Day 7 - Madurai - Ayikudy

The windmill she blows

Purple haze

Peach coloured clouds

The silhouettes of trees

Ayikudy 19:06 pm

I started my day very differently in a noisy metro called Madurai. Woke up by 5ish and by 6 am had reached the gates of the Madurai Meenakshi kovil. A few people about on the streets and of course due to the nature of my outfit – tee and jeans – conversations.

Today’s conversation was with a bloke guarding the Western entrance of the kovil. He was with the Madurai Police Bomb Detection Squad deputed at the temple and very zealously doing his job. We did at least a five minute conversation with me of course talking about my whole life right from my antecedents to my current job profile. He called himself my brother. This was with context that I have a sister. I was thoda astounded at this but said theek. I mean if a bloke wants to call himself my brother, by all means do. So having finished conversation with my ‘brother’ I proceeded to the kovil.

Meenakshi ammal glowed like a beacon in her inner sanctum. I perambulated twice – once for myself and another time for family and friends. I loved the peaceful atmosphere in the temple at that time. Niceness that was. Got a bit lost – the temple complex being so huge.

Sat for a bit at the Lake of the Golden Lotus. Took some fotus of the temple stealthily on account of the fact that I didn’t particularly feel like paying 50 bucks to the temple authorities to take snaps. Walked around the outer temple complex. Met another policeman type who took me through the hall where Meenakshi ammal normally gets married. Saw a wooden ceiling which according the cop, was about 3000-4000 thousand years old.

Left the temple complex, grabbed some brekkie and left Madurai for Tenkasi. Took 4 and half hours to get there. More conversations about me travelling alone followed.

One of the amazing places I saw today was Srivilliputtur. First I saw this

then I saw a

followed by

I am in the hinterlands of Tamil Nadu and have realised most towns have a sizable Muslim and Christian population to warrant a church and a mosque and the standard cemetery that I kept seeing outside of towns by the wayside.

Reached Amar Seva Sangam at around 1.30 pm in the afty. It’s a sprawling campus on 13 acres. Run by two wonderful gentlemen who are doing a lot for the cause of the disabled child.

My father has been contributing to this organization for the past two decades now and everyone is thrilled to bits that I have come here. I have been told that I should get my father here and that is certainly something that I am going to strive to achieve.

As I was writing I was overhearing this conversation between two other gentlemen who were staying with me. One says, ‘We should get rid of our ego to work in a place like this.’ The other says, ‘Play the politics game to work in a place like this.’ I am unsure of how things work here but I feel that this place exists is enough for me. They are doing commendable work here which needs to be continued with help and support.

I got taken for a walk around the campus by the PRO chappie. I had tears in my eyes because there is stuff going on here that I am not going to do anything about except make a standard contribution (I decided against doing this as I found something else to make a contribution which I have outlined here) Its difficult being here. I am an able bodied person and I think I am an ultra sensitive that people are different and not able to cope as I can in my own world.

But there is work being done and one must do one’s bit to help out as much as possible.

I am listening to the strains of Tamil Christian(s) singing at the church nearby. The voices carry across the distances and there is complete darkness all around me. A strong breeze has been blowing since afternoon and it will carry on through the night. The two gentlemen are reading their newspapers and there is a quiet only broken by the breeze and the chatter of the insects.

Day 6 - Salem

I landed in Salem today, the land of my mother's ancestors...

Have had a supra long day today. In Tam land, they use the word supra a lot. Like in Ayikudy, I got told, ‘Your Tamil is supra’. I highly doubt that and I told the kind gurl who told me so :)

I got up at 4ish in the morning. My cab arrived at 4.30 and I was out of Auroville headed towards Pondi bus station. I got the Salem bus and had to change once again to get another bus to Salem. Something to do apparently with 30 minute stopovers.

My journey to Salem took me about 6 hours. Salem – the reasons for going there are very simple. My mom stayed there in an area called Swarnapuri about 40-50 years back. She had told me the address of the place and a school next to it as a landmark. So I went without the name of the building or the street – just my mom’s memories to hold me by. People were extremely kind and helpful. They asked me if I was a Brahmin. Total henh from my point of view but presumably logical from theirs!

We i.e. rick man (who later fleeced me) and I went up and down this particular street. I spoke and gave old history to a couple of people living there. Finally we went to the house designated C-55. The people there run a granite business and they really tried to help me.

Finally after much ado and probably causing some amount of neighbourhood gossip, I left the area. In the meantime my sister messaged me to let me know that the street name is Kalaimagal. The rick man informed me that we had been on the same street. So this story had a happy ending where I actually ended up going to the right house by pure chance. Unfortunately I didn’t take a photograph of my house but it felt darn good :)

Post book shopping where I bought a humungous fat-ass chutya book called the ‘The Plot’ (which I left behind in Hampi btw coz it was so boooooring) by Irving Wallace for 135 bucks, I went towards Laxmi – the eating joint that the bookshop owner recommended. I had nice khana there around 12 pm – my first meal of the day.

The best part here is that I am 5 minutes into eating my food when the waiter returns:

Waiter: ‘Which country you from?’

Me: Hhahahahaahahhahahhahahahahaha (in my head)

Then in my best Tamil that I could potentially manage I said

Me: ‘Naan Bumbai lende vandirken’ (Me’s from Bumbai).

Him: ‘Teri toh!’ (sort of anyways) :D

Got the bus for Madurai post this. Madurai, well I think the Goddess had a plan for me :) I wasn’t supposed to be in Madurai at all, supposed to take a bus to Tenkasi from here directly. I however ended up seeing a Tam movie, spectacular skies and rains.

Yep, I have already been witness to the first unseasonal rains of the season. Also did two conversations – one with a paati (old lady) from Mulund (Bumbai never seems to have left me) who at the end said, ‘Kalyanam aa galaya?’ which is supposedly the be all of our lives! I replied in the negative to my married status.

Another convo with this chick in her twenties who at the end of her convo said, ‘Palakkam irkai?’ referring to the fact that I was planning to stay alone in a hotel in an obviously unknown city.

So yeah basically, my plan to go Tenkasi got busted by the rains today. I am doing an impromptu night stay at Madurai. This means I get to the see the goddess tomorrow as I wanted to earlier. Have done dinner and will do snoozums in a bit. Early rise and shine again tomorrow.