Madurai

Nice temple. Great chicken biriani. Nice cows. Lovely people in the flower, fruit and vegatable market and great to hang out more with Paul, Lisa, Max and Myra. Nice air-con hotel rooms: shame about the US election results on the telly ...

Tamil Nadu is dirtier than Kerala, at least on the evidence of our Madurai visit. Heather thought it more like Dehli 20 years ago than anywhere else we've yet been. We did get all-we-could-eat great food for 50p each though!

 

 

The wall panels in the Ghandi Museum tell the story of Indian independence well, despite a somewhat pro-Hindu/anti-Muslim slant to the Partition part. The details of Britain's role were saddening: it's too easy to fall for some version of the picture of the British as "the civilised colonisers," especially with Indians liking you in all directions. We weren't. Through the panels, you could see how we set up Hindu against Muslim - it was a shame this had resulted in such a partial account of Partition: though the local Muslim family who preceded us through the exhibition said they though it "very nice".

 

 

Leaving, we succumbed to the pestering of two pedal rickshaw operators who claimed that four in a rickshaw was no problem. Returning from the Ghandi Museum pulled by the copious sweat of two men who looked liable to die at any minute by the time we were halfway back - this was not good. Eventually we did find another rickshaw to spread some of the load out into.

 

The temple's amazing - huge and detailed and full of pilgrims; although we got followed so persistently by one man, offering to be our guide and not taking no for an answer, that I lost my rag with him. Shouting in a temple seemed to work where nothing else had - I think crying might have been just as effective ...

  

 

 

The fruit, vegetable and flower markets show a completely different side to Madurai life. Noone's trying to sell you tailoring services or rugs, and it's worth skirting the mud and the fishy smells on the way in to see a much more relaxed side to the city. Our camera became a great way to make contact with people here: at several points I was being beckoned from stall to stall by people eager to see a picture of themselves on the little screen. Scroll down to the next post for a gallery of photos from there.

- Mark