Madurai

Last week Vera and I went on a 2-day trip down to Madurai, a city with a population of approximately 2.5 million. Madurai is known as the "Temple City" due to the majestic and breathtaking  Meenakshi Temple that is centrally located in the city. The temple is named after the Hindu Goddess Meenakshi, who is said to be an incarnation of the Goddess Parvati. The temple consists of 12 gopuras, which are tall, soaring towers covered with thousands of colourful statues of people, dieties, animals, mythical creatures and monsters. 


Although the temple was gorgeous to see, what I found most interesting was the devotion that the visiting Hindus showed at the temple. They were praying, bringing gifts of coconuts and other fruits for the gods, the men were putting white powder on their foreheads to show their devotion, and many of the women were getting their heads shaved for that same purpose. I am not a religious person myself, and so seeing these people be so enthralled to be in this spiritual place, and seeing the pure devotion on their faces as they knelt and prayed to their gods, was something quite unique and interesting for me. 


I also went inside the temple and got blessed by an elephant. You put a coin in his trunk and he taps your head as a sign of being blessed. I also got a picture with the elephant's trunk on my head. His trunk was dripping snot though, and it got in my hair and was running down my face. Ewwwww!!! 


There were also some unpleasant parts of the Madurai experience. There are tons of beggars and street vendors that hang out around the temple, hoping to get some money from the "rich foreigners". As a white young woman, I was the perfect target for these people, most of whom are selling jewelery and purses. They followed me around constantly, and no matter how many times, and in how many ways I told them to take a hike, they refused to listen and continued to follow me, begging for me to buy their stuff. At any given time, I was being followed by around 5 vendors/beggars hoping for money. There were also the Kashmiri shop owners who would come up to me, pretending to be tour guides, saying that they could show me the best view of the temple. If you followed them, they'd just take you into their cloth shops and try to sell you their stuff. I had been told about them before going to Madurai, so i didn't fall for their scams.


There was one incidence though that really pulled at my heart strings. I bought a necklace from one of the street vendors, which turned out to be a terrible idea. There must be beggars who sit there watching for people who are willing to take out their wallet. So as soon as I finished buying the necklace, a mother signaled to her 5 young children, who all stood up and began to jump around me begging for money. It was just sad that these children had to beg at such a young age. You just have to learn here that you can't give money to all of the beggars. If I have coins (1-5 rupees) I will give them to beggars, which is pretty standard. But if I started giving 10 or more rupee bills to the beggars, then I am just promoting the idea that all white people are rich and willing to give lots of money. This is a system that Vera and George taught me, and it seems sensible. 


Here are some pictures:

There were many people biking around with huge loads of products on the back of their bikes. They are bringing them through the city for deliveries. It is amazing that this is how they make a living, they must be in great shape! 

Temple statues with 8-armed people.

Called an auto-rickshaw, this is a fun way to travel around the city. Its like a mini taxi.

Getting snotted on by the elephant.

These people are making a living by getting paid by tourists who want to weigh themselves. They sit there with a scale, accepting money in exchange for the chance to weigh yourself, and probably get a picture taken with you being appalled at how much you weigh, such as what I did!

This is a particularly beautiful looking Kolam design. Each morning in Madurai, the woman of the household will go out with white and sometimes coloured rice powder and draw a Kolam design in front of their house. The designs are passed down from generation to generation, and vary in complexity from simple white swirls or stars to large, colourful, intricate designs. Originally, these rice designs were supposed to be easy food for animals such as ants, birds and other little critters, thus inviting these other beings into one's home. It is a sign of invitation to welcome all into the home, especially the Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of Prosperity. I found these Kolam designs fascinating.

This little cutie is Spice, and is the adorable puppy of a stray dog that hangs out in George and Vera's orchard. The stray was abused, and so now she is very meek and terrified of humans. If they don't get her puppies used to humans early enough, they will become like their mother, and then will never be adopted. So we've been feeding and playing with Spice, trying to get her to trust humans so that we can find her a good home.