An overnight train and the Meenakshi Temple
Thursday, February 09, 2017
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
Whilst packing for this trip, I knew I had two overnight train journeys so considered taking a sleeping bag liner and travel pillow in anticipation of the potentially dirty sleeping bed-linen that would be available on the trains. However, with just a couple of over-nighters, I didn't bother. After we boarded the train this evening, I looked at the bedsheets and they were covered with stains. They were supposedly washed after every overnight journey by dobhi-wallahs (Indian clothes hand-washers). These people could clean the crusty skidders from underpants of men who ate curries all day long. However, it appeared they couldn't shift these ingrained stains on the sheets. I didn't want to know what they were or where they came from. Since we had an A/C carriage, I'd be sleeping in my clothes anyway so I could put up with them for one night. However, on drawing the curtain across my sleeping compartment, I noticed some dried gozz that someone had hacked up on the inside of the curtain....
Weds 8 Feb
We were taking an overnight train from Chengalpattu to Madurai and had been booked in an AC2 (2nd Class with A/C) carriage. These carriages are relatively clean, occupied by mainly middle class Indian families and tourists, and all seats/berths are reserved. The carriage is open-plan and split into bays with a corridor down the middle - each bay contains 4 bunk beds on one side (two up and two down) and 2 bunks on the other side. The bunks are leather padded (to Indian standards which means pretty hard for us Westerners) and can be folded during the day to make seats. The bays have curtains and a bedsheet, pillow and blanket is provided. The carriage has a Western toilet and Indian squat toilet. Indian trains will generally only stop for a few minutes at each non-major station (ours was 2 minutes). With so many carriages on each train and so little time, the carriage numbers are written on the platform and displayed on electronic notices. The passenger can then position himself in the correct place on the platform and the train will stop in the correct place for everyone to quickly get on.
I slept about as comfortably on the train as I do on a plane. So not very well. The bed was too short and hard, and I'd stashed my day bag with important stuff at the end of the bed. At least the roaches and rats couldn't afford AC2 tickets, I suspect they were in the lower classes. When using the toilet, you automatically tried the Western one first but as long you didn't want to sit down, the Indian toilet was better as the "liquids" could flow out the hole instead of building up on the floor.
Thurs 9 Feb
The train arrived in Madurai at about 6am, although I was already awake due to the morning chorus of Indian throat clearing into sinks, toilets, cups, out of windows - any receptacle would do. We took a minibus to the Hotel Star Residency. The lift resembled a padded cell! When we got out, it said in an Indian accent "Thank you for using this lift, have a nice day"! After unpacking my bag in the room, my room-mate John decided he wanted to move as the A/C hadn't been fitted in that room so I had up sticks. I'm not sure why he wanted A/C as he was 69.
With a population of ~1 million (so a small "town" in Indian standards), Madurai is one of the oldest cities in India and traded with ancient Rome. We had an all-day sightseeing tour of the attractions of the city, the major one being the astonishing Meenakshi Amman Temple which is situated in the heart of the city. It is considered the Taj Mahal of South India in terms of beauty and pictures cannot do justice to it. The Temple is actually a large complex, dedicated to Parvati, known as Meenakshi, and her consort, Shiva, here named Sundareswarar. According to legend, Meenakshi was born with three breasts along with a prophecy that her extra breast would melt away when she met her husband. This happened when she met Shiva and married him. Most of the current complex was built in the 17th century during the reign of King Tirumalai Nayak, but its origins go back 2,000 years. The temple complex is divided into a number of concentric quadrangular enclosures contained by high masonry walls. It houses 14 gopurams, approx 50m high gateway towers, which are decorated with an array of thousands of gods, goddesses, demons and heroes. Usually, these gopurams are unpainted but what is most stunning about the Meenakshi Temple gopurams are that the figures decorating the towers are each painted in an amazing array of lurid colours. Truly an amazing dedication to religious devotion, and we complain if we have to paint our house or a fence! There are also various shrines and halls in the complex. The most beautiful is surely the Thousand Pillar Hall (actually only containing 985 pillars), the pillars of which are intricately carved with divine figures and mythological beasts.
As usual with Hindu temples, you can't wear footwear inside, not even socks in this case. Walking barefoot on granite which was scorchingly hot was akin to fire-walking! And you had to watch out for the huge ants which made a bee-line for any Westerner. You can't use cameras inside the Temple unfortunately, but illogically can use camera phones. However, I didn't know and had decided to leave my phone in the hotel for safety so I've downloaded a couple of photos of the inside as it was so beautiful. I also had to wear a dhoti (a large cloth worn around the waist to cover the legs) as even shorts were considered too "revealing" even though my knees were covered.
We also went to see the following:
Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam is a huge tank located near to Vandiyur Mariamman Temple, used for religious festivals, both built by King Tirumalai Nayak. The tank is connected to the Vaigai River through a system of underground channels. There are steps on all four sides and in the centre is the Vinayakar temple and garden. Mariamman Teppakulam is famous for the celebrations of the Teppam Float festival which was actually taking place that day. The celebrations take place on a full moon night and the pristine water turns colourful as the temple is lit. The idols of Goddess Meenakshi and her consort Lord Sundareshwarar, the deities of the Meenakshi Amman Temple, come down to the tank in colourful floats. Today however, as it had been sometimes in the past, the tank was dry due to lack of any recent rainfall.
Tirumalai Nayak Palace: The Palace of the 17th century ruler is only a quarter of original size but was still very impressive. The massive courtyard is surrounded by tall columns topped by intricately carved figures. This leads to the throne room, now with a replica throne.
St. Mary's Cathedral Church: A wedding was taking place so the church band played us in and the happy couple invited Tom and Fran to be in their wedding photos. Indians seem to constantly want selfies with White tourists, ie. not me!
Back at the hotel, we had a group meal on the roof-top restaurant. It wasn't exactly warm, and the view of Madurai at night wasn't exactly thrilling. I did have a delicious tandoori mixed grill though. Unfortunately, they couldn't serve alcohol due to the Float Festival! The next morning, we would be off to our next stop, Kerala and a cruise along the Backwaters.
Other Entries
2025-02-08