Blogs from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia - page 4

I was visited by angels. Really. I was alone, feeling helpless, approaching panic. Then they came, the two young men, and they didn’t leave until things were right. “We’re just people,” they insisted. Nope, angels, no doubt about it. It all had to do with the puppy. I had been visiting the puppy with the hurt leg for about five days. Every morning, after walking around the shady coolness of Lady Doak College, I would step into the noisy world outside and walk a short ways up the street. The puppy would be crumpled somewhere in a dark, safe place, and when it walked, it held its rear leg aloft and hobbled instead. His eyes carried pain, and the first day when his leg was freshly injured, he whimpered when I scratched his chin. His mother, ... read more

They call it a temple pond. But it is no small pond. Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakkulum is about one km around its red and white striped perimeter walls that enclose an excavation of about 16 acres. A smooth slabbed surface circling it makes for a good walk. Everyone else had the same idea one cloudy morning as I wandered around the structure. King Thirumalai Nayakkar excavated the soil in this area, it is said, to make the bricks for Thirumalai Nayakkar Palace. This was back in 1645 AD. Twelve staircases around the four sides descend into the tank. People can go down the stairs to the bottom to play cricket or to walk to the central mandapam that supports a temple and garden. Now the floor of the tank is dry, but soon waters from the nearby ... read more

I spotted a dog lying on a bench at the side of the road while on my morning walk. Seeing a dog was not unusual, but a puppy was curled beneath the bench, and my heart tightened. Then the pup moved on three legs and held its rear leg aloft. It hobbled beneath a cart nearby. I approached, all the while talking to him, telling him he was sweet and asking how he hurt his leg. He whimpered a little, and I reached out to scratch his ear. I’m going to have to wash my hands, I should not be touching this stray, I thought. Can I take it to the family at my homestay? Would they feel the sadness around this baby with the hurt leg and uncertain future and adopt him? I walked on, ... read more

Suriya always includes a message in her Rangoli. ”We cannot touch the top of a tree—the branches get too thin and weak, and we would break them if we tried to climb them. So we must instead touch the sky.” That is the message of today’s Rangoli. Today is the first day of Margali, a month-long observance when the nights are longer and the air is cooler. And for each day of the month, women rise early to prepare their canvas, on the ground outside their doorsteps, where they create mandala-like designs—called a kolam or Rangoli—of white outlines and color-filled spaces. Ground white rock or rice and colored powders are their paints, their hands are their brushes. Normally Suriya would rise by 4:00 am and finish by 6:00 am. Only because I wanted to see did ... read more

Thousands of tiny lighted clay pots of oil shimmered on streets, alleys, balconies, and shop steps around Madurai. Karthigai Deepam celebrates the birthday of Murugan, the second son of Lord Shiva, and people here eagerly anticipated this holiday. Outside the door steps of houses, women had created purple, pink, yellow and red flower-shaped kolums right on the street, and placed oil lamps and flowers. Women swished from house to neighbor’s house in their best saris, trailing jasmine sweetness. Children ran up and down the streets, tossing fire crackers, waving sparklers, and setting off billowing light fountains. They were having a blast. I covered my ears. I waved at families through their open front doors, thanked them for photos. People rushed out to invite me into their homes. I drank tea at one, coffee at another, coffee ... read more