurai, and his time in the city inspired him to stop wearing western clothing (seen as elitist) and wear only home-spun cloth, which was worn by the common man. Many other key figures from the Indian independence movement also hailed from Madurai. There is a Gandhi museum in town, but it was unfortunately closed when I was there.

Food is another pleasure of Madurai, which is known for their idlys. I had some fantastic idlys while in town, with 5 different types of chutney and was eating like a king. I also had an unusual masala dosa while in town, with full cloves of garlic. I’ve never had a masala dosa prepared like this, and it was delicious, although I’m sure my breath was not afterwards. Finally, I got to indulge in a sweet native to Madurai, called jigarthanda. It’s a cool drink with ice cream in milk flavored with almond resin and it was equally delicious and refreshing.

History is the real star of the show in Madurai, and I got to take in three fantastic spots while in town. First, we went to a huge palace built in the early 1600’s called the Tirumalai Nayakar Mahal. It was the palace of a South Indian king by the same name and now serves as both an architectural marvel as well as a museum.

Next, we went to a holy spring in the mountains on the outskirts of town, called Pazhamuthircholai, where we had a bath in the holy water and received a blessing. The temple priest gave us flowers on the way out, and we put these on our car for good luck and safe travels.

Finally, we went to the Meenakshi Amman Temple, easily the highlight of any trip to Madurai. It is a huge complex, with several huge gopurams (towers) covered with Hindu deities. Unlike most temples in India, this is one of the few where non-Hindus are not allowed in several parts. I believe this is because the Meenakshi Temple is regarded as one of the holiest in all of India. It is also one of the oldest. Although most of the temple was built around the 1500’s, (after it was destroyed by invaders), the actual site has been a place of worship since at least the 600’s. Enjoy the pics of the temple complex- it is too overwhelming and huge to do it justice in a blog post. I regret that it took me three years in India to see Madurai- I don’t think any trip to Southern India is complete until you get to experience this place!