Madurai

We proceeded to Madurai by train. It is just 4 1/2 hours journey from Kanyakumari. The weather was pleasant as there were showers during our journey. Green fields passed by. On the way, there are many windmills on both the sides of the track.

The moment I stepped down in Madurai, I noticed too much of chaos, crowd and felt that the city is too congested. In fact all these things make the city feel lively. 

Meenakshi temple was the main attraction in Madurai. The temple is dedicated to Parvati & Shiva (Sundareshwar). The temple was nominated for the in top 30 nominees for ‘New Seven Wonders of the World’.  The temple has 14 towers which are called gopuram. These gopurams have a height of 45-50 m and therefore you can spot the temple from a long distance also. There is a ticket of Rs.50 for Camera in the temple. But still one can’t take snaps in certain restricted premises of the temple. The temple is constructed in Dravidian style. One who is interested in archeological buildings will love to spend time here.

Close to the Meenakshi temple, there is Koodal Azhagar Temple. It is a temple of Lord Vishnu.

The next place worth visiting in Madurai is Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal. It is a palace of King Thirumalai Nayak. He ruled Madurai from 1623-59. 

There are shows in which the history of King Thirumallai is told through an audio. During this, there is a spectacular light show which goes hand in hand with the audio depicting the history of King Thirumallai. I felt that this sort of initiatives should also be followed in Shaniwarwada or various forts in Maharashtra so that the tourists coming from all over the world will come to know about our glorious history.

So that was a day in Madurai. We returned back to our hotel as we had to sleep early because we had to catch an early morning train to Rameshwaram.

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