Situated on the
banks of Vaigai river in the heart of Tamilnadu
, one gets to experience the real South Indian
Tamil culture in the streets of
Madurai.
Be it in the cuisine
of idly, dosa and sambhar or in the
costumes - the dhoti and saree everyone
wears or in the
temples and architecture, one can flavour the
rich culture.
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More about
Madurai
Climate
The weather here is
hot and humid most of the
year with summer temperatures soaring to 40 deg. celsius,
except during Dec- Jan when it becomes
pleasant. The important point to remember
about Tamilnadu is the northeast monsoon bringing rain
in spurts between Oct-Dec.
Language
Tamil is the main
language, but one can communicate in English
in tourist
spots.
Connectivity
While
in Madurai, do visit the internationally famous
Meenakshi Amman Temple. The
pillars, the halls and the statues here still whisper the legends
of the kings and queens of the
Pallava dynasty
which ruled the city once upon a time.
The Aappudaiyaar Koil Tevara
Stalam and the
Koodalazhagar Divya Desam are two important
temples
one should not miss. In the vicinity of Madurai is
Tirupparamkunram,
one of the 6 shrines of Murugan, the South Indian God
glorified in Madurai's literature . Also in the
vicinity of Madurai is
Alagar Kovil, one of the prominent shrines of
the Vaishnavite
faith.
Of course, one cannot miss out the
Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal
in Madurai, which has become popular in recent
times due to various Tamil films filmed at the locale. Other
places worth seeing are Mariamman Tank,
Gandhi
Musuem and Koodal Azhagar
Kovil.
Watch out for brightly coloured
idols on
roadsides outside villages. These guardian deities, found only
in Tamilnadu, and
worshipped as protectors of villages are known as
Aiyanars. The opulent mansions
of the Chetti community are very unique
and the traditional artefacts, utensils etc. have been
preserved well and offers a good insight into the lifestyles
in the olden days. Commonly sold in the
streets of Madurai are strings of jasmine
flowers, colourful small wooden toys (home
sets) for children,
interesting kitchen utensils,
dhotis and cotton
sarees.
From Madurai, one can visit
Rameswaram (known as the Varanasi / Kashi
of the south), situated in
the Gulf of Mannar on an island.
Legend has it that it is from here that the Hindu god Rama
built the controversial
Ram Sethu bridge to Sri Lanka. Today
Rameswaram is famous for its temple having a unique
architectural style, with its long stone corridors
and fine sculptures.
Madurai is also a
good base to visit the Chettinad region and
Dhanushkodi (Land’s End),
a small fishing hamlet from where the former president of
India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam hails. It is an area almost submerged in
sand and is a unique experience.
E-mail:
leisure@hammockholidays.com
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