Madurai Musings
You grew up in Madurai! Where is that? Near Chennai or Bangalore? What's special about the place?Alright, Madurai is not your run-of-the-mill Indian city. You can't find spanking new food courts or upscale malls here. No beaches, no multiplexes and definitely no clubs! And that's exactly what makes it unique!Its just a simple little city-town that refuses to move with the times and takes great pride in sticking to its core values.
I take great pride in all things Madurai. The Meenakshi temple, where I can lose myself for hours, my typical Tamizh accent (that you acquire only by living in the city for that long), the lifestyle (laidback and easy) and of course the people (some of the most genuine I've met in my life).
I recently took my kids to Madurai. They are at an age when multiplexes and malls matter little. The idlis, uzhavar sandhai (traditional farmer's market), blaring loudspeakers and yellow tinted mamis (has she been naughty and used paint on her face, ma"?) bowled them over! To them, Chennai is commonplace. Madurai with its cows and chaos is a lot more attractive!
Just like kids, Madurai is a place devoid of artifice and show. Maybe that's why foreigners are more familiar with the smartly packaged-heavily advertised Bangalores and Bombays. When I go back to India, I want to take the quickest train to Madurai without spending more time than needed in the metros. After long spells abroad, I crave for a piece of the 'real' India, a place that still has its soul intact. And for that, I can't think of a better place to go to than Madurai!
No comments:
Post a Comment