6) Madurai the overcrowed city

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For the first time, we experienced a bigger Indian city, it was very crowded and we felt quite uncomfortable in this overpowering atmosphere. However, we managed to cut our way through the bazaar to the city’s main attraction, the famous Minakshi Temple. The temple’s towering gopurams stand out with their colourful stucco images of gods and animals, which are regularly repainted. The whole complex seemed so overloaded with statues and colours, that we were reminded of some rococo churches in Vienna. After meeting the temple elephant and the cow, we decided to have a rest and to watch the sunset seated by the Golden Lotus Tank. In the evening we went to see a typical dance performance within one of the temple halls.

Next day we visited the Thirumalai Nayaka Palace. This royal palace was built in ca. 1636 by Thirumalai Naicken the greatest of Naick rulers of Madurai. The building we see today was the main portion where the king lived and held his court. The small museum is set in the Natakasala Hall. Here the king witnessed dances performed by beautiful damsels along with his queens in the evenings. Once again, while Stephan was hunting for picture motives, Klaudia was approached by an Indian family. Mostly, people here are extremely friendly and interested. Questions like “Where do you come from?”, “What’s your name?” or “What’s your profession?” have already been asked many times. After the chat, they asked for a photo session and were very pleased when they could see the pictures on the monitor of our camera. As soon as we have the possibility, we will have them printed and send them.

For lunch, we went to a non-touristy restaurant. This means eating without plates or cutlery. The food you get is spread out on a banana leave and you have to eat it with your fingers - but only with the right hand, the left hand is considered the “dirty” one. Custom wants that you wash your fingers before the meal, after the meal you do it voluntarily for practical reasons. Meals mostly consist of rice that is mixed with different gravies, depending on the meal chosen. Then you try to roll everything into a ball that shall find its way into your mouth one way or another. Making rice balls is relatively easy, compared to eating a nan, a very thin and large pancake. Just imagine you have to tear apart this hot stuff soaked with gravies by using only one hand! You will surely understand that we still have some problems with it. After lunch we passed by a nice house where a lot of cattle drawn carts left fully packed, and curiosity made us have a closer look. We discovered a store house for rice and could watch carts being packed with many heavy rice bags.

In the early afternoon, we walked to the other side of town, towards the Gandhi Museum, crossing the Vaigai River, at this season almost dried out. The little water that remained was used for washing clothes, the river bed used for their drying and as a grazing ground for cattle. After visiting an exposition about the history of the independence struggle from 1800 until 1957, we went back to the hotel, picked up our backpacks and headed to the railway station to take the train for the first time.

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