Madurai, Part 1

Saree a strip of unstitched cloth draped over the body in various styles is the traditional attire of Hindu women’s and me too been wearing sarees occasionally for the past 15 years and more. Apart from seeing in the movies I have never actually seen the actual traditional method of weaving a saree and the handloom equipments. I wanted to. Did some homework on this and found out that there is a saree weaver’s village named Paramakudi somewhere along the route to Madurai from Rameshwaram. Madurai was our second destination after Rameshwaram , so on the day we left Rameshwaram, we asked our ever courteous private driver if we could stop by this said village and he gladly took the trouble and with much hassle found the way to this village after about 3 hours on the road.

  

                   

  Above : Traditional handloom machine. Below : Women weaver at work

Well, the same evening we visited the renowned temple of Madurai. Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple.  Unlike other temples, here the security is quite tight. Only those with decent attire are allowed in after thorough inspection at the security check point. Strictly no half trousers or short pants and no sleeveless tops and guess what?.. I was wearing on sleeveless blouse and he knee length pants. A local chap actually alerted us beforehand…so thoughtful of him otherwise we would have ourselves embarrassed.  Disappointed not being able to enter the temple, we explored “Puthu Mandapam” instead.

“Puthu Mandapam” translated “The New Hall” is located just opposite the east temple tower. A 17^th century structure constructed by the then Madurai ruler King Thirumalai Nayakkar, the hall once served as a place for religious celebration, cultural programs and festivals which dwindled  over time and traders begin to appear eventually and now a bustling market.  

                         

Faintly lit hall with hundreds of pillars adorned with stone carved images of Hindu gods as well as the king Nayaks himself, crammed packed with tiny shops, rows of tailors lines up the sides, bright colorful cotton and silk fabrics, unbelievingly cheap scarves, bags, decorative wall hangings, household items and just about anything, I would rather call it “Tailors Market or Shopping Arcade”.  

When we walked the narrow pathway, one after another, the tailors particularly called out “ maam here” pointing at the stacked cloths, “we stitch anything, dress, pants, shirts, skirts. Very cheap. 1 hour can be ready” Seriously? Just an hour?..  that prompted  my bf and he got  himself a pair of long trousers and shirt stitched for merely 750 rupees (RM 45) inclusive of materials. Honestly it was an excellent deal; even though later our driver told us what we paid was slightly more than the standard rate but we were satisfied with the purchase.., material of good quality and most importantly it fitted well.

Done with quick measurement, we were told to come back in about two hour’s time. We wandered around aimlessly, took a look at almost every shop till we stopped by to purchase some arts, to our relief the lady owner suggested that I should get a scarf to cover my exposed arms and for the bf a veshti ( traditional men’s garment known as dhoti in most places in India is a piece of cloth widely white in colour wrapped around the waist and the legs with a knot at the waist) so that we will be allowed in the temple and with that off we went thanking her. Incidentally, what an alternative way to kill the next 2 hours….