Is that a Gopura in your Pocket?
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
So Madurai features a lot of those by now familiar Indian tourism contradictions - a congested, sprawling ugly city full of hawkers, beggars and hustlers (though not quite as bad as Agra) surrounding stunning tourist sights and crammed full of saris so incredible that I might start wearing one. So again, you love it and you hate it, yin and yang, Brahma-Shiva-Vishnu, etc etc etc.
As for the good: the Shri Meenakshi temple is absolutely stunning, both inside and out, and worth the trip. Among the top religious sites of any type anywhere, it's the high point of medieval Dravidian (Nayak) sculpture/design around and makes for good photos. It's a Shiva/Parvati (his number 1 consort) temple although down here they have different names - suneshavara and meenakshi. Among the more interesting aspects is that is in continuous use at all hours, with all sorts of ongoing ceremonies, usually multiple weddings (since it's a shiva-parvati fertility site), featuring elaborate marigold headdresses, tearful teenaged brides, stone faced grooms, and shoving matches between rival parents in-law - and some jerk wearing ugly mountain climbing sunglasses taking pictures of the whole thing.
As for the bad: the usual range of auditory and olfactory offenders. Special mention goes to the hotel Supreme, where my room features hideous decor that a 1979 mumbai bachelor would think was swinging, an air conditioning system that I think caught on fire last night or at least smelled like it and now is broken, and a toilet seat that was apparently designed for both standing and sitting - it's like a raised squat platform and just makes no sense logistically from any posture. Anyway, it will now feature prominently in my vivid Melifoquinine induced nightmares for that reason from now on. Plus the food is all South Indian veg - so it's dosa/uttapam/idli or bust. I'd rather bust.
Tomorrow it's on to the absolute sticks (back to the Taj resorts for me, it costs more and is a lot by Indian standards but staying in dives I can only do once or twice a week) in Thekaddy to try to visit the Periyar dwildlife reserve, which might be closed and I might have to bribe/baksheeh my way in as you end up having to do a lot here as a rich westerner even if you're not rich.
Below is a corrected route map - black is by air, red is by land (or boat), and blue is - the future, but compare it with map 1 from months back and see that plans change.
So Madurai features a lot of those by now familiar Indian tourism contradictions - a congested, sprawling ugly city full of hawkers, beggars and hustlers (though not quite as bad as Agra) surrounding stunning tourist sights and crammed full of saris so incredible that I might start wearing one. So again, you love it and you hate it, yin and yang, Brahma-Shiva-Vishnu, etc etc etc.
As for the good: the Shri Meenakshi temple is absolutely stunning, both inside and out, and worth the trip. Among the top religious sites of any type anywhere, it's the high point of medieval Dravidian (Nayak) sculpture/design around and makes for good photos. It's a Shiva/Parvati (his number 1 consort) temple although down here they have different names - suneshavara and meenakshi. Among the more interesting aspects is that is in continuous use at all hours, with all sorts of ongoing ceremonies, usually multiple weddings (since it's a shiva-parvati fertility site), featuring elaborate marigold headdresses, tearful teenaged brides, stone faced grooms, and shoving matches between rival parents in-law - and some jerk wearing ugly mountain climbing sunglasses taking pictures of the whole thing.
As for the bad: the usual range of auditory and olfactory offenders. Special mention goes to the hotel Supreme, where my room features hideous decor that a 1979 mumbai bachelor would think was swinging, an air conditioning system that I think caught on fire last night or at least smelled like it and now is broken, and a toilet seat that was apparently designed for both standing and sitting - it's like a raised squat platform and just makes no sense logistically from any posture. Anyway, it will now feature prominently in my vivid Melifoquinine induced nightmares for that reason from now on. Plus the food is all South Indian veg - so it's dosa/uttapam/idli or bust. I'd rather bust.
Tomorrow it's on to the absolute sticks (back to the Taj resorts for me, it costs more and is a lot by Indian standards but staying in dives I can only do once or twice a week) in Thekaddy to try to visit the Periyar dwildlife reserve, which might be closed and I might have to bribe/baksheeh my way in as you end up having to do a lot here as a rich westerner even if you're not rich.
Below is a corrected route map - black is by air, red is by land (or boat), and blue is - the future, but compare it with map 1 from months back and see that plans change.
posted by Miguel V | 4:14 PM
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